Feedback That Empowers Students

This week's article summary is Feedback That Empowers Students.

Think back to when you were in high school nervously awaiting your English teacher to hand back the essay you wrote. 

Once the teacher returned the graded paper to you, you probably flipped to the end--skipping over the teacher’s corrections and comments, usually written in blood red ink--and jumped right to the grade he/she wrote. 

If the grade was B or better, you then might have looked at the teacher’s written comments, expecting there’d be more praise than suggestions for improvement (which to most of us means criticism)—after all, only a masochist prefers criticism to praise.

However, if the grade was below a B--if you were like me--you crumbled the essay into a tight wad and threw it in the classroom waste basket when the teacher wasn’t looking. As someone who received a lot of grades below B on essays, my defense rationale was that the teacher didn’t like or understand me. (Every student knows the story that Einstein failed  a math in middle school.)

Similarly, when I was an English teacher, I was discouraged when my students did the same thing to me when they got back their papers that I had critiqued so diligently. For them, it was basically an either/or dichotomy where good writers got praise and satisfaction while poor writers sunk deeper and deeper into the belief that they would never get my approval and were destined to never write well.

Schools and English classes have gotten better with tools that help students write like laptop computers (which make revising and editing much less painful) and rubrics (where students have a better understanding of the components of their assignment like a persuasive essay).

Still, as an adult whose job involves a lot of writing, I wish I had begun to hone my writing skills back when I was in school rather than learning on the job what good writing entails. As a student, I was loath to revise my rough drafts; today, I embrace that my initial draft is nothing more than a rough sketch or outline that will take much thought and revision on my part.

What you’ll see in the article below is how important it is for teachers to guide their students to be more empowered and to understand how much influence they have in their own learning. I sought my teacher’s approval in the grade he/she gave me when I should have focused more on his/her comments to further my development as a writer. I just didn’t feel empowered as a student, and most students struggle with their confidence throughout the inevitable ups and downs of their school years. 

Another article I read over the summer on ‘resilience in the classroom’ stated that the purpose of school is to help students learn, practice, and reflect. 

When I was a kid, I only thought school was for learning,  yet now I know that it’s through practice and reflection that we learn.

Joe

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Feedback can be a powerful process that greatly impacts student learning when it affirms students’ identities as learners, is clear and direct, and considers the individual attributes of each student.

Here’s an example. A student receives the following feedback from her teacher:

• Strength: You clearly state your claim, The women’s rights movement began with the suffrage movement but it’s not over yet, and provided a list of recent events, such as the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s court case, to support your thinking.
• Need: Include the counterclaim and how you would respond. What would someone say if they disagreed with you? Where would they find fault with your supporting evidence?
• Next Steps: Work with your writing partner to talk through the Claim, Support, Question protocol. Do some more research to address the questions that you and your partner generate, and add this information to your essay.

This feedback moves beyond what students often receive in response to their work—statements such as “Great job!” “Shows improvement.” “Add evidence.” The more comprehensive feedback can empower students because it’s individualized to the student; leverages students’ assets, interests, and learning preferences; and builds students’ confidence in themselves. Let’s unpack the above example to see how to accomplish this.

Strengths: Identify what students can do in relation to the learning target, regardless of whether they’ve achieved mastery. The feedback in our example is based on the following learning target and success criteria for the student: I can write an argument by doing the following: stating a claim, providing supporting reasons and relevant evidence, addressing counterclaims

When a teacher identifies what students can do, it communicates the belief that all students are learners and can achieve high expectations. Students know what to repeat in future assignments and, most important, develop confidence in themselves.

Needs: Identify where a student is in relationship to the learning target. The language the teacher uses in identifying needs can affect how students receive the feedback. In our feedback example, the teacher states the need—Include the counterclaim and how you would respond—and then provides some questions to prompt student thinking. 

Direct and honest feedback helps students understand that feedback is affirmation that the student can reach the goal. When feedback is cushioned or vague, a student may interpret it to mean that the teacher doesn’t believe in the student’s capability.

Next Steps: These directly correlate with the identified needs and provide suggestions on how students can move forward. Too often, students are given feedback but don’t know how to address it. The teacher supports student independence and self-regulation by describing actions that the student can take on their own to strengthen their work. In our example of feedback, the teacher reminds the student to use a thinking routine that has been repeatedly used in class—to identify possible counterclaims and provide stronger evidence to support their reasoning.

Next steps should also consider the individual attributes of the student. For example, if the teacher knows a student is an artist, suggesting that the student use sketch noting before writing might be a good next step. Students who use oral language to process information might benefit from peer discussion, as mentioned in the example, before writing.

The Amount, Timing, and Format: These can influence how a student receives the feedback and their willingness to act on it. Some students need less feedback more often, while other students prefer to have the time to process and apply the feedback. Feedback can be verbal or written and offered privately or in small groups. The same process for providing feedback will not work for everyone. If a teacher is unsure as to what strategy might work best for the student, the teacher can conference with the student and discuss different strategies. This builds the trust that underlies the successful feedback relationship.

The feedback that students receive from their teachers serves as models for students to engage in peer feedback and self-assessment. When students use the same process with their peers and then apply it to themselves, they’re truly empowered. Students, like their teachers, must have clearly articulated learning targets and a protocol, such as the strengths, needs, and next steps. They must also reflect on the feedback process. Questions such as “How did feedback from your classmate help you revise your work?” “What did you learn from examining your classmate’s work that will help you in revising your own?” and “How did you revise your work after completing your self-assessment?” all help students see the value of the feedback process.

Empowering students through feedback begins with teacher feedback that identifies what the student can do, clearly states areas of needs, and considers the individual attributes of each student in providing next steps. When students receive quality feedback from their teachers, they are primed to engage in peer feedback and self-assessment, and empowered to be self-regulated, independent learners.