Perspectives and Resources
What is "feedback?"
Feedback is a form of information provided by one individual to another about reactions to a product or regarding the person's performance of a task.
Feedback comes in many forms:
Feedback is a form of information provided by one individual to another about reactions to a product or regarding the person's performance of a task.
Feedback comes in many forms:
- a word
- a gesture
- an emoticon
- a facial expression
- a written comment
- a mark
- a grade or level
Feedback is the lifeblood of learning.
~ Derek Rowntree
Why is feedback so important?
Feedback should be used as a basis for improvement.
Feedback is an essential component of effective change, and therefore improvement, and one of the roles of an educator is to seek to improve things. Feedback facilitates the understanding of:
Feedback should be used as a basis for improvement.
Feedback is an essential component of effective change, and therefore improvement, and one of the roles of an educator is to seek to improve things. Feedback facilitates the understanding of:
- What we can change to get better results
- The rate of progress towards a goal
- What needs to happen to improve relationships
- Whether something is worth doing
- How well we are doing
- What others think of us or how they value us
- Our level of performance against a target
The essence of the teacher’s art lies on seeing what is needed in any given instance and how that might be offered.
~Margaret Donaldson
Austin's Butterfly:
Building Excellence in Student Work - Models, Critique, and Descriptive Feedback
Ron Berger from Expeditionary Learning demonstrates the transformational power of models, critique, and descriptive feedback to improve student work. Here he tells the story of Austin's Butterfly. First grade students at ANSER Charter School in Boise, ID, helped Austin take a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product. Austin received critical descriptive feedback which made all the difference in his final product!
Ron Berger from Expeditionary Learning demonstrates the transformational power of models, critique, and descriptive feedback to improve student work. Here he tells the story of Austin's Butterfly. First grade students at ANSER Charter School in Boise, ID, helped Austin take a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product. Austin received critical descriptive feedback which made all the difference in his final product!
An Interesting Study
In 1983, Bandura and Cervone carried out research into feedback and published the result of some trials that they had carried out on a group of cyclists. The group of 80 cyclists was split equally into four smaller training groups. Their performance improvement was closely monitored.
The first group received clear performance goals.
The second did not receive goals, but did benefit from regular performance feedback.
The third group was given goals at the start and feedback throughout.
The fourth group was the control and got neither goals nor performance feedback.
The fourth group showed the least performance improvement by far and the third, which had goals and got feedback improved by nearly three times as much.
This illustrates just how important the giving of helpful feedback is to the development of individuals and the wider team.
[study from https://web.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/bandura/pajares/Bandura1983JPSP.pdf]
In 1983, Bandura and Cervone carried out research into feedback and published the result of some trials that they had carried out on a group of cyclists. The group of 80 cyclists was split equally into four smaller training groups. Their performance improvement was closely monitored.
The first group received clear performance goals.
The second did not receive goals, but did benefit from regular performance feedback.
The third group was given goals at the start and feedback throughout.
The fourth group was the control and got neither goals nor performance feedback.
The fourth group showed the least performance improvement by far and the third, which had goals and got feedback improved by nearly three times as much.
This illustrates just how important the giving of helpful feedback is to the development of individuals and the wider team.
[study from https://web.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/bandura/pajares/Bandura1983JPSP.pdf]
Consider how you might answers these questions:
Cambridge Education's "Making Feedback Count" answers these and more questions. Click here to access the full document.
Answers to these questions are also found in the Perspectives and Resources tabbed sections of this module.
- Why do we need to make our feedback count?
- How can we improve the quality of verbal feedback that students get in the classroom?
- How can we make our written feedback manageable for both us and our students?
- How can we make sure that students use our written feedback to learn and improve?
Cambridge Education's "Making Feedback Count" answers these and more questions. Click here to access the full document.
Answers to these questions are also found in the Perspectives and Resources tabbed sections of this module.
- A first step in "making feedback count" is to know your style.
- It is important to know your "perspective" on feedback.
Complete the exercise below to determine your feedback style.
What’s your Feedback Style?
Years of research into how we think and behave suggests that we all have one of two
preferred ways of processing information. This preference affects how we are motivated, tend to solve problems and take decisions. It also influences the way we like to get and to give feedback.
Which of the two columns below describes you most accurately? We are all a bit of both but the theory is that all of us have a preference for one or the other. For many of us, the preference is a clear one and can significantly influence the way we relate to other people.
Read each pair of statements in turn and tick the left or right column depending
on which of the two you think most accurately describes your true self. Tick the
middle column if you can’t decide.
Years of research into how we think and behave suggests that we all have one of two
preferred ways of processing information. This preference affects how we are motivated, tend to solve problems and take decisions. It also influences the way we like to get and to give feedback.
Which of the two columns below describes you most accurately? We are all a bit of both but the theory is that all of us have a preference for one or the other. For many of us, the preference is a clear one and can significantly influence the way we relate to other people.
Read each pair of statements in turn and tick the left or right column depending
on which of the two you think most accurately describes your true self. Tick the
middle column if you can’t decide.
The ‘descriptive’ style
|
The ‘supportive’ style
|
TOTAL_______
|
TOTAL_______
|
Now go on to look at what description suits you best on Feedback Styles.
The descriptive style:
You usually speak in a calm, dispassionate manner even when under stress. You tend not to have difficulty in keeping an appropriate distance from other people. Indeed, you can be reluctant to share how you feel and may be slow to notice when someone else needs help, especially emotional support.
You are concerned with truth and justice based on principles. You want to take decisions objectively and, when it comes to discipline, you want to be firm and fair and to make the consequences fit the crime. You like argument and debate and try to prove your point logically. You tend to analyze flaws in ideas, things and people and, on occasions, you can come across as hypercritical.
The concepts of progress and success are particularly important to you and you want opportunities to demonstrate your competence. You need to know why you are doing things and the criteria for grades and evaluations. When you are motivated and feel confident that you can be successful, you like being given challenging tasks and feel patronized when you are asked to do things that you feel are too easy.
You really want feedback on your competence. You like to be given credit for having a good idea or for doing something well. You want credible praise and have difficulty in accepting non-specific praise. You feel patronized when given praise or a reward for something that you do not consider worthy of it. When giving feedback, you can be tough-minded, direct, truthful and even blunt and may be seen as overly critical and less accepting.
You usually speak in a calm, dispassionate manner even when under stress. You tend not to have difficulty in keeping an appropriate distance from other people. Indeed, you can be reluctant to share how you feel and may be slow to notice when someone else needs help, especially emotional support.
You are concerned with truth and justice based on principles. You want to take decisions objectively and, when it comes to discipline, you want to be firm and fair and to make the consequences fit the crime. You like argument and debate and try to prove your point logically. You tend to analyze flaws in ideas, things and people and, on occasions, you can come across as hypercritical.
The concepts of progress and success are particularly important to you and you want opportunities to demonstrate your competence. You need to know why you are doing things and the criteria for grades and evaluations. When you are motivated and feel confident that you can be successful, you like being given challenging tasks and feel patronized when you are asked to do things that you feel are too easy.
You really want feedback on your competence. You like to be given credit for having a good idea or for doing something well. You want credible praise and have difficulty in accepting non-specific praise. You feel patronized when given praise or a reward for something that you do not consider worthy of it. When giving feedback, you can be tough-minded, direct, truthful and even blunt and may be seen as overly critical and less accepting.
The supportive style:
You may get very involved when discussing something important to you and become
loud and animated. When you feel close to someone, you may want to use some kind of physical expression like a pat on the back, a hug or an arm round the shoulder.
You are skilled at seeing things from the other person’s perspective. You often put others needs before your own and enjoy pleasing people even in seemingly unimportant matters. You tend to make decisions subjectively, basing them on strongly held values and personal identification with the person or the situation. You need to know how the decisions will affect people. When it comes to discipline, you are likely to want to take circumstances and personalities into account.
You are concerned about relationships and harmony and may shun confrontation and conflict, acquiescing rather than creating disharmony. You tend to be accepting and trusting, seeking consensus. You try to persuade rather than prove your point.
You need to know you are welcome and appreciated. You like it when other people
use your name when talking to you and maintain eye contact. You need frequent feedback about your worth, your efforts and your contributions; no feedback is the same as negative feedback. You like appreciative personal comments on your work, e.g. “I like the way you did that!” You may have difficulty accepting criticism and can find sarcasm or ridicule devastating. You find negative feedback easier when you have a positive relationship with the person giving the feedback. When giving feedback, you can be tender-hearted and may avoid giving criticism because of the effect it might have.
You may get very involved when discussing something important to you and become
loud and animated. When you feel close to someone, you may want to use some kind of physical expression like a pat on the back, a hug or an arm round the shoulder.
You are skilled at seeing things from the other person’s perspective. You often put others needs before your own and enjoy pleasing people even in seemingly unimportant matters. You tend to make decisions subjectively, basing them on strongly held values and personal identification with the person or the situation. You need to know how the decisions will affect people. When it comes to discipline, you are likely to want to take circumstances and personalities into account.
You are concerned about relationships and harmony and may shun confrontation and conflict, acquiescing rather than creating disharmony. You tend to be accepting and trusting, seeking consensus. You try to persuade rather than prove your point.
You need to know you are welcome and appreciated. You like it when other people
use your name when talking to you and maintain eye contact. You need frequent feedback about your worth, your efforts and your contributions; no feedback is the same as negative feedback. You like appreciative personal comments on your work, e.g. “I like the way you did that!” You may have difficulty accepting criticism and can find sarcasm or ridicule devastating. You find negative feedback easier when you have a positive relationship with the person giving the feedback. When giving feedback, you can be tender-hearted and may avoid giving criticism because of the effect it might have.
Some key points about descriptive and supportive styles:
- these styles apply to students as well as teachers
- you tend to give the kind of feedback you yourself want to receive
- there is a gender imbalance - 60% of females have a preference for the supportive style and 60% of males a preference for the descriptive style
- people with a supportive style tend to gravitate to the caring professions and are found in larger numbers in primary and nursery schools in particular
Determine your Feedback Style: Cambridge Education. Retrieved from
http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/cms/lib6/NC01000307/Centricity/Domain/2284/Handout_4_Making_Feedback_Count.doc
Rererences:
Bandura, A., Cervone, D. (1983). Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivational effects of goal systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(5), 1017-1028. Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/bandura/pajares/Bandura1983JPSP.pdf
Berger, R. (nd.). Austin's butterfly: Building excellence in student work - models, critique, and descriptive feedback [youtube video]. Published on October 9, 2013 on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZo2PIhnmNY
http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/cms/lib6/NC01000307/Centricity/Domain/2284/Handout_4_Making_Feedback_Count.doc
Rererences:
Bandura, A., Cervone, D. (1983). Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivational effects of goal systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(5), 1017-1028. Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/bandura/pajares/Bandura1983JPSP.pdf
Berger, R. (nd.). Austin's butterfly: Building excellence in student work - models, critique, and descriptive feedback [youtube video]. Published on October 9, 2013 on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZo2PIhnmNY