Feedback for Learning

Feedback to Facilitate
Published in Education Times, TOI, 22nd September, 2008 By Meeta Mohanty

Akanksha, the description of the rainy day is beautiful. You have tried making a poem and the drawing also explains your idea very well. You can try using some more rhyming words.

Varun, I really liked the way you have recorded your observations. Your drawings are elaborate and you seem to have paid good attention to the minute details. It would be a nice idea if you try writing your observations in a list form next time. What about observing a banana leaf?

Imagine yourself as a child who receives this feedback on the task as opposed to a regular ‘good’ or ‘needs improvement’ by the teacher.
Feedback is one of the most powerful tool that a teacher can employ to facilitate learning in classroom. It can be used for a variety of purposes. For example to assess the learning outcomes, motivate a child’s indigenous style of expression, challenge his/her thinking, suggest alternatives etc. Feedback is as important as learning in a child centered classroom. It is often either ignored or evaluative in most cases resulting in loss of learning situations. Let’s examine some key features of effective feedback:

v Feedback should be both on the process and the product of learning. It is important to appreciate the efforts and unique style of a child. It also needs to provide a description of the expected learning outcome and help the child to assess his/her learning.
v Feedback should be quick following a task so that it can be implemented. It is also important for a feedback to be simple and comprehensible by the child. Avoid using judgemental words like good or bad.
v Make feedback clear, specific and complete. Do not use words like you can improve, well-written etc. Such feedback create bewilderment in the child as to what he/she should improve or what was good in writing the content, presentation, choice of words, style etc.
v Effective verbal feedback entails attentive listening by the teacher and other children. In most cases it is seen that the classroom discourse remains closed with teacher wielding power to initiate questions and also evaluate the responses as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Efforts should be aligned to make learning dialogic wherein a child initiates question and other children can offer perspectives. In such a classroom the onus shifts from a unidirectional flow of information to an inquiry centered classroom.
v To help children probe the subject matter, it is important for a teacher to give adequate wait time to students to respond. Often teachers ask closed questions like ‘When is Gandhi Jayanti celebrated?’ ‘What was he popularly known as?’ Hardly do we come across questions that challenge thinking, help children gather evidences or express opinions. To facilitate thinking the same theme can be dealt by asking probing questions like, ‘Do you think Gandhiji was right in breaking the salt law? How do you know about Gandhiji?’ Such questions give scope for subjective interpretations. An effort should be made to break away from the tradition of asking rhetorical questions.
v A teacher needs to vary the feedback according to a child’s level of accomplishment. For example if a child who has just begun to write receives a punitive feedback telling that he or she needs to improve her spellings or check grammar use can be de-motivating. It is important that the teacher provides constructive feedback highlighting the strengths of the written piece. A teacher should use feedback as a mechanism to enhance learning and not dismiss learning. Teacher’s expectations can be conveyed subtly and can be suggestive.
v Personalized feedback work wonders than generic ones. Addressing children by their names and highlighting their strengths increases the probability of desired outcome. It motivates and empowers the child.
v Feedback should be authentic and not just praise devoid of context.
v A teacher should be cautious of using negative injunctions like: Don’t write in upper case, Poor, Untidy work, Incomplete. Such statements are power-centric, closed and may disconnect the child with the learning process. Efforts should be made to engage emotions of the child by making feedback dialogic and non-threatening.
v It is imperative to set an equation for mutual feedback. Thus a child can provide constructive feedback to his/her peers. He or she should be encouraged to express views on what an educator creates. Such practices help in making the child fearless and democratic while giving feedback. It also decentralizes the power dynamics in the classroom.