Embedded Formative Assessment: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Providing Feedback That Moves Learning Forward

Introduction

• Effective feedback is critical for student learning but is often poorly implemented.

• Misguided feedback can hinder learning or demotivate students rather than support their educational development.

• The chapter focuses on the quality of feedback, learner reactions, and practical techniques for delivering effective feedback.

The Quality of Feedback

• Research on Feedback:

  • A study by Maria Elawar and Lyn Corno demonstrated that constructive written feedback significantly improves learning outcomes.

  • In feedback-rich environments, students learned twice as fast as those who received only grades, improving attitudes towards subjects such as mathematics.

Types of Feedback

• Ruth Butler's Study:

  • Investigated various feedback methods, finding:

    • Grades alone did not improve subsequent work.

    • Comments alone led to significant performance improvements.

    • Combining grades with feedback negated the benefits of comments.

• Key Findings:

  • Students given solely feedback had significantly improved performance and indicated a desire to continue with similar tasks.

  • Giving grades alongside comments often led to students ignoring helpful feedback due to their focus on scores.

Impact of Feedback Styles

• Feedback Effects:

  • Different feedback styles influence motivation and perception of ability:

    • Task-focused feedback leads to higher engagement and performance.

    • Praise and grades can induce a fixed mindset, potentially leading to learned helplessness in struggling students.

Learner Reactions to Feedback

• Responses to feedback vary based on how students perceive their performance related to goals:

  • Exceeds Goal: May become complacent or abandon the goal.

  • Falls Short of Goal: May lower aspirations or reject the feedback.

• Tasks and Individual Perceptions: It’s essential to recognize that individualized responses are often tied to personal perceptions and broader contexts (e.g., classroom dynamics, previous experiences).

Memory and Learning

• How Memory Works:

  • Memory is complex; recalling information can enhance learning.

  • Delayed feedback is generally more beneficial than immediate feedback due to its impact on long-term learning and storage strength.

Practical Techniques for Feedback

1. Providing Feedback That Moves Learning Forward:

   • Feedback should be a guide for future actions, focusing on improvement rather than evaluation of current performance.

   • Engage learners to think critically about their work.

2. Techniques for Implementing Feedback:

   • Minus, Equals, Plus: Instead of grades, indicate progress concerning past performance.

   • Feedback for Future Action: Ensure feedback highlights next steps, providing actionable suggestions for future improvement.

   • Three Questions: Encourage reflection through structured questioning that prompts self-assessment and engagement.

Grading Practices that Support Learning

• Key Practices:

  1. Grading After Learning: Avoid grading during learning processes to promote ongoing engagement.

  2. Grading by Learning Needs: Focus grading on mastery of learning outcomes rather than aggregate scores.

  3. Allowing Grades to Decrease: Combine first submission quality with improvement measures to incentivize high-quality initial work.

Conclusion

• Feedback must elicit cognitive engagement rather than emotional responses.

• Feedback should link to learning goals, emphasizing improvement strategies and actionable insights for students.

• The ongoing challenge for educators is to create feedback loops that drive student ownership of learning.