Providing feedback that moves learning forward

Summary

This transcript explores the critical role of feedback in education, emphasizing that forward-looking, constructive comments lead to better student learning outcomes than grades alone. Research studies discussed show that grades can negatively impact motivation and progress, especially when paired with comments. Effective feedback should guide students on what to do and how to do it, fostering cognitive engagement rather than emotional reactions. The transcript also presents practical feedback strategies, including comment-only marking and questioning techniques, designed to enhance student involvement and growth, ultimately improving their academic achievement and attitudes toward learning.

Takeaways

• 😀 Feedback should be forward-looking, focusing on future learning rather than past performance.
• 😀 Grades and scores alone do not promote learning and may even harm students' self-esteem and motivation.
• 😀 Comment-based feedback has been shown to improve student performance and attitudes, unlike score-based feedback.
• 😀 Feedback should engage students' thinking rather than their emotions to foster effective learning.
• 😀 Providing feedback in the form of a 'recipe for future action' is crucial for improving student performance.
• 😀 When grades are paired with comments, students tend to focus on their scores rather than the content of the feedback, which can be detrimental.
• 😀 Giving students no feedback can sometimes be as effective as giving them grades, as long as the feedback is focused on improvement.
• 😀 Studies show that feedback focused on ego (such as grades) leads to worse performance in nearly 40% of cases.
• 😀 Feedback should be more work for the recipient than the giver, meaning students should be responsible for reflecting on and acting on feedback.
• 😀 Teachers should avoid over-correcting students' work; feedback should leave room for students to make corrections themselves.
• 😀 The effectiveness of feedback is enhanced when it encourages students to think critically and engage with their mistakes, rather than just offering praise or corrections.

Q & A

What is the key idea behind effective feedback according to the research in the transcript?

Effective feedback is forward-looking rather than backward-looking. It focuses on how students can improve and what they should do next, rather than just evaluating past performance.

How does feedback impact students who receive scores only?

Students who received scores only made no progress and showed no improvement in their post-test results. Their attitudes varied, with high scorers wanting to continue but low scorers expressing reluctance to do more work.

What was the result for students who received comments only, without any scores?

Students who received only comments showed a 30% improvement in achievement from pre-test to post-test. Both high and low achievers expressed positive attitudes toward continuing the work.

What happened when students received both scores and comments?

When students received both scores and comments, they showed no improvement and their progress was the same as students who only received scores. This suggests that the score interfered with the effectiveness of the comments.

Why is combining scores and comments considered ineffective in this research?

The combination of scores and comments increases ego involvement, where students focus more on protecting their self-esteem rather than using feedback for learning. This results in no improvement in their performance.

What does the research by Kluger and DeNisi reveal about feedback in general?

The research reviewed over 3,000 studies and found that in 38% of the cases, feedback actually worsened performance. Effective feedback provides guidance on what to do and how to improve, while feedback that focuses on evaluations or praise can have a negative impact.

How can feedback be more effective in terms of student learning?

Feedback should focus on promoting cognitive thinking rather than emotional reactions. Effective feedback provides clear, actionable steps and focuses on future improvement rather than evaluating past performance.

What is 'comment-only marking,' and how does it help students?

Comment-only marking involves providing detailed feedback without giving a score. This approach encourages students to focus on the content of the feedback rather than their emotional reaction to a grade, fostering a more thoughtful learning process.

What is the problem with students receiving too much feedback on their work?

Too much feedback can create the perception that the work is poor. Students may associate a large amount of feedback with subpar performance, which can be demotivating.

How does the practice of 'feedback leaving work for the student to do' benefit the learning process?

By leaving some work for students to do, such as finding and correcting mistakes, feedback encourages active engagement with the material and supports self-directed learning. This approach emphasizes the idea that feedback should require effort from the student, reinforcing learning and improvement.