Week #5 – Thursday, February 3, 2022
Chapter 3 – Choose a question from the “Pause and Ponder” section on p. 58 of the text.
Of the five guidelines for formative feedback,
which ones are already part of your feedback routine?
Which ones should you give more attention?
I am finding that my journey to becoming a practitioner is a constant subtle knowledge acquisition. The abundance of information that I am picking up from both traditional and modern sources is incredible, and I can feel it changing my teaching style on a day-to-day basis. When I look at the “Pause and Ponder” question from Chapter 3 regarding formative feedback, I am filled with a vast assortment of responses for the million scenarios that my past and future teaching days have held and will hold.
- Does my feedback elicit a productive response? Historically, absolutely. In my small math classroom, I would have considered that the feedback via comments on the marking of their work (before giving them grades) and allowing them the opportunity to improve their score effectively elicited a productive response from the majority of students. It was a rare occasion that students would rather take a lower mark than read my feedback and attempt the corrections. However, I know so much more about formative feedback now, I don’t know if that truly was something that would be applicable anywhere else, and it surely was an exhausting process for me.
- Does my feedback identify what’s next for the learner? In that scenario, my feedback surely did not. My students just finished the booklet of math and moved on. The students had a clear set of work to finish to meet their course completion, and it was one step at a time. I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to consider giving formal feedback at that scale in another scenario.
- Is my feedback targeted to each learner’s level? Yes, I am sure it is. Regardless of the classroom or feedback, I believe in the individualization of comments. However, it is hard. It can be very time-consuming and overwhelming to give every student consistent-detailed attention, whether verbal or written feedback.
- Is my feedback strength-based? This is something that I need to improve on. I can now see that I have been guilty of writing. “Wow! Great Job!” or “Fantastic Work” on a student’s work. I am also becoming aware that I do this verbally with students and have put it on my list to practice improving. I want to become more fluent in giving students specific strength-based feedback.
- Does my feedback cause thinking? When I carefully articulate feedback for a student, it is generally well-received, and they tend to reflect on my comments. I have seen my math students use my feedback to better their learning. I have also seen my excessive feedback cause students shut me out. From that, I have learned that if I am going to give students written feedback, I always ask first if they would like written comments in the future. I think this is something that I will want to remember in my future classrooms.