Clarendon’s mother very occasionally reads this newsletter, and she was kind enough to feed back to me that Tuesday’s newsletter was littered with mistakes and that I should think about cutting down the number of newsletters we send.
Well, I won’t do that.
However, it did get me thinking about what constructive feedback looks like. As educators, constructive feedback that allows a student to grow is crucial to our jobs and it is not always easy: there are students who are obsessed by scores rather than feedback, there are students that want to justify what they have done and there are students that are far too self-critical.
Here are some quick tips for parents and educators alike on how to give good feedback:
1 – Make it specific and actionable
‘This is terrible’ is not a helpful thing to say on a number of levels. As well as damaging confidence, it doesn’t offer the student a clear path to greater success. The same is true for generic positive feedback; ‘great job’ is nice to hear, but it doesn’t make clear what it is the student should be repeating. Constructive feedback should be clear, specific and actionable. eg. In order to improve for next time, you must evaluate in your answer. This means saying which factor you believe is most important and justifying yourself. This can be done at the end of each body paragraph and the conclusion. This will allow you to score in the top band for AO3 marks.
2 – Link the feedback to learning goals
The example feedback above mentions an exam board assessment objective. This is key. Every bit of feedback should be linked to the student’s learning goals. You need to clear on what these goals are and frame each piece of feedback as a step needed to reach these goals. You should almost celebrate when a mistake is made because it allows you and your student to assess and adjust for next time, helping them get closer to their goal.
3 – Adjust it for the mindset of your student
If your student is too self-critical? Get them to pick out something they’re proud of. If your student is mark obsessed? Don’t always give them a mark. If your student is low on confidence? Highlight something specific that you asked them to do that they fulfilled, showing them that they can do it.
4 – Encourage self-reflection
Always get your student to assess their own work and their own approach. What would they tweak to improve for next time? This not only fosters self-regulated learning, but it encourages a growth mindset.
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We hope there’s something in here for all educators and all parents.