8 tips for providing effective feedback

I was thinking about how important feedback is in the learning process, today at University.

Many of you know that I’m a mature aged doctoral student studying student voice and the impact of technology. Today we were sharing our research abstracts and providing each other with feedback. I dived in early and offered up my abstract for comments and suggestions from fellow students. I was so focused on getting pen to paper to capture the ideas, I forgot just how vulnerable some people feel when offering up disaffirming feedback. It was when I was told, ‘It was really very good you know Karen’, for the second time, it suddenly dawned on me that I needed to reassure others that they were doing just what I wanted, providing new insights, and that I was appreciative and whole, not the least damaged by their suggestions.

This set me off on a train of thought about the range of things we need to think about when we provide that all important FEEDBACK.

I think we all know that effective feedback provides guidance:

• How am I going?
• Where do I need to go next?

And that it might be about a range of aspects of learning including:

• asks — how well they were understood or performed.
• Processes — how well the things needed to understand / perform tasks are done, e.g. problem solving, creating, following instructions and group work.
• Presentation — delivery, organisation and pace in oral presentations, detail, organisation and clarity in all.
• Self management — how well one self monitors, stays on task, directs or initiates their own learning, plans and follows through.
• Metacognitive processing — how well one thinks about one’s thinking, learning or problem solving, quality of insights or reflection and self/peer assessment.

8 things I thought about after my experience today: things to consider when giving students feedback as they present their learning:

1. Prioritise
Most students are nervous as they present their learning, some will be confident, but most feel somewhat vulnerable in front of their peers and you. Immediately after presenting is not an ideal time to lay out all of the ‘constructive’/needs improvement feedback. Make the immediate feedback manageable and prioritise the positive. Once the nerves have settled, and there can be a conversation about ways forward, potentially disaffirming feedback will be useful and appreciated.

2. Balance
Strengths-based approaches work. Focusing on what worked well and how to apply that across other areas, or using an appreciative lens, empowers and supports. When providing disaffirming feedback, it is best to provide it as a minority of the feedback. Feedback sandwiches work well: offer a positive, a growth suggestion and another positive.

3. Build confidence
Our role is to build confidence, not undermine it. Some of my colleagues have seemed to operate from a belief that if they weren’t ‘hopping in’ they weren’t doing their job. Not true! Success builds success, and students are more likely to be motivated by feelings of achievement and satisfaction than they will be if overwhelmed by all that went wrong or needs improvement.

4. All aspects
Recognise effort, as well as the range of aspects mentioned above: tasks, processes, presentation, self management and metacognitive processing. There will always be something to acknowledge, even if it was having the courage to stand up in front of others.

5. Flexibility
There are many ways to provide feedback and these can be tailored to different student needs. Options include: feedback written in narrative form, on rubrics, in conferences or meetings 1-to-1 or in groups, orally at time of presentation or later and digitally, e.g. in Google Docs, as comments on a blog or in an email.
Utilising the support of other adults: assistants, colleagues (through class swapping if necessary) or an administrator are options. Public presentations might bring in family or community members and their feedback, especially if scaffolded, can also be sought.

6. Explicit teaching
Students don’t automatically know how to receive or provide feedback. Self assessment and peer assessment increase the sources of feedback and support in a classroom, but they really only work if there has been explicit unpacking of the skills involved. Our ‘Formative Assessment into Action’ course includes support for creating success criteria for self and peer assessment, check it out free of charge for 24 hours.

7. Build student responsibility and ownership
Arranging to record students’ presentations (or better still have them do it) so that they can self assess and reflect on their efforts after the event is very helpful. These self reflections could be brought to a meeting with the teacher for discussion, comparison and collaborative goal setting.
Students should be responsible for gathering their own feedback, rather than being passive recipients of others’ feedback (see Bill Ferriter’s post). Students should ensure that notes are taken while they are being given feedback, personally or by setting up a process for notes to be taken (another student perhaps, or audio recording the feedback ideas as they are offered). There can be a lot to recall and as the adrenaline drains away, resourcefulness for memory storage may not be strong.

8. Be open to feedback too
Role modeling giving and receiving feedback, seeking feedback on your own performance as a teacher and making feedback a commonplace event that leads to learning, all make for powerful and effective teaching.

Ultimately we want to build a culture where feedback is valued and acted on, and have students eager for their next opportunity to share their learning with others. Research tells us that feedback is important. These ideas will maximise that value. Good luck!

There’s a whole module on FEEDBACK in “Assessment Ninja”, my online formative assessment course.