Giving
Feedback
Assigning
Responsibility for Learning (Case Study)
This semester, in line with the On Course principles, I tried a
new approach that puts more of the responsibility for learning on the
student, which is where it belongs, and less on me. This strategy
will work for any courses in which students regularly submit projects
(especially on paper) and the instructor provides feedback.
Model Workplace Habits Rating Scale
The
purpose of this form is to help Auto Body Repair and Painting (ABRP)
students and instructors evaluate student work habits/ethics in compliance
with the NATEF certification guidelines. In this context, "ethical"
will be defined as behavior which is demonstrated according to professional
standards (in the automotive industry). This tool can be used throughout
the semester to facilitate acquisition of work habits/ethical standards,
and as a component which contributes to the student's overall grade
for an ABRP course.
Examples
of Teacher-Designed/Scored Feedback Questionnaires (PDF file)
Teaching
is a complex process that rests in large part on the quality of the
exchanges between students and teacher. As is true of any complex skill,
becoming a good teacher requires both careful self-analysis and feedback
from others. Getting feedback from your students is a good way to develop
better teaching skills.
Return tests and assignments at the next class meeting
Several
excellent teachers stressed the importance of giving students prompt
feedback on their performance. "When I schedule student assignments,
I block out my own time for grading them immediately following class,"
one engineering professor says. "This is important for two reasons.
...
Discuss solutions or answers to tests and assignments
One
engineering teacher says that even if he cannot return graded assignments
or exams, he always discusses the answers at the next class meeting.
"I want to correct any misunderstandings and reinforce their learning
as soon as possible," he says. "Students are much more receptive
to this right after completing an assignment."
Handing out or posting solutions to exams, quizzes, and assignments
as soon as students turn in their work
One
chemistry professor does this in all his courses. "There is no
point in making students wait several days or weeks to find out how
they did," this professor explains. "They are most interested
in the results at the time of the examinations, and it is at the time
of examination that the greatest reinforcement of the learning can take
place."
Make extensive constructive comments on student work
Several
excellent teachers stressed the need to give students positive as well
as negative feedback and to suggest ways in which they might have strengthened
their responses. "Students need to know what they are doing well,"
in addition to what they need to improve," says one professor of
history. "I am always careful to praise their strengths and to
be as constructive and helpful as possible in pointing out their weaknesses."
Providing Feedback
Do
you know how to provide "feedback" to students (as a process
distinct from "testing") in a way that helps enhance their
learning?
Giving Feedback
Feedback
is communication to another individual for the purpose of facilitating
self-awareness and self-understanding.
