In this week, we have showed
a number of scenarios of providing feedback
and shared some strategies and tips.
In this final session of the week,
I will highlight a number of key principles of
good feedback practices.
The discussion will be partially based on
the framework of Nicol, Macfarlane-Dick (2006),
and partially on those scenarios
that we have previously presented.
The first principle is that good feedback practices
help clarify what good performance is.
We have discussed that there are often some gaps
between our standing and students' standing
of the performance standards.
Feedback is actually a great opportunity
to address the gaps.
For instance, you could show examples of
good and not-so-good work to students.
You could also explain the assessment criteria
and seek students' opinions
about where they were struggling.
Secondly, good feedback practices help facilitate
the development of self-assessment and reflection.
We as teachers have responsibilities
to provide feedback to students
but we don't want our students to rely too much on us.
It is important for them
to take ownership of their learning.
Encouraging them to have self-assessment
and reflection can be helpful in this aspect.
The related practices and benefits are also
discussed in the 'sustainable feedback' early this week.
Thirdly, good feedback practices deliver
high quality information to students about
their learning and encourage them to take actions.
What do we mean by high quality?
It means that students could comprehend
the feedback and take actions based on it.
So the contents of the feedback
need to be relevant and
well-constructed in a way that
allows students to understand
in what areas they have done well
and in what areas they need to improve.
The feedback sandwich model we introduced
might be helpful here.
Then we have to use the language
that could be comprehended by our students.
Furthermore, it would also be very helpful
to include some actionable recommendations
so that students could form a plan
to make improvements.
Fourthly, good feedback practices
encourage meaningful dialogue about learning.
We often say 'provide' feedback or
'deliver' feedback to students.
These words could sometimes be misleading.
In fact, good feedback practices
involve two-way communications, more precisely,
it involves conversations about learning.
This practice has also been discussed
in the dialogic feedback model early this week.
The fifth principle is that good feedback practices
encourage positive motivational beliefs.
This again could be achieved through
the feedback sandwich model that we have discussed.
As suggested early, we don't need to make up
any positive words to praise students;
instead, we could try to point out,
according to the assessment criteria,
what the students have done really well.
In this case, they will be more likely to feel encouraged.
Next, good feedback practices
provide opportunities to close the gap
between current and the desired performance.
I hope you still recall the concept 'feedfoward',
which means that students can make use of
the feedback to enhance their future work.
Specific strategies include providing feedback in time
and on work-in-progress
rather than when the work is completed.
In this way, students could still have opportunities
to address your comments and feedback
in order to reach a desired level of performance.
Otherwise,
they might not treasure your feedback so much
if they cannot see the actual benefits
on their future work.
Finally, good feedback practices
inform the teacher of students' learning progress.
This information can then be used by the teacher
to adjust or improve teaching.
Feedback not only benefits students
but also the teacher.
Through feedback,
especially informal feedback in class,
teachers could obtain first-hand
information about students' learning progress.
For example, what are the concepts
that students are struggling with?
Have they defined the problem properly?
Are they ready to start the investigation
in a specific area?
This kind of information would be very useful
for teachers to adjust
their teaching plan or class design.