To what extent is the feedback you are providing effective? What can you do to make your feedback more effective so all your students can improve?

“Feedback is only feedback if the loop is closed and the kids actually improve.” Fletcher-Wood, Responsive Teaching, 2019.

If we get our feedback wrong, kids might give up, reject feedback, choose an easier goal, or choose to focus on short-term goals rather than the longer-term goal of getting better. (Wiliam, 2011)

Take 5 minutes to learn a new feedback strategy here in the March content:

Read a feedback focused MiniPD Coach article below. Challenge your thinking. Gain a new perspective. Deepen your understanding.

Assessment Disrupted by Aimée Skidmore. Aimée “presents you with 8 tried and true examples of how to shift the evaluative gaze from teacher to student in formative and summative assessments.” Aimée is a Language & Literature teacher with over 25 years of teaching, training and leadership experience. She currently works at an international school in Switzerland.

Praise Question Polish – Action by Matt McGrady. Matt writes, “Providing structure and practice for student peer feedback is essential.” He outlines the process he uses and the impact it has on how his students speak about their art and the art of their classmates. Matt is an artist, designer, and teacher at an international school in the UAE.

Feeding Forward, Not Back, in Science Classrooms by Stan Covington. Stan outlines a process to “feedforward, rather than feedback”. Stan describes it as “an effective and innovative way to improve skill development in classrooms and can be an integral part of ATL development in students”. Stan is an MYP Science and DP Biology teacher, and Head of Science at an international school in Asia.

The Perils of Praising and What to Do Instead by Fanny Passeport. Fanny writes, “Praise is often used in the classroom to motivate students or reinforce certain behaviors but does it support students in developing into autonomous learners or rather pushes them to conform?” In these articles, Fanny explores the collateral damages of praising and the opportunities that encouragements offer by shifting from an external to an internal locus of control. Fanny is an international Education Consultant, Founder of No Borders Learning, with experiences as Director of Teaching & Learning, Technology Integrator, and French Foreign Language Teacher (PYP, MYP, and DP). She co-authored the book Stretch Yourself.

“Information about the gap between actual and reference (desired) levels is considered as feedback only when it is used to alter the gap” (Sadler, 1989). So, what next step can you take to make feedback more effective so all your students can have agency to improve?

Join the Conversation

We invited educators from around the world to join us in a Coaches-in-Conversation on our theme, Focusing on Feedback, in March 2022. We are happy to share the recording with you here:

Wanting to further the conversation?  

Needing a thought partner? A critical friend? Schedule one-to-one coaching sessions with any of our inspirational MiniPD Coaches mentioned above. They can support you and your team to nudge your feedback practices forward to improve student learning.

Want to learn more?

Focusing on Feedback

• Berger, R., Austin’s Butterfly (c. 6 min).  [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6PskE3zfQ  (Accessed 03/04/22)
• Fletcher-Wood, H., with Forward by Wiliam, D., (2018) Responsive Teaching: Cognitive Science & Formative Assessment Practice. Routledge. 
• Hattie J, Timperley H. The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research. 2007;77(1):81-112. doi:10.3102/003465430298487  (Accessed 03/04/22)
• MiniPD Coaches, (March, 2022), Tools and Strategies – Focusing on Feedback 

The MiniPD Team

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