Feedback

Feedback.

How is it important in education?

Feedback is crucial in modern schools; it is a skill that teachers moving forward need to possess as an essential part of their assessment strategies.

As an example, I found myself while in Education 3P70 thinking that the first assignment was not very important, as I could use the feedback written on the page to improve my next one and therefore obtain the grades which are my goal and ensure that I am learning the material to the extent and in the manner that the professor intended. I am using the feedback from that paper as a direct influence on what and how I learn while enrolled in that course. While working on that course, every aspect of my involvement, mindset, research and writing methods is influenced by the feedback that I receive every week.

We as humans depend on, and give, feedback every day whether at work, school, or even within social interaction with peers. While in a conversation, factors such as their tone of voice, body language, diction, and even the use of silence are all forms of feedback that can be used to determine how well the conversation is going. Most importantly, while in school, feedback on tests, assignments, and behaviour are all crucial to ensure that the message being put forward by a teacher to his or her students is the most constructive one possible, that is optimized to ensure that the student is always learning.

In an article by Bob Dignen on his Cambridge blog, he states that feedback is the most important skill for a person to have because it ensures that people are listening effectively, motivating each other, developing performance skills, and responding to the world around us. One of the more interesting points that he puts forward is that, in giving and receiving effective feedback, we are always learning. A simple “yes,” “no,” or “good job” is not sufficient to make a student consider where they can improve in the future; that is where feedback comes in.

(Five reasons why feedback may be the most important skill, 2014)

                                       

Anna Malik approaches the idea of positive feedback from another angle on her blog. She argues that, psychologically, good feedback is essential for students to develop motivation and confidence. She states that feedback should be relevant, specific, timely, valuable, and accurate. She also applies the importance of feedback to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (below), which states that the higher levels of motivation cannot be accessed unless the lower levels are satisfied. A lack of good feedback from a model figure could lead to a student losing their self-confidence and motivation, as well as having a degrading effect on their creativity and critical thinking skills.

(Why Positive Feedback is Important!, 2014)

                                       Source: Malik, Why Positive Feedback is Important!

How then, are we as Ontarians treating feedback? The ministry of education’s document “Growing Success” contains a chapter entitled “Reporting Student Achievement” (47-65), which contains a lot of information on how to properly file report cards and the administrative details which must be satisfied before they are submitted and sent out, but does not feature a wealth of information on feedback. In fact, while the idea of placing grades as either numbers or letters depending on the age of the student is well described, the section on feedback is somewhat limited to a subheading containing information on the necessity of writing “anecdotal comments,” and the writers even feel the need to state that copying and pasting comments is not allowed which suggests that this has been an issue in the past. This focus on marks and grades leads students to prioritize their percentage rather than to focus on the feedback they receive. I drew a quick sketch (below) which pictures the unfortunate focus of many students when they receive a graded paper:

                   the actual paper                          versus                 what the student focuses on

 
















                                                                       Source: Evan Arseneau

This is an extremely negative mindset that inhibits eternal learning in our students, a mindset adopted from the administration which ignores the multiple positive influences of good feedback. Students who succeed fail to incorporate the suggestions of the teacher in future work and students who fail see the mark and begin to lose motivation and confidence as described by Anna Malik. 

Feedback is essential, we live and breathe feedback every day in our interactions with others, and it is time for the focus in assessment to shift from marks and grades to constructive, well-written feedback; not only for teachers to write it, but for students to be willing to read and learn from it. 


 REFERENCES:

Anna Malik. (2014, May 2). Why Positive Feedback is Important!: The Oxford TEFL Blog [Web Log Comment]. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordtefl.com/2014/05/3-reasons-positive-feedback-important/

Bob Dignen. (2014, March 17). Five reasons why feedback may be the most important skill: Cambridge Conversations [Web Log Comment]. Retrieved from http://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2014/03/five-reasons-feedback-may-important-skill/

Feedback vs Student Focus [image]. (2015). Created by Evan Arseneau

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs [image]. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.oxfordtefl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs.jpg

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2010). Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and reporting in Ontario Schools. (ISBN No. 978-1-4435-2285-4). Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf