Giving feedback
Feedback can play a powerful role in student learning. It can help students identify gaps in their knowledge or faulty thinking and help them to improve analytic and other skills for future assignments.
What you'll find here
Feedback needs to be effectively communicated to be beneficial to students. This page has information related to important principles adapted from Wiggins (2012) to make your feedback as useful as possible including aligning feedback with course outcomes, formative and summative assessment, response time and use of positive language.
Principles of effective feedback
Specific
What is the problem that has been identified? How can it be remedied? If the work is good, why is it good?
Aligned with course outcomes/evaluation criteria
Focus on giving feedback that helps students better meet the learning outcomes of the course and the goal(s) of the assignment.
Feedforward
If you are providing feedback on a draft or formative assessment, give specific feedback that highlights what the student needs improvement on in leading up to a summative assessment.
When giving feedback on a summative assessment, link feedback to the assignment’s grading criteria. Remember that summative assessments allow students to express their overall learning in a course. Pointing out specific qualities in a student’s assignment can help them develop an understanding of their capabilities as they progress through the course and beyond
Prioritized & balanced
Try not to overwhelm students with too much feedback (especially if it’s critical). Prioritize the most important two or three elements. Make sure there is a balance of things to work on and things the student has done well.
Timely
Aim to provide feedback to students as soon as possible. This gives students time to apply feedback when preparing for subsequent assessments.
Mindful
Try to use positive language to strike a supportive tone. Feedback is a powerful tool for promoting a continuous improvement mentality.
Examples of effective vs. ineffective feedback
Instead of:
Using "???" or saying the work is "vague", try saying:
"Can you clarify what you mean in this paragraph by providing specific examples or references to class material?"
Why
Being more specific with the feedback, pointing out which areas are unclear and what can be done to remedy it.
Instead of saying:
"This is bad", try saying:
"I appreciate the effort, but you are missing crucial pieces to the project’s criteria, such as _________ & __________.
Be sure to read the assignment description and rubric thoroughly for the criteria next time, and please don't hesitate to ask me questions along the way if you are unsure."
Why
Striking a more positive tone, outline specifically which evaluation criteria the student has missed out on. Prioritize what’s important.
By mentioning future assignments, this feedback is feedforward so that the student has an opportunity to apply this feedback.
Instead of:
Saying, "Good job", try saying:
"You did a great job outlining the process of your research in your report. Your writing is clear and detailed, but concise."
Why
The student met the goals of the assignment but might not know why. This is an opportunity to remind them of the intended learning outcomes they’ve achieved.
References
Clarkston, B., & Barker, M. (2014). Guidelines for giving effective feedback on students’ writing. In University of British Columbia [Summary Handout]. SFU TA/TM Day, Canada. https://lstl-cwsei.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2014/01/Wrap-up%E2%80%93Effective-Feedback-on-Writing-Guidelines-Resources.pdf
Wiggins, G. (2012). Seven keys to effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 10-16. https://pdo.ascd.org/lmscourses/PD13OC005/media/FormativeAssessmentandCCSwithELALiteracyMod_3-Reading2.pdf