This week we read Susan M. Brookhart's article, Feedback that fits. I thought this was an excellent resource that provided specific examples to help begin the process of providing formative feedback to students. I agree that feedback provided in a constructive, yet positive way, can motivate students to strive for improvement. As I reflect on this article, I go back to my experience as a supervisor in a Title I program where my teachers have such limited amount of time with their students. Providing feedback is a fantastic way to motivate these kids to love learning, yet the teachers don't seem to have enough time to provide the formative feedback--or it isn't a natural thing to do for many, so the "good job" and "way to go" are often what I hear when going out to site visits. I plan to share Brookhart's article with my staff to get people thinking about the way they provide feedback to their students.
Reflections: Setting Objectives, Providing Feedback, Providing Recognition
I learned that helping students set objectives for themselves in the learning process helps to give them more ownership. While I have always viewed it as the teacher's role and hadn't really thought of students in the role of setting objectives, I have always believed in collecting data from the students to help drive instruction; which is, essentially, a way of having the students involved in this process. I learned that it is as simple as using a survey or a KWHL chart to facilitate students setting objectives for lessons.
The types of technology I can use to provide feedback include student responders, email, voice messages, eyejot videos, and more. What I have learned is the importance of the feedback being as immediate as possible in order to make a connection with the student(s). The feedback will be most effective when it is specific to the task being evaluated and suggestions for growth are included.
I can think of a time we used an award ceremony to provide recognition for our Title I students. Students were recognized for exceptional progress, stellar attendance and positive attitudes. This event was extremely successful and had a lasting impact on our students’ attitudes toward learning in the Title I room. Recognition does not always have to be presented in such a grand scale, but in order to motivate the group as a whole, this mid-year event helped students and teachers to hit the home stretch of the school year feeling a sense of renewal.
Sue, I enjoyed reading your post. I'm curious, because you don't work with kids, do you still find yourself using these strategies in your work?
ReplyDeleteAt my school, we also have an awards ceremony for students who earn 3.00 and higher every semester as well as students who have shown significant improvement in the semester in their academic areas. It's really a great site to see how much pride the students take in being involved in this ceremony and it really shows that many of the kids want to do well and enjoy being recognized for their efforts. It's great to see kids get excited about something they did through their hard efforts in school!
ReplyDeleteSue, nice post. It is interesting about the awards ceremony that you mention. In the Coast Guard over the past few years, we have been getting drummed over the head with the thought of "informal recognition." While we have historically done a great job of recognizing our people for outstanding performance (going beyond the call of duty) or for the culmination of a tour or career, we hadn't been doing a very good job as an Organization with giving the day-to-day feedback that many of our personnel want. I try my best to praise my people as often as I can for doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. But as you said, there is limited time in the day... and I've got my own work to do too!
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