O C T O B E R E D D I R E C T O R P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T1 0 / 1 / 1 4

POWERFUL & PURPOSEFUL FEEDBACK

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS AND EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

Improving Student Outcomes

• Formative assessment is a process, not any particular test.• It is used by both teachers and students.• Formative assessment takes place during instruction.• It provides assessment-based feedback to teachers

and students.• Helps teachers and students make adjustments that

will improve students' achievement.

53 Ways-Handout

EXAMPLES OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

FEEDBACK TIMING

Purpose•For students to get feedback while they are still mindful of the learning target and while there is still time for them to act on it

Examples of Good Amounts of Feedback

Examples of Bad Amounts of Feedback

•Returning a test or assignment the next day

•Giving immediate oral responses to questions of fact or to student misconceptions

• Returning a test or assignment two weeks after it is completed

• Ignoring errors

• Going over a test or assignment when the unit is over

FEEDBACK AMOUNT

Purpose•For students to get enough feedback so that they understand what to do but not so much that the work has been done for them

•For students to get feedback on "teachable moment" points but not an overwhelming number

Examples of Good Amounts of Feedback

Examples of Bad Amounts of Feedback

•Selecting two or three main points about a paper for comment•Giving feedback on important learning targets•Commenting on at least as many strengths as weaknesses

•Returning a student's paper with every error in mechanics edited•Writing comments on a paper that are more voluminous than the paper itself•Writing voluminous comments on poor-quality papers and almost nothing on good-quality papers

FEEDBACK MODE

Purpose

•To communicate the feedback message in the most appropriate way

Examples of Good Feedback Mode Examples of Bad Feedback Mode

•written comments that students can save and look over•oral feedback for students who don't read well•oral feedback if there is more information than students would want to read•Demonstrating how to do something if the student needs to see how to do something or what something "looks like"

•Speaking to students to save yourself the trouble of writing•Writing to students who don't read

FEEDBACK AUDIENCE

Purpose•To reach the appropriate students with specific feedback•To communicate, through feedback, that student learning is valued

Examples of Good Choice of Audience

Examples of Bad Choice of Audience

•Communicating with an individual, giving information specific to the individual performance

•Giving group or class feedback when the same mini-lesson or reteaching session is required for a number of students

•Using the same comments for all students

•Never giving individual feedback because it takes too much time

FEEDBACK FOCUS

Purpose

•To describe specific qualities of the work in relation to the targets•To make observations that will help students figure out how to improve•To foster student self-efficacy by drawing connections between students' work and efforts

Examples of Good Feedback Focus Examples of Bad Feedback Focus

•comments about strengths and weaknesses

•comments about work process you observed

•recommendations about a strategy to help improve the work

•Making comments that bypass the student (e.g., "This is hard" instead of "You did a good job because …")

•Making criticisms but not ideas of how to improve

•Making personal compliments or digs (e.g., "How could you do that?”)

IS MY FEEDBACK GOOD?

• Your students do learn—their work does improve.• Your students become more motivated—they believe they can learn, they want to learn, and they take more control over their own learning.• Your classroom becomes a place where

feedback, including constructive criticism, is valued and viewed as productive.

PROVIDING CLEAR FEEDBACK

•Rigorous Response Chart- Handout•Giving Good Feedback-Handout

Providing feedback is not the same as a giving a

grade.

COLLABORATIVE GROUPING/LEARNING

• The learner or student is the primary focus of instruction.• Interaction and "doing" are of primary

importance• Working in groups is an important mode of

learning.• Structured approaches to developing

solutions to real-world problems should be incorporated into learning.

IMPACT OF COLLABORATIVE GROUPING/LEARNING

• Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills. • Promotion of student-faculty interaction. • Increase in student retention, self-esteem,

and responsibility. • Exposure to and an increase in

understanding of diverse perspectives.• Preparation for real life social and

employment situations.

COLLABORATIVE GROUPING LESSON DESIGN

Let’s discuss…•How will groups be formed?•How will you ensure students are productive?•What technology might assist the group work?•What activities can the students do?

STRATEGIES FOR INCORPORATING GROUP WORK

• Introduce group work early in the semester to set clear student expectations.

• Plan for each stage of group work. • Carefully explain to your students how groups will

operate and how students will be graded. • Help students develop the skills they need to succeed

in doing group activities, such as using team-building exercises or introducing self-reflection techniques.

• Establish ground rules for participation and contributions.

• Consider using written contracts. • Incorporate self and peer assessments for group

members to evaluate their own and others' contributions.

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE RUBRICS

• CriteriaAn effective rubric must possess a specific list of criteria, so students know exactly what the teacher is expecting.

• GradationsThere should be gradations of quality based on the degree to which a standard has been met (basically a scale). The gradations should include specific descriptions of what constitutes "excellent", "good", "fair", and "needs improvement". Each gradation should provide descriptors for the performance level.

• DescriptionsEffective rubrics offer a lot of descriptive language. The rubric describes exactly what makes an assignment quality.

• ContinuityThe difference in quality from a score point of 5 to 4 should be the same difference in quality from a score point of 3 to 2. All descriptors should model and reflect the consistent levels of continuity.

• ReliabilityA "good" rubric should be able to be used by various teachers and have them all arrive at similar scores (for a given assignment).

• ValidityA rubric possessing validity, scores what is central to the performance and assignment, not what is easy for the eye to see and simple for the teacher to grade.

• ModelsDon't forget to model exemplars of products at various achievement levels (be sure to keep the models anonymous).

RUBRICS

• Discuss rubric sample with your grade level. How are they alike? Different?

Great Rubric Web Links

RubistarRubric Gallery

Schrock's Rubrics

WE HAVE ALL FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE!

Keep up the amazing work!!