Strategy: Providing Academic Feedback
Check-Up Menu > Providing Academic Feedback
Use this strategy to improve these areas:
Overview
Academic feedback is an objective description of a student’s performance intended to guide future performance. Effective feedback communicates where a student is in relationship to the learning objectives and provides information on how to get to the objectives from there. Immediate feedback is best so that students are learning new concepts correctly; however, feedback is also provided through graded or corrected assignments. It is important to be sensitive to students’ culture when providing feedback to ensure that they are able to receive and use the feedback to improve their academic performance.
Purpose
Academic feedback helps students assess their performance, identifies areas where they are on target, and provides tips on what they can do to improve in areas that need correcting. Academic feedback serves to reduce errors and increase student engagement and achievement.
How Providing Academic Feedback Relates to CARES
Providing effective academic feedback requires sensitivity to students’ cultures. Some cultural groups are mastery focused (i.e., completing the task) while others are effort focused (e.g., learning from the process). In some cultural groups, praise is valued and in other groups, it is considered to be embarrassing to receive public praise. For some, criticism is considered more valuable than praise because it can be used for growth (Trumbull & Rothstein-Fisch, 2011). More important than thinking about how innumerable cultural groups might respond to feedback, it is best to build authentic relationships and get to know how each student best responds to academic feedback in the classroom.
Some key elements to providing effective academic feedback include:
1) The feedback is timely. Feedback should be given as close to student performance as possible. Good opportunities to provide feedback are when returning a test, following oral responses to questions, or to clarify misconceptions.
2) The feedback is constructive and corrective. Tell the student what they are doing that is correct and not correct. Feedback should be related to the learning objective and the essential elements of the assignment.
3) The feedback is specific. Use precise language on what to improve in relation to a specific learning target or goal.
4) The feedback focuses on the product, not the student. Provide guidance on how to improve (e.g., strategies, tips, suggestions, reflective questioning, etc.).
5) The feedback is verified. Determine if the student understood the feedback and provide opportunities for the student to modify the assignment or product based on the feedback.
How To
How to Provide Academic Feedback
Academic feedback occurs when students have an opportunity to respond during instruction. Therefore, instruction that provides high rates of opportunities to respond (see Increasing Opportunities to Respond) also provides more opportunities for giving academic feedback.
Strategy Tool
Use the Academic Feedback strategy tool to learn a specific correction procedure and to think about how it might be applied with different types of students in your classroom.
Reflection
Take a moment to reflect on how you will deliver effective academic feedback, particularly when covering new material.
Goal Setting
Use the following form to set your academic feedback goals.
References to Other Relevant Resources:
Hofmeister, A. M., & Lubke, M. (2011). Research into practice: Implementing effective teaching strategies (4th ed.). Logan, UT: Academic Success for All Learners.
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Trumbull, E., & Rothstein-Fisch, C. (2011). The intersection of culture and achievement motivation. School Community Journal, 21(2), 25-53.