How effective is our feedback? : feeding forward and self-regulation

Giving and receiving feedback is based on a number of stages, procedures, and factors that could determine whether the feedback is effective or not. The key stakeholders of feedback are the tutor and the student, who could work together towards building bridges, such as holding dialogues, giving and receiving constructive criticism. Ideally, feedback is not a one-way, top-down approach, where the tutor ‘commands’ the discourse, whilst the student is merely a passive recipient. In whatever form it is delivered, the feedback that is passed on to the student should be more than ‘correcting’ the work; it could involve a communicative approach whereby the tutor passes on salient information that the student may utilise to sharpen his or her work. Hence, the possession of feedback is not solely relegated to the tutor. Instead, there is a transference where the student claims ownership of the feedback, and thus becomes responsible for its implementation. The responsibility to do so should not be perceived by the student as though he or she were doing a favour to their tutor, but an action which is undertaken for their own personal benefit and gain. Rather than feeding ‘back’, it is transformed to feeding ‘forward’, as the tutor provides suggestions that help shape future writing or assigned work. This paper, which is the result of a doctoral study conducted by the author, aims to present some benefits and challenges of feedback. Whilst exploring various areas of feedback, it suggests that, by revisiting practices, perceptions, and conceptualisations, there can be a shift towards feed forward and eventually offer the possibility of harnessing students’ autonomy and self-regulation.peer-reviewe

U.S. History Curriculum Project Using Blended Learning To Improve Formative Feedback

Kennealy, T. U.S. History Curriculum Project Using Blended Learning to Improve Formative Feedback. (2019) This capstone project leverages a 1:1 device classroom setting to create opportunities for effective teacher-to-student formative feedback. Classroom feedback is complex and proven effective but the practice of giving excellent feedback is rare, even for the most dedicated K-12 teachers. The implementation of effective feedback is rare but there is significant and specific research that identifies important characteristics and formats for offering effective formative feedback. A 1:1 classroom using blended learning offers opportunities to implement excellent feedback practices by allowing teachers more time for conversation with small groups of students. The curriculum project is a unit long exploration of traditionally marginalized groups pushing for access to their civil rights in post-WWII United States. The unit uses research supported techniques to include an on-boarding of digital literacy skills that helps improve students’ skill set before assigning complex assessments

Smartphone feedback : using an iPhone to improve the distribution of audio feedback

The advent of accessible digital recording devices has made the production of audio feedback on students’ work more viable, Ref. 1. Previous research into audio feedback has concentrated on using PC recording software such as Audacity and mobile MP3 recording devices. However, effective use of these methods can be undermined by unsuitable technical infrastructure and the demand for special ICT skills, especially when distributing the finished feedback to students. Smartphones, on the other hand, combine the flexibility of MP3 recorders and the connectivity of a PC in a discrete handheld device, thereby suggesting their application as a user friendly tool for giving recorded audio feedback efficiently. This paper describes a smartphone feedback methodology and presents findings from research on its use with 130 Level 5 Engineering and Computing students. The study found that the smartphone was more suitable than other technologies to the various demands of feedback production and distribution, and that this helped the tutor to manage the exceptionally stressful time associated with marking and giving feedback on top of an ongoing teaching load. Its pedagogic integration also resulted in a good dialogical experience as evidenced through student testimony

Feedback as a means to improve clinical competencies: Consultants’ perceptions of the quality of feedback given to registrars

Background. Effective supervision by consultants in postgraduate medical education involves the process of feedback. Giving feedback may be challenging for consultants who have no formal training in this process, which may be further compounded in heterogeneous diverse settings.Objective. To explore consultants’ perceptions of feedback to registrars in a multicultural, multilingual diverse academic hospital setting.Methods. Thirty-seven consultants consented to completing a questionnaire on what, when, where, how often, and how feedback was provided, as well as on the type and effect of feedback to registrars. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Differences between groups were calculated using Pearson’s χ² test for independent variables, with a p-value of <0.05 regarded as being statistically significant.Results. Only 40% of consultants reported that they provided feedback often or always and 62.2% reported that standards were not predetermined and communicated to registrars. When feedback was provided, it was based on concrete observations of performance (78.4%), it incorporated a plan for improvement (72.9%) and it supplied information on techniques performed incorrectly (72.9%). Only 40.5% of consultants provided feedback on procedures performed correctly. Moreover, only half of the consultants believed they were proficient at giving feedback.Conclusion. Consultants need to develop the art of giving feedback through appropriate training so that they are more comfortable and proficient with the various aspects of feedback, leading to a positive effect on enhancing registrar training

Formative Feedback: Involving Students as Partners in Assessment to Enhance Learning

Planning time for giving students effective feedback is an important and challenging aspect of the teaching and learning process. In our article we describe and analyze how we engage students as partners in providing formative feedback in time for students to modify their own thinking or behavior to improve learning. We have found ways to provide formative feedback more frequently and to involve students in providing effective formative feedback to each other. The four techniques we describe are the following: a) three-color group quiz with feedback on product, process, and progress; b) midterm student conferencing; c) shared revision of student generated questions and statements; and d) timely feedback using collaborative assignment blogs. These techniques give feedback in time for revisions to occur, provide scaffolding for learners, inform instruction, and most importantly, involve students as partners in assessment. These pedagogical strategies show that the resulting benefits of improved instruction, enhanced student learning, and better student products are worth the time and effort and contribute to a productive classroom climate where the focus is on learning more than on grading. Formative feedback involving students as partners is a key strategy to enhance the teaching and learning process

USING PEER-MEDIATED SELF-MONITORING TO INCREASE PROCEDURAL INTEGRITY OF NET IMPLEMENTATION IN A CLINIC SETTING

Behavioral interventions have been shown to be effective at addressing many of the core skill deficits and excesses associated with autism spectrum disorder. Natural Environment Training (NET), developed by Sundberg and Partington (1998), is one such effective strategy for teaching language to children with autism. Even though effective interventions have been identified, clients are unlikely to benefit from them unless they are implemented correctly. A number of effective behavioral techniques for increasing procedural integrity of interventions have been identified, including the use of self-monitoring checklists and peer-training. An unpublished thesis by Tenowich (2014) used video-self monitoring to increase procedural integrity on NET implementation. This study aimed to replicate the study by Tenowich (2014) and extend the literature by incorporating a peer-teaching component to the performance management package. Results showed that all participants increased their level of performance. However, these increases happened during different phases of the study for each participant, suggesting that individuals respond differently to giving and receiving feedback. Future research should implement this procedure with more participants to determine the functional components of this training package and any possible sequencing effects with regards to giving and receiving feedback

Treatment Strategies for Language Problems in ESL Academic Writing: Teachers’ and Students’ Preferences

Aptly put by Dana R. Ferris (2014), the purpose of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers giving feedback to their students in academic writing courses is “not just about eradicating errors in writing but also about helping their students to develop control of academic language” (p. 69). However, are the present strategies for giving feedback on language problems in academic writing moving towards this goal? Do the end-users of these strategies - the students - see their writing improve over time? If not, what kind of guidance are students looking for? This study aims at addressing these questions by doing a comparative study of the feedback strategies used by teachers and those preferred by students. Their responses are further analyzed to study whether the preferences change with types, frequency, and timing of language problems, and whether there are other modes of feedback that are equally if not more effective. Drawing on the responses received from teachers and students, the study presents critical implications of such a comparison between the preferences on ESL academic writing pedagogy and provides practical suggestions for the teaching faculty

Speaking the same language: developing a language-aware feedback culture

Research suggests that feedback as part of assessment is often not delivered effectively. A key aspect of effective feedback delivery is that students need to understand feedback and also feel motivated to act on it. This article explores how educational developers can incorporate a language-aware approach to feedback when working with staff involved in learning and teaching in order to enable staff to make appropriate linguistic choices when providing feedback so that it is more comprehensible and motivational for students. It describes a piece of action research which explored and evaluated two teaching activities used on a PG Cert HE with staff at a post-1992 university, designed to promote critical awareness of the language used when giving feedback. We report on the staff evaluation of the activities devised and piloted, and consider how this project could be taken forward in future

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN IMPROVING EFL LEARNERS’ HORTATORY EXPOSITION WRITING

Abstract: At present, research has not adequately dealt with corrective feedback (Mirzaii & Aliabadi, 2013). Adam (2003) claims that written production and feedback are important for SLA. It pushes learners’ awareness towards the problems in their interlanguage. Corrective feedback has always been a challenge (Sadeghpour, 2013). This study, thus, aims at investigating the impact of feedback on students’ writing. Thirty EFL learners at UNISBANK participated in this study. They were divided into Direct Feedback Group (DFG) and Indirect Feedback Group (IFG). Both did pretest before the treatment. Subsequently, they were asked to write Hortatory Exposition texts in groups and individually. DFG’s texts were provided with direct feedback while the IFG’s with indirect one. Afterwards, posttest was administered. The results show that direct feedback is more effective than indirect feedback. However, the difference is statistically not significant. The pedagogical implication is that in giving corrective feedback teacher should consider learner’s level of competence, since the effectiveness of the feedback depends on the learner’s competence level, the lower proficient learners might be unable to correct their own errors based on indirect corrective feedback. Keywords:direct feedback, indirect feedback, Hortatory Expositio

The role and responsibilities of a midwifery mentor

Midwifery Basics: Mentorship 1 Mentorship of student midwives in clinical practice is an important part of the role of a qualified and experienced midwife (Steele 2009). The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008 p9) states ‘The role of the sign-off mentor and/or practice teacher is to make judgments about whether a student has achieved the required standards of proficiency for safe and effective practice for entry to the NMC register.’ However, mentorship is much more than this and can be considered as the process of giving support for personal and professional development. This can be provided in a range of ways, such as acting as a role model, teaching, encouraging, offering feedback and formally assessing the student midwife. Less formal definitions suggest that the mentor is a guide, supporter and advisor (Casey & Clark 2012). The mentoring process, the relationship between mentor and student midwife and the institutional environment within which the mentoring occurs can present a range of rewards and challenges for both mentor and studen