Getting and giving feedback Open paper 1 – session 3 Gordon Stobart Emeritus Professor of Education Institute of Education, University of London

Feedback ‘Provides information which allows the learner to close the gap between current and desired performance’ ‘To be effective feedback needs to be clear, purposeful, meaningful, and compatible with students’ prior knowledge and to provide logical connections’. (Hattie & Timperley, 2007, p.104) Not all feedback helps learning. ‘In over one third of the cases Feedback Interventions reduced performance...we believe that researchers and practitioners alike confuse their feelings that feedback is desirable with the question of whether Feedback...benefits performance’. (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996)

Feedback that closes the gap ‘Provides information which allows the learner to close the gap between current and desired performance’ It is most effective when: It is effectively timed and is specific and clear; It is clearly linked to the learning intention; The learner understands the success criteria/standard; It focuses on the task rather than the learner (self/ego); It gives cues at appropriate levels on how to bridge the gap; It offers strategies rather than solutions; It challenges, requires action, and is achievable.

The conditions for effective feedback A classroom climate of trust and motivation – who gets the feedback? (Higher achievers get more useful feedback, teachers use more humour with them); The learners must be clear about where they are going and what success looks like; The teacher must know what the learner understands and can do; The teacher understands progression in a topic/subject.

Teachers getting feedback from their pupils about their teaching You haven’t taught until they’ve learned – John Wooden decide what pupils find difficult (from previous years) and adjust teaching (‘Pre-emptive feedback’); analyse classroom and summative assessments to see what has been done badly and re-teach; Pick up from classroom dialogue what is known and what has been misunderstood – then address this.

Knowing where learners need to go: Success criteria – practising what is needed Scaffolding – Provide a first attempt for the students to show what they know. – Offer informal feedback / Have students identify the next step – Provide an opportunity for a second attempt to reach the goals, using the chosen next step. (adapted from Clarke, Owens & Sutton) (active, making sense, choice, practice, self- assessment)

Feedback that closes the gap ‘Provides information which allows the learner to close the gap between current and desired performance’ It is most effective when: It is effectively timed and is specific and clear; It is clearly linked to the learning intention; The learner understands the success criteria/standard; It focuses on the task rather than the learner (self/ego); It gives cues at appropriate levels on how to bridge the gap; It offers strategies rather than solutions; It challenges, requires action, and is achievable.

Effective timing The most effectively timed feedback is everyday classroom feedback which is informal (oral best), comes during the work, and feeds forward. Classroom feedback can be delayed if students are motivated out of personal interest (intrinsic) – the teacher should not ‘rescue’ too soon. End of assignment feedback should be as soon as possible and allow time to deal with the feedback.

20 ways to make 20 – be creative (first maths homework in secondary school)

Effective feedback: Task & effort-related  It focuses on the TASK rather than the learner (self/ego);  It gives cues at appropriate levels on how to bridge the gap: the task/process/self-regulation loop Task level: get more/correct information (‘check the facts about...’) – ‘corrective feedback’ - best on simple tasks Process level: improving processing of information or learning processes – error detection/cueing and information search (‘how could this argument be strengthened?’; ‘Can you think of a more dramatic ending?’) Self-regulation level: creating internal feedback & self- assessment, engaging with feedback info. (‘have you used what you know about writing up an experiment? What would your own judgement be?)

Giving feedback: prompts (1) Teach rather than wait for feedback (level 0) When there are common misunderstandings don’t wait for mistakes Example prompt (level 1) When need to clarify what student is attempting to learn – for example a student is struggling to find a quick strategy to solve a maths problem. The teacher shows two ways it could be solved: ‘you could do either or you may have thought of another strategy’ ( M.Absolum )

Describe what lunchtime is like for you on a school day for somebody who doesn’t know

Skilled feedback with low quality work Teacher: I read your paragraph. Sounds like you really hate lunchtime. Student: Yeah. Is that why this paragraph isn’t as good as what you usually write. Yeah, I hate lunchtime. I didn’t want to write about it. Is the noise the worst part? Yeah. Can you tell me about it? You can’t think. The kids are always yelling, and the teachers yell too. Why is that? I don’t know. When one person yells, you have to be heard over him. OK. Do you think the gym has anything to do with it? Yeah. The gym is a big room, so there are lots of kids. And everything echoes. You just told me more about the noisy lunchtime than you put in your paragraph. Would you like to rewrite your paragraph to add some of the points to it? (Source: Susan Brookhart).

Giving feedback: prompts (2) Scaffolding prompt (level 2) When student still struggling with concepts or skills – ‘what do these measurements show us?’ Reminder prompt (level 3) When learning ‘almost there’ and need reminder to use it – ‘Remember that the conclusion must link back to the topic in the opening paragraph’ Provocative prompt (level 4) When the learner has met the success criteria feedback which calls for further development/thinking - ‘You’ve succeeded in this – can you think of another method you could have used’; ‘How would you argue against it rather than for it?’

Feedback often does not improve learning because: It does not close the gap: grades/marks; praise/rewards; unclear; too general (‘more detail’). It is directed at self/ego level rather than the task. The learner can choose to: modify the standard; abandon the standard (‘retire hurt’); reject the feedback/messenger.

‘too general’ Feedback – written comments These were the total comments over 6 months in one subject for a 12 year old: Read carefully / Finish, colour /Good / Back of book /Read /Quite good / Why? Explain /Study diagram / Very poor / Keep trying harder /Please try harder to improve spelling and neatness /If you need help, ask/ Concentrate 100% - check words /Please listen to instructions. You should have copied out sentences / Mixed. Some understandings, decent spelling but the book asked you to explain How informative is feedback if we can’t even tell what subject it is?

Negative feedback as a ‘thorn’ ‘write more’ – ‘If I knew more I would have written it – I don’t know what more to write. Teachers should tell me what is missing’ (14 yr old Norwegian pupil) When pupils are not given time to act on the feedback they see it as negative and critical which makes them feel ‘useless’. If the are given time and the teacher follows up on the feedback it is treated as positive. (Gamlem and Smith)

The problem with praise ‘….feedback tends to be general and unspecific, consisting mainly of praise, and consequently, there is a lack of feedback on how to proceed with learning’ ( Gamlen and Smith, 2013 ) Praise is the most common form of feedback – yet has little impact on learning. Why? Because: It is directed at the person not the task & does not provide information about how to improve. It can ‘create a growing dependence on securing someone else’s approval’ (Kohn). It may move the focus from the task to the learner – so any praise should encourage self-regulation directed at task. Expert teachers praise less than novice teachers (expectations)

Effective feedback Lipnevich & Smith’s research (2009) 464 university students write a 500 word draft essay One-third get no detailed feedback, one-third get detailed instructor feedback, one-third get detailed computer generated feedback. Half also get grades and half get praise So 12 groups in all (3x2x2 design) Essay given back and final version written Essay re-marked and marks compared

Effective feedback Lipnevich & Smith’s research (2009) (2) Highest marks (mean=84) for detailed feedback from instructor with no grades or praise. Best for low achieving students. Lowest marks (mean=74) for no feedback, praise or grades. Praise slightly improved scores where grade had been given. ‘Descriptive feedback, which conveys information on how one performs the task and details ways to overcome difficulties, is far more effective than evaluative feedback, which simply informs students about how well they did.’

Learning to give feedback: Snowballing peer assessment to a best answer Students arranged in groups of 3 or 4 Students given questions or calculations to do – work alone at first (5 mins) Students compare answers, reasoning, working etc. noting differences. They discuss and try to agree – Which are correct or best methods, workings, reasonings and answers and why – The group’s idea of the ‘best answer’ – What errors were made and why Students then given model answers and compare with group answers Class discussion of issues. (Source: G.Petty)