Feedback
A page within Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning (CATL)
Effective feedback provides specific insights into students' performance and guides their learning journey. It aligns with formative assessment principles, serving as a guide to future learning and practice rather than just an evaluation method. Timely, specific, and constructive feedback bridges knowledge gaps, clarifies misunderstandings, and advises on improvement. It can also motivate students with positive feedback that reinforces good practices and constructive criticism that inspires continued effort and growth. Feedback fosters a growth mindset, encouraging students to see intelligence and abilities as developable through effort and persistence. It shifts focus from outcomes to the learning process, promoting active engagement and resilience in facing challenges. Additionally, feedback gives instructors valuable insights into student progress so that they can make adjustments when needed.
Understanding Student Responses
Students might describe the feedback they received as useful for various reasons:
- Timely Feedback: Feedback is provided promptly, enhancing its relevance and impact on learning.
- Specific and Detailed: Feedback is specific and detailed, offering clear guidance for improvement.
- Directly Relevant: Feedback directly relates to the learning objectives and addresses the student’s individual needs.
- Regular and Consistent: Feedback is given regularly, offering ample opportunities for continuous learning and improvement.
- Clear and Encouraging Delivery: Feedback is delivered in a clear, understandable, and encouraging manner.
- Actionable Steps Included: Feedback includes practical and actionable steps or strategies for improvement.
Teaching Strategy Toolbox
Instructors can incorporate useful feedback into a course through the strategies listed below. We recommend building on what you are already doing and incorporating strategies selectively.
Provide Timely Feedback
- Quick Turnaround on Assignments: Aim to grade and return assignments, quizzes, and exams within a set timeframe, such as a week or two, depending on the complexity. This prompt feedback ensures that the material is still fresh in students' minds. At the least, ensure that relevant feedback is provided before asking students to complete an assignment of a similar nature.
- In-Class Feedback for Participation: Provide immediate verbal feedback during class discussions and activities. This can include acknowledging insightful comments, correcting misunderstandings, or guiding the direction of the discussion.
- Use of Digital Tools for Rapid Feedback: Utilize digital platforms and tools that can offer instant feedback. For example, online quizzes can be set up to give immediate results and explanations for each question.
- Group Level Feedback: Schedule brief feedback session or provide a summary after assignments or assessments where you discuss common mistakes or highlights. This group feedback can be a quick way to address widespread issues or misconceptions.
- Regular Check-Ins for Long-Term Projects: For longer-term projects or research papers, provide incremental feedback at different stages of the project. This approach not only gives timely feedback but also guides students through the process and prevents last-minute issues.
Be Specific and Constructive
- Use Rubrics for Detailed Criteria: Develop and use detailed rubrics that break down the criteria for each assignment. When providing feedback, refer to specific elements of the rubric, offering clear explanations on where and how the student met or did not meet these criteria.
- Highlight Specific Strengths and Areas for Improvement: In your feedback, pinpoint exact strengths in the student's work, as well as specific areas where improvement is needed. Avoid general comments like "good job" or "needs improvement," and instead provide detailed reasons for your assessment.
- Incorporate Examples from the Student’s Work: When giving feedback, refer directly to specific parts of the student’s work. For instance, point out a particularly well-argued paragraph in an essay or a step in a problem-solving process where their logic was especially clear or needed refinement.
- Offer Actionable Suggestions: Along with pointing out areas for improvement, provide actionable suggestions on how to improve. For example, if a student’s essay lacks clarity, suggest specific writing techniques or resources they can use to enhance their skills.
- Provide Positive and Constructive Feedback: Acknowledge and reinforce strengths in addition to offering constructive criticism. (Don’t only focus on the negative) This approach not only motivates students but also provides a clear direction for their continued learning and improvement. When offering areas for improvement, frame suggestions in a way that shows you believe in the student's ability to improve and succeed.
Align Feedback with Learning Objectives
- Reference Learning Objectives in Feedback: When providing feedback, explicitly connect your comments to the specific learning objectives of the course or assignment. This helps students understand how their work aligns with the goals set for their learning.
- Use Learning Objectives as a Feedback Checklist: Create a checklist based on the learning objectives for each assignment. Use this checklist when giving feedback to ensure that all relevant objectives are addressed and that your comments are focused and aligned with these goals.
- Incorporate Learning Objectives in Rubrics: Design rubrics that are directly tied to the learning objectives. This ensures that the criteria you are assessing and providing feedback on are aligned with what students are expected to learn.
- Feedback that Guides Toward Objectives: Ensure that your feedback not only addresses what was lacking or successful in the student's work but also guides them on how to improve or continue to meet the learning objectives in future assignments.
- Periodic Reviews of Objectives with Students: Regularly review the learning objectives with students, particularly when giving feedback, to remind them of the goals they are working towards. This can help students see the direct relevance of your feedback to their overall course progress.
Encourage Self-Assessment
- Self-Assessment Rubrics: Provide students with clear, detailed rubrics that they can use to assess their own work. Encourage them to use these rubrics as a guide to evaluate their assignments before submission, focusing on areas where they meet the criteria and where they may need improvement.
- Reflective Journals or Essays: Assign reflective journals or essays where students analyze their own learning and performance. Prompt them to consider what they did well, where they struggled, and how they can improve in the future.
- Peer Review Sessions: Organize peer review sessions where students assess each other’s work using the provided rubrics or guidelines. This not only helps them learn to evaluate work critically but also to reflect on their own work by comparison.
- Self-Grading Exercises: For certain assignments, allow students to grade their own work using the provided rubric, and then compare their assessment with your own. This can be a powerful exercise in understanding the grading criteria and learning to objectively evaluate their own work.
- Guided Self-Assessment Checklists: Create checklists that guide students through self- assessment. These checklists can include questions or prompts that help students reflect on specific aspects of their work in relation to the assignment's learning objectives and criteria.
Foster a Two-Way Feedback Process
- Regular Student Feedback Surveys: Conduct regular anonymous surveys where students can provide feedback on the course, teaching methods, and materials. Assure students that their feedback is valued and will be used to enhance the learning experience.
- Peer Feedback Sessions: Implement structured peer feedback sessions where students are encouraged to provide constructive feedback to each other on assignments or presentations. Provide guidelines on how to give respectful and helpful feedback.
- Open Forum Discussions: Create opportunities for open forum discussions, either in class or online, where students can voice their opinions and suggestions about the course. Facilitate these discussions in a way that all voices are heard and respected.
- Feedback Reflection Assignments: Assign tasks where students reflect on the feedback they have received from peers or the instructor. Encourage them to discuss how they can use this feedback for their improvement.
- Instructor Responsiveness to Feedback: Demonstrate your responsiveness to student feedback by discussing changes you've implemented based on their suggestions. This shows students that their input is not only welcomed but also acted upon, fostering a more open and reciprocal feedback environment.
Offer Regular Opportunities for Feedback
- Continuous In-Class Feedback: Integrate feedback into daily classroom interactions. Offer immediate, informal feedback during class discussions, group work, and individual presentations to provide students with ongoing insights into their understanding and performance.
- Frequent Low-Stakes Assessments: Utilize frequent low-stakes assessments like quizzes, one-minute papers, or short reflective exercises. These provide regular opportunities for feedback and help students track their progress and understanding of the material.
- Online Discussion Forums: Create and monitor online discussion forums where students can post questions and comments about the course material. Regularly participate in these forums to provide feedback, clarify concepts, and guide discussions.
- Mid-Module Check-Ins: Conduct mid-module or mid-topic check-ins, either through short surveys or informal discussions, to gather feedback on students' understanding and comfort with the material. Use this feedback to adjust your teaching approach as needed.
- Feedback on Drafts Before Final Submission: For major assignments, offer students the opportunity to submit a draft version and receive feedback before the final submission. This allows students to understand where they need to improve and apply this guidance to enhance their final work.
Contact Us
CATL staff members are here to support your teaching improvement efforts and would enjoy meeting with you to discuss how to tailor strategies for your unique learning environments. Contact us to arrange a consultation.