Why Is Descriptive Feedback So Important?
By Jennifer Schultz who values the diverse student population she works with and shares tips for providing effective feedback here.
So, you try a new recipe and as your significant other’s mouth is full, they mumble “It’s good!” You light up a bit but the dish took over an hour to prepare, and you think...that’s it, “It’s good??” Now, if they would have said, “Wow, how did you get the chicken so tender, it’s delicious. I do feel like it could use a bit more spice, and I’m really impressed that you added cauliflower.” Then you know exactly what to do for the next attempt.
It’s the same for students (or for that matter, other professionals you’re working with), descriptive and effective feedback provides a “road map,” to where you’ve been and where you need to head to complete your journey. Feedback is especially important for English Learners (ELs). English Learners who are still acquiring language need to understand what they are doing well and where specific improvement needs to be made. This is especially powerful when you add in good instructional modeling (through think alouds or reteaching).
But, I’m looking at it more generally, because as we know...what’s good for ELs is also good for other learners. As Confianza has previously suggested, we are all ALLs (Academic Language Learners)!
Many of us grew up in a time where the teacher said, “Good job!,” and we beamed, but what did we do well? You had no idea what was good, and where you should invest your time to improve for the next attempt. This is why descriptive feedback is so important and when it’s descriptive, it’s effective.
How to Give Effective Feedback
Pick a task that you know students will have multiple attempts at before you do a final assessment.
Be very specific. Think about the bench marks you want students to obtain. When you’re thinking from an English Language Learner (ELL) lens, think of where your students are and one or two more steps to move towards the next level of language acquisition.
Make sure feedback is timely, so students can act on it.
Use a stars and stairs approach- point out one thing they’ve done really well and one thing they can do to improve.
Only pick one (or two small) things to work on for the next time. The faster they master a skill/goal the faster you can provide them with more feedback for their next steps.
Leave students with a reminder of what they’re working on. Leave the primary students with a Post-It with a graphic representation of their goal. And leave older kids with an exemplar as a model.
*for additional pointers see link http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el201209_takeaways.pdf)
Descriptive feedback can be given through conferring or written and handed back. Personally, I’m a talker so I would rather have a quick conference over writing out long notes for a student. The conference also provides a time for a teachable moment and for questioning. But remember to leave the student with some sort of reminder of what they’re working on.
This may seem like daunting work, but it’s ever so powerful. Not only are you individualizing what students need, but you’re also learning about each students strengths and weaknesses (and with older students you can work to implement peer feedback- - take some of your load off), not to mention you are giving students an opportunity to connect with the teacher (time most students desperately crave). I promise you, the hard work you put in will have a big output.
A Few Examples of Descriptive Feedback
K-2nd grade reading for fluency
Star: You really focused on that vowel team we’ve been working on, and read those words carefully/correctly.
Step: When the character is speaking, what does their voice sound like? Can you read it again making your voice sound just like that? “When readers read they make their voice sound like the character speaking, so they understand what they are reading even better,” (building speaking fluency with a speech emergent language learner).
Middle School Science
Star: I notice you have all of the parts of the cell labeled, your diagram is detailed because of that.
Step: Also include where certain functions of the cell take place (label the noun and corresponding verb to build vocabulary with pre-production and early production language learners).
It’s Not So Different With Adults:
When looking through a coaching lens, you need to follow a similar approach with colleagues. Coaching feedback should describe but never evaluate. You need specificity, to point out the positives, and to give them one or two things to “think about.” The one caution would be you don’t want to approach with a judgemental attitude. It’s never “such-and-such,” looked wrong. Or, I’ve seen Mrs. Smith down the hall do it “this way,” and it works so much better. You want the individual you’re coaching to come up with what they think they need to work on in order to be most effective. If they need a gentle nudge in a certain direction come at it with a non-threatening question. For example, how do you think it went when you moved Fred to the back of the classroom? What might you try differently next time?
When they’ve come up with their plan, support them by offering resources, suggestions, or modeling. Make sure you both agree on and articulate a plan. And then check back in after a few weeks to see how things are going and if any modifications to the plan need to be made.
Here are some examples:
High School Math
Star: I noticed you walked around as the students were working on the 5 problems you assigned. It seemed like you were really getting an idea of who understood the process.
Step: Might you provide a word bank of the vocabulary you wanted students to use while explaining the process for solving. And/or consider providing some sentence frames to discuss the order of the process. (building speaking skills with level pre-production, speech emergent, and/or beginning fluency language learners)
Consider the power of asking questions, like “What would happen if…” or “Would you consider trying…” When we provide someone (a child or an adult) a choice, it is empowering and the decision to take that next step comes from them.
In conclusion, all people are looking for descriptive and effective feedback from your students, colleagues, significant others, or even your own children. The more specific you can be in helping them be successful the more positive outcome you’ll have. And one last thing...celebrate those successes! Let them know how proud you are of the hard work they’ve put in to move forward. It’s really all about positive communication.
References
The collective wisdom of authors (2012, September). Educational Leadership: “Feedback for Learning,” 70, Issue 1.
To Further Your Learning
Articles
Scherer, M. (2012, September). Perspectives/Finessing Feedback. Educational Leadership, 70, 7-7.
Books
Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms by Dylan William
Coaching Classroom Instruction by Robert Marzano and Julia A. Simms
Choice Words by Peter Johnston