Evaluative Techniques and Feedback

Wow! Some great ideas so far! Effective feedback is an issue/concern that I have thought about a lot lately. I think that Krystal made 3 very good points

1. Students are more than just a letter grade...what kind of feedback should we be giving our students to make them feel like we are trying to support their learning??

2. Each student should be given a fair chance at evaluation...how do we make this "fair". what does "fair" mean - that everyone has equal opportunity to demonstrate what they know.

3. Giving effective feedback can change a student....so true. Effective feedback may be one of the most important "teaching strategies" in supporting students learning. In my education, I feel as though effective feedback was lacking the most. What does a letter grade really mean?? How can students change their product to improve their letter grade??? Effective feedback is often NOT the easiest feedback.

I think it’s just as important to think about student strengths and personalities when assessing students (as it is to think about when teaching students). I remember watching my principle teach a student in one of the alternative schools that I worked in. Although we weren’t in “class” per se (in fact, we were in her office), after discussing a discipline issue, she “checked in” with the student about a history test that was set for the next day. Asking if the student remembered about a certain period in history, the student looked somewhat dumbfounded. She quickly transitioned into drama mode, acting like one of the people/event he was to remember. Through this process, the student was able to engage his mind and his body and recall pertinent information about the historical event. Rather than hearing about the event verbally ( this and this happened)….he was learning visually and kinesthetically as well. I was in awe. Just as students learn better in different ways, they also demonstrate what they know in different ways. It is important that we think about student strengths and their personalities when assessing students.

I think Patrick makes a good point about Grade/Letter marks versus Pass/Fail. I think it is critical that we foster internal motivation in our students such that they will be driven because they want to learn, rather than being driven by acceptance of others (e.g., a letter grade)…only this isn’t all that simple. Sometimes, by instilling a pass/fail system, students fail to learn the information presented. I wonder if we could foster more of an internal motivation for students if they took ownership for how they would demonstrate the information learned? By giving them this kind of choice, students might be less likely to try to fit in a certain “box” to try and please the teacher.

I am very intrigued with the 6 + 1 process that Katrina has written about when evaluating writing. In my LA class, we too are working on a writing portfolio that focuses on writing/feedback/changes/feedback etc so there is more focus on the process of writing. Although this seems like more work, it is definitely more effective in terms of learning. This process makes us (students) look at the feedback presented and incorporate it into our finished product.