Goals to Improve my Feedback
1. In the Descriptive Feedback video, it mentions that feedback should be structured to include what was done well, matching the success criteria, what needs improvement and how to improve. I think I have mastered the strengths and next steps component, and love tying the feedback to the success criteria (it makes so much sense for the teachers and the students), but I need to remember to include HOW the student can improve. I have asked questions in my feedback to encourage the students to keep thinking about the assigned task and discuss it with me during a conference, but I think the “how to improve” should still be emphasized in my feedback.
2. I meet with each student, in a small group, twice a week during my literacy block (once for guided reading and once for a writing conference). I realized I don’t do this on a regular basis for math. I give feedback on the fly, during a bansho, gallery walk or math congress, and on student work (ex: exit slips, assignments, performance tasks, etc.) In the Descriptive Feedback video, it discussed conferencing with students and having them write down a next step to remember to ensure they have internalized the oral feedback. I plan to implement a feedback log to track the feedback that is given during mathematics.
3. I want to start using strategies to ensure students are applying the feedback that is given to them. Again, I am aware of this in language, but not in math. I think a feedback log would be useful for this goal as well. My students and I could create a joint feedback log, where there is written teacher feedback and feedback that the students write down to internalize the oral feedback given. If the feedback logs were always out, and ready for use, feedback could be given and recorded instantly during learning. Marian Small states that “the best feedback occurs during the performance of a task, rather than later” (Making Math Meaningful to Canadian Students, K-8, p. 37).
Examples of Descriptive Feedback in my Classroom
