Quality Feedback
Feedback is an important part of the learning process. There are several different methods of providing substantive feedback to students. According to Hattie and Timperley (2007), feedback is information provided by someone (e.g., a teacher, a peer) or something (e.g., a textbook, experience) about aspects of one’s performance or understanding. Feedback is an essential part of the learning process since the information can help a learner determine the next steps for moving forward. However, there are many factors that can influence the effectiveness of feedback. The nature of the comments, the target of the feedback, the receptiveness and/or mindset of the learner, and so on all impact whether or not the feedback will be useful in promoting further learning.
Although developing feedback that promotes student learning is probably more of an art than a science, there are several elements to good feedback that educators can address to help ensure that their feedback is heading in the right direction.
Descriptive feedback & Prescriptive feedback
Descriptive feedback identifies what is directly present or observed in an assessment artifact or performance. This type of feedback helps to the answer the “how am I going?” question. Descriptive feedback should be oriented toward the work or performance as opposed to the student. For example, you might write a comment like the following:
“Mathematical work was presented to illustrate the process of solving a two-step linear equation. The work expertly demonstrates the steps involved in isolating the variable to determine the solution to the equation. The solution was correctly determined to be x = 3.”
Note that the above comments do not reference the student (such as “You did a nice job solving the equation…”). The descriptive feedback describes what is observed in the work and sets the stage for the second type of feedback—prescriptive feedback.
Prescriptive feedback identifies the next steps that need to be taken in the learning process. This type of feedback helps to answer the questions “where am I going?” and “where to next?” Again, prescriptive feedback should be oriented toward the work or performance rather than the student. For example, prescriptive feedback related to the descriptive feedback above might be:
“The submitted work accurately demonstrates the reverse application of order of operations in solving a two-step linear equation; the same procedures should be employed in solving linear equations that involve distributing through parentheses and combining like terms. Be sure to continue showing the same level of detail in the work provided.”
Integrating both descriptive and prescriptive feedback into feedback comments for the student helps to ensure that the three questions identified by Hattie and Timperley are addressed and that information provided helps guide the student in the learning process.
Sandwich Method and SII
Both the Sandwich Method and SII (Strengths, Insights, Improvements) rely on balancing positive feedback with areas of improvement. It's often easy for instructors to focus on where a student needs to improve with feedback rather than focus on things they did well on an assignment. It's also easy to just say, "great job," without a lot of context. This is where both the Sandwich and SII method of feedback can help.
The sandwich method is just like it sounds - you "sandwich" the areas of improvement with the strengths. So, you might write something like, "Your presentation was very engaging, and you did an excellent job keeping the audience interested with your examples and visuals. One thing to work on for next time is using more natural gestures throughout the speech and watch fidgeting with your hands. This will help you appear more natural and conversational. Overall, though, your enthusiasm and creativity really stood out, and it’s clear that you put a lot of effort into preparing."
The SII method is similar, organizing by Strengths, Improvements, and Insights. So, instead of the last strength in the sandwich method, you explain something you learned. This can also be useful for peer feedback in asking students to reflect upon what they learned from reading other student work. Using the last example, this might read as, "Your presentation was very engaging, and you did an excellent job keeping the audience interested with your examples and visuals. One thing to work on for next time is using more natural gestures throughout the speech and watch fidgeting with your hands. This will help you appear more natural and conversational. Thanks for sharing your topic - I learned more about cat behaviors."
Wise Feedback
"Wise" feedback recognizes the challenge of the task and expressing belief in the student based on previous work, experience or conversations. The focus of the feedback is to help the student reach their potential on the work, and explaining to the student that the feedback is designed to get them there. Here's an example:
This cultural application assignment is very difficult, but based on your reflection, I think you have a solid understanding of the material, and I know from previous assignments that you are a great writer. On this assignment, take a close look at Power Distance. Knowing what you know from the readings, try to go a little deeper in providing a specific example for what this might look like in Japan.
References:
Hattie, J., & Timperly, H. (2007, March). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. DOI: 10.3102/003465430298487.