Building Teaching Skills and Dispositions
Topic 8: Explicit Instruction
Teaching Skill: Providing Useful Feedback
Learning Outcomes: At the conclusion of these activities, you will understand that
feedback is critical for student learning and effective classroom instruction. In addition,
you will be able to:
1. identify the characteristics of feedback and distinguish between process and taskoriented feedback.
2. explain the relationship of feedback to student metacognition.
3. explain why personal feedback should be avoided.
4. evaluate the use of feedback in classroom settings.
Standards:
INTASC Standard 8. Assessment. The teacher understands and uses formal and
informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social,
and physical development of the learner.
8.3 uses assessment strategies to involve learners in self-assessment activities to
help them become aware of their strengths and needs and to encourage them to
set personal goals for learning.
8.4 evaluates the effects of class activities on individuals and on groups through
observation of classroom interaction, questioning and analysis of student work.
The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards
were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and member states. Copies
may be downloaded from the Council’s website at http://www.ccsso.org.
Council of Chief State School Officers. (1992). Model standards for beginning teacher
licensing, assessment, and development: A resource for state dialogue. Washington, DC:
Author. http://www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/corestrd.pdf.
Introduction
Explicit instruction is goal-oriented and focused on helping students reach objectives. In
order for this to happen, teachers must provide opportunities for practice that requires
providing effective feedback to students, especially during guided and independent
practice. Not all feedback is effective. Feedback should be intentional and clear, not
overwhelming. Feedback should be positive even when making suggestions for
improvement of negative behaviors or products. The tone of all feedback should be
respectful and oriented toward future success. For both oral and written feedback to be
useful, teachers should implement the following strategies:
•
Focus on the task: Feedback can and should be focused on the task at hand. In
the case of explicit instruction, the feedback should be focused on the skill or
knowledge that the students are practicing during guided and independent
practice. Task feedback should be timely, related to the instructional goals, clear,
and developmentally appropriate. Students should know what to do next as a
result of the feedback.
•
Focus on the process: Feedback can also focus on the processes used in attaining
the skill or knowledge being practiced. Teachers can provide feedback about the
way in which the task was approached, the relationship of what was done and the
quality of the performance, and other strategies that might have been used in
accomplishing the task.
•
Encourage metacognition: Feedback can help students become more
metacognitive and self-regulatory, and see the relationship between effort and
success. Teacher feedback cannot force a particular student behavior, but it can
help students understand that learning requires focused practice.
•
Comment on the performance, not the person: Personal feedback should be
avoided. Since feedback has a motivational component, we want to make certain
that it is the performance that is commented on and not the person. Teachers
should focus on helping students develop a growth mindset—an understanding
that goals can be accomplished with effort and that we get smarter with
experience. Feedback should not be used to compare students to each other, but to
specific criteria or past individual performance.
In the following activities, you will see the ways that teachers provide feedback to their
students, and you will be asked to evaluate the teacher’s feedback behaviors in light of
the principles discussed above. You will also be asked to provide feedback to students
based on what is known about good feedback.
Part 1
Part 1 Introductory Text: In the following video segment, a middle school teacher asks
her students to work in groups on a cause-and-effect activity. She provides the directions
for the activity and then we see her monitoring a small group and providing feedback.
Students will be tested individually the next day on their ability to identify cause and
effect.
Video Title:
Middle School Cause-and-Effect Guided Practice
Video Asset: http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/myeducationlab/singleplay.php?projectID=mediaser
ver_download&clipID=Praxis_006_207.flv
Question 1 Text: What feedback does Ms. Brandenberg offer to students about how they
are doing on the task of identifying causes and effects?
Question 1 Hint: Ms. Brandenberg has asked students to work in groups to identify
causes and effects from a written passage. Students are supposed to (1) underline the
answer to a question; (2) discuss the answer with the group; and (3) write the answer in a
complete sentence on a piece of paper.
Question 1 Feedback: The teacher monitors a small group, listens to the reader recite the
excerpt, and says, “You guys are doing good.” It is unclear to which part of the task she
is referring. As the students answer the question of what causes lift, she provides cues to
students by asking if that is the only thing that answers the question and to provide more
information about the force that allows for lift. This is good task feedback because it is
timely (she is next to the students while they are working), is related to the instructional
goal, and appears to be developmentally appropriate. She provides cues for what to do
next in the task.
Question 2 Text: What feedback, if any, does Ms. Brandenberg offer to students about
the process of how to identify causes and effects?
Question 2 Hint: Teachers can provide feedback about the way in which the task was
approached, the relationship of what was done and the quality of the performance, and
other strategies that might have been used in accomplishing the task.
Question 2 Feedback: Ms. Brandenberg suggested to the group that they go back and
underline the answer to the question and then discuss their answers as a group. She does
not explicitly discuss the relationship between what students were doing and the quality
of their performance. Nor does she suggest additional strategies for finding cause and
effect.
Question 3 Text: Why is it important to offer feedback that helps students become more
metacognitive and self-regulatory? How might Ms. Brandenberg have offered this type of
feedback?
Question 3 Hint: Teacher feedback cannot force a particular student behavior, but it can
help students understand that learning requires effort and focused practice.
Question 3 Feedback: Helping students see the relationship between effort and success
happens over time and with a number of discussions and examples. This requires a more
involved conversation than either task or process feedback. And the conversation must
focus on personal beliefs about success—something that is difficult to do in a group
setting. Students must be helped to see the relationship between effort, practice, and
success, and it is these relationships that should be the focus of any feedback. Ms.
Brandenberg might want to have such talks with individual students.
Question 4 Text: Did the teacher use personal feedback? Explain.
Question 4 Hint: Comments about personal characteristics should be avoided. They can
result in students believing that traits rather than effort cause success.
Question 4 Feedback: Ms. Brandenberg stated that Roxanne has “got it,” but did not
attribute her success to a personal trait or quality. It was stated as an observation—
something the teacher noticed. Had Ms. Brandenberg said that Roxanne had success
because she was smart, lucky, or guessed well, she would have been using personal
feedback. It is those attributions that should be avoided.
Part 2
Part 2 Introductory Text: The fifth-grade class is this video is studying how to write a
paragraph. The teacher presents examples of paragraphs and asks the students to write a
paragraph on their own that will be evaluated with a rubric (guided practice). The rubric
states that good paragraphs have a topic sentence, include four supporting sentences, stay
on topic, and contain no spelling or mechanical errors. We will use one of the examples
as a written work sample to practice providing written feedback.
Video Title:
Writing Paragraphs in Fifth Grade, Part 1
Video Asset:
http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/myeducationlab/singleplay.php?projectID=eggen&cl
ipID=Applying_Cognitive_Motivation_Theory_Part1.flv
Paragraph Sample:
Ann’s family brought a new flatscreen TV. It had a 54-inch screen and controls for color
and brightness. Ann liked police stories. There were also controls for sound and tone.
Question 1 Text: What task feedback can be offered to the student who wrote the
paragraph?
Question 1 Hint: The teacher has defined a good paragraph as follows: it has a topic
sentence, includes four supporting sentences, stays on topic, and contains no spelling or
mechanical errors.
Question 1 Feedback: The teacher can make the following feedback comments either
orally or in written form. You have a topic sentence and four other sentences, but the
sentence about the police stories does not stay on topic. There are no spelling or
mechanical errors. By clearly pointing out the error, the teacher lets the student know
what needs to be changed.
Question 2 Text: What process feedback can be offered to the student who wrote the
paragraph?
Question 2 Hint: Teachers can provide feedback about the way in which the task was
approached, the relationship of what was done and the quality of the performance, and
other strategies that might have been used in accomplishing the task.
Question 2 Feedback: The student can be reminded that the topic sentence is the
beginning of a chain of supporting sentences, and the student can think about how each
sentence is related to the topic sentence to make certain that the paragraph is coherent.
Another strategy that the teacher can suggest to the student is that the paragraph be read
aloud to check for off-topic sentences.
Question 3 Text: Why is it important to offer feedback that helps students become more
metacognitive and self-regulatory? Hypothesize as to how the teacher in the video might
have offered this type of feedback.
Question 3 Hint: Teacher feedback cannot force a particular student behavior, but it can
help students understand that learning requires effort and focused practice.
Question 3 Feedback: Helping students see the relationship between effort and success
happens over time and with a number of discussions and examples. Students must be
helped to see the relationship between effort, practice, and success, and it is these
relationships that should be the focus of any feedback. The teacher might want to have
such talks with individual students. So, she could set up writing conferences to discuss
with students how practice will help them become better writers.
Question 4 Text: Why would personal comments on this paper (e.g., “You are such a
good student”) be an example of inappropriate feedback?
Question 4 Hint: Comments about personal characteristics should be avoided. They can
result in students believing that traits rather than effort, practice, and knowledge cause
success.
Question 4 Feedback: Personal comments should be avoided. There is no reason to
make a personal comment on this paper. Personal comments are not formative—they do
not give students the information they need to do a better job. Personal comments don’t
help students understand that practice, effort, and knowledge can make a difference in
their performance and understanding.
Part 3: Final Quiz
Part 3 Introductory Text: The following video segment shows a fourth-grade class
discovering the characteristics of haiku. The students identify three characteristics of
haiku: there is a nature scene; it has three lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables;
and the poem expresses some emotion. After watching the video, you will be asked to
provide feedback to several students about their haiku compositions. The criteria for
providing feedback will be the characteristics that students identified during the lesson.
Video Title:
Discovering Haikus in Fourth Grade
Video Asset:
http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/myeducationlab/singleplay.php?projectID=eggen&cl
ipID=guided_discovery_elementary_classroom.flv
Haiku Samples:
Haiku 1
The window has frost
The streets are empty and white
The night whispers cold
Haiku 2
Football is very fun
I am a good footballer
My parents are proud
Haiku 3
The wind blows
Hard, cold, and mean
I want a hat
Haiku 4
I slither and crawl
The sun is wonderfully warm
People run away from me
Question 1 Text: What task feedback can be offered to the student who wrote these
haiku?
Question 1 Hint: The teacher has defined a haiku as poetry that is about nature, has a
5-7-5 syllabus structure, and shows emotion.
Question 1 Feedback: Written feedback may contain the following observations: these
are all interesting poems, but only one of the poems meets all three criteria. Haiku 1 is
about something in nature, follows the correct syllabi form, and shows emotion—just
what was assigned. Haiku 2 follows the correct 5-7-5 syllabi form and shares an emotion,
but it is not about nature. Haiku 3 is about nature and shows the emotion of desire, but it
does not follow the 5-7-5 structure. And Haiku 4 follows the correct 5-7-5 syllabi form
and the emotion of frustration can be interpreted, but it is not about nature. An additional
comment might discuss the good variety of the poems and how vivid they are.
Question 2 Text: What process feedback can be offered to the student who wrote these
poems?
Question 2 Hint: The teacher can provide feedback about the way in which the task was
approached, the relationship of what was done and the quality of the performance, and
other strategies that might have been used in accomplishing the task.
Question 2 Feedback: The teacher can suggest to the student that he or she rewrite
Haiku 3 and try to clap out the syllabi so that the 5-7-5 form is met. Haiku 2 needs to
include some reference to nature. The teacher might suggest that the second line be
changed to mention the season in which football is played and how the season looks or
feels. It might also be suggested to students that a list of the required criteria be kept close
by while they are composing the Haiku.
Question 3 Text: Why is it important to offer feedback that helps students become more
metacognitive and self-regulatory? Hypothesize as to how the teacher in the video might
have offered this type of feedback.
Question 3 Hint: Teacher feedback cannot force a particular student behavior, but it can
help students understand that learning requires effort and focused practice.
Question 3 Feedback: Helping students see the relationship between effort and success
happens over time and with a number of discussions and examples. Students must be
helped to see the relationship between effort, practice, and success, and it is these
relationships that should be the focus of any feedback. The teacher might want to have
such talks with individual students. So, she could set up writing conferences to discuss
with students how practice will help them become better writers.
Question 4 Text: Why would personal comments on this paper (e.g., “You are such a
good poet”) be an example of inappropriate feedback?
Question 4 Hint: Comments about personal characteristics should be avoided. They can
result in students believing that traits rather than effort, practice, and knowledge cause
success.
Question 4 Feedback: Personal comments should be avoided. There is no reason to
make a personal comment on this paper. Personal comments are not formative—they do
not give students the information they need to do a better job. Personal comments don’t
help students understand that practice, effort, and knowledge can make a difference in
their performance and understanding.
Question 5 Text: Give two effective methods for supplying feedback to students on a
writing assignment.
Question 5 Hint: Feedback should be intentional and clear. It should not be used to
compare students to each other, but to specific criteria or past individual performance.
Feedback is descriptive not evaluative and should be positive even when making
suggestions for the improvement of negative behaviors or products.
Question 5 Feedback: Possible feedback strategies would include: (1) the teacher can
show a student’s improvement from an earlier piece of work; (2) the teacher can point out
all the ways in which the assignment’s criteria were met; (3) the teacher can suggest that
by attending to the process strategies (how to do the assignment) mentioned in class, their
work will improve; and (4) the teacher can ask students to self-evaluate their work
against the assignment’s criteria. The tone of all feedback should be respectful and
oriented toward future success.