Hello colleagues, It has been pointed out in a few discussions on LINCS, most recently in the guest-led discussion in October on "Self-Determination, Grit and Academic Resilience in Adult Learners" that having a growth mindset is essential to achievement. It's important for teachers and students to believe that effort and persistence matter.
In light of this understanding, we will want to consider the type of feedback we provide to students. Positive feedback should be focused on a student's effort ("You worked hard and you figured out how to solve the problem" rather than on his or her ability ("You are talented"). Furthermore, we should strive to provide feedback that describes what students have done well as well as where there is room for improvement.
Here's how Susan Brookhart (2008) in an excellent article entitled "Preventing Feedback Frizzle" (reprinted in the EL [Educational Leadership] Action Pack on Assessment) explains the value of feedback that describes:
"It focuses on one or more strengths of the work and provides at least one suggestion for a next step. Don’t assume that your students know what they did well and that they only need corrections or fixes."
This was a good reminder to me to point out the positive aspects of students' work and to give students the opportunity to revise, i.e., to learn from their mistakes. Brookhart insists that if students don't get another opportunity to demonstrate their learning, our feedback "fizzles."
I'm endeavoring to do this with the writing students are doing in my class. I want to let them know what they have done well, and to revise their work based on my descriptive feedback as well as the descriptive feedback of their peers.
How do others ensure that the feedback provided to learners does not "fizzle"?!
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, Assessment CoP