Providing Effective Feedback
Faculty exchange feedback all of the time with students and with colleagues. In this issue of the newsletter we touch on how we can construct and deliver effective feedback to students on their work, both in writing and verbally. What are some of the most impactful ways to give students feedback, and how can we maximize learning opportunities through giving effective feedback? At a recent luncheon with Tufts faculty, we discussed these exact questions.
Writing Feedback
Dr. Missy Montgomery shared her research on giving feedback on student writing, and described the two major themes that emerged from her research on this topic. 1. That students are often not engaged in the feedback process. They often look to the grade and past the comments or misunderstand the comments but do not inquire further. 2. There is often no dialogue between professor and student around the feedback, and they often have different intentions surrounding the feedback.
Many faculty spend large amounts of time giving detailed feedback on multiple aspects of student writing, and in many cases feel as though it is not a valued effort. Tufts faculty from all three campuses at our recent meeting brainstormed strategies to improve the ways that they deliver feedback so that it is better valued by students as an opportunity for growth. A select few of the ideas were:
- Be short and to the point - two or three well-crafted, targeted comments will have a better chance of being acted upon than a large number.
- Consider consolidating your remarks on one page, typewritten. (A common complaint is illegibility!)
- Find the positives. Praise student strengths in their writing, helping them to understand what is good and strong about their writing.
- Communicate throughout the writing process to engage students in a dialogue around their work. Offer opportunities for students to submit drafts for comment, not necessarily graded. (Comments on the final paper are less likely to have as significant an impact, if any, as the formative comments you make during the process.)
Verbal Feedback
In certain academic settings, verbal feedback is common. However, finding the time to carefully prepare this type of feedback is often overlooked, and what we perceive as constructive feedback might not necessarily be heard that way.
Dr. Fred Miser, M.D. suggests that for verbal feedback to be most effective, among other things it must be timely, constructive and specific. In a recent presentation at TUSM, Laura Snydman, Joe Rencic and their colleagues shared a model for feedback that they had piloted with residents at the medical school and that they found to be very effective:
- Orientation: State the purpose of the feedback session
- Self-assessment: Ask for self-assessment (How do you think it went?)
- Reinforcing feedback: Give examples of things s/he did well.
- Corrective feedback: Give examples of things s/he could improve on.
- Action plan: Have the learner develop an action plan for improvement.
- Questions: Ask if s/he has any questions.
- Reciprocal: Ask if s/he has any feedback for you.
The results of the pilot study revealed that the majority of residents (61.9%) made conscious changes in their teaching as a result of the feedback, and 57.1% of them feel they are better teachers because of the feedback they received. Another interesting result was that most students reported that they also felt more able to provide effective feedback after going through the pilot.
Call us idealist, but perhaps if we can offer feedback to students that they can hear, understand and act upon, the result may be not only improved work and hopefully improved critical thinking skills, but also the desire in students to seek and appreciate feedback for the opportunities it provides for life-long learning.
While in the space available we can only pique your interest, the CELT staff if aways happy to consult with you or provide you with more information. Please email us at CELT. |
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Penny for Your Thoughts
Tufts Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) hosts a seminar every year that provides an opportunity for faculty to dialogue with their colleagues about their teaching practices, and hear presentations from invited speakers on topics of teaching and learning. This is a unique opportunity for faculty to reflect on teaching challenges and goals, and to develop innovative strategies for moving forward.
Though we typically offer the seminar during the academic year, we are interested in the possibility of holding a similar faculty seminar during the summer months and would appreciate your feedback by completing the following survey:
We thank you in advance for your reply. |
