Feedback – although perceived as a simple process – is an essential and complex part
of formative assessment practice, instruction, and everyday life.
Teachers, administrators, students, parents, and all educational stakeholders need to understand
the components of feedback and work to improve their practices.
Feedback needs to be practiced and intentional in order to be effective and move us past
the “yep, nope” scenario.
The goal is to provide feedback that provides an open pathway to learning and can be acted
upon, and effective feedback is more than a one-word answer!
There are many types of feedback, and becoming familiar with them will allow you to choose
the appropriate type for different situations.
The feedback types described by Joellen Killion in her book, The Feedback Process: Transforming
Feedback for Professional Learning, range from desistance—Stop that immediately!—to
deconstruction, where there is a deep reexamination of knowledge.
The different types of feedback vary based on who is responsible for the feedback, who
is in control of the feedback, and the level of learner engagement in the feedback process.
Types of feedback can also be selected based on the intended outcome.
Are you just trying to stop someone from starting a fire in the chemistry lab or is the goal
to provide enough information to allow the learner to construct new knowledge?
Keep in mind that the feedback types are not negative or positive in and of themselves.
Any of the types can be positive or negative.
Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the perception about feedback being positive
or negative is in the mind of the learner.
Regardless of the type of feedback, here are some tips to make it more effective.
Use evidence-based, specific feedback, telling the learner what they did well and what needs
to be improved.
The generic “great job” or “not there yet” does not help the learner improve!
Feedback should be immediate.
The longer someone has to wait for feedback, the more likely they are to 1.)
continue to do something incorrectly, 2.)
disengage from the task, or 3.)
take the feedback poorly or as criticism.
So provide feedback early and often!
Feedback should be aligned with the classroom learning goal and provide students with information
on how they’re performing relative to that goal, and it should include information on
what adjustments need to be made by the student to meet the goal.
Last but not least, involve the students in the collection and analysis of their own performance-based
data, so they learn how to recognize mistakes and give themselves feedback.
Being familiar with their own data also increases the students’ voice in creating their pathway
to accomplishing their goals.
Although feedback is a necessary part of effective instruction, there are some situations where
feedback may be counterproductive.
Psychologist Edward Deci has identified three such situations: when learners feel too strictly
monitored, when learners interpret feedback as an attempt to control, and when learners
feel an uncomfortable sense of competition.
If learners feel too closely monitored, they might become nervous or self-conscious.
Learners may sometimes interpret feedback as an attempt to control them rather than
guidance on how to improve.
Feedback shared in a group setting could cause learners to feel like they have to compete
with their peers.
Any of these situations can be a source of disengagement in learning.
So pay attention to the situation and know your students, so you determine when it’s
appropriate to provide feedback and what type of feedback will be most effective!
So, how do you create an environment of feedback?
Encourage feedback from teacher to student, from student to student, and from student
to teacher and model effective feedback.
Feedback is not a one-way street!
How can you practice providing meaningful feedback?
By practicing on students, colleagues, your own children and really any one you meet!
It doesn’t even have to be school-related.
Just practice!
Are there ways to provide feedback besides verbally with a stern look or with a red pen?
Of course!
First of all, smile, and here are just a few ideas.
Use Google Docs to add comments and feedback to student work.
Use an online tool such as Kaizena, which allows you to record your verbal feedback.
Voicethread is another online application that allows teachers to provide verbal feedback
and the students can respond to the feedback as well.
There are many others too—just Google “feedback tools for teachers” and find something that
suits your fancy!