Week 7 Term 1 - Meaningful Feedback (Mar 14 - 18)

 It has been a bit of a mission trying to teach online (whilst in isolation). Teaching from home whilst some of my students who are onsite whilst the others are online (in isolation) has been challenging. A structured hybrid learning structure is the approach that our school has taken on as our response to COVID-19. The benefits in this structure of learning is that the workload for both teacher and student is lessened, working in an environment that is constantly changing due to a pandemic can be challenging and stressful. For staff working onsite and from home, this type of learning structure gives us the flexibility to work within our means and within a COVID landscape. 

The risks with Hybrid learning are that we lose time with our students as we are not operating by the normal timetable. Student engagement is relatively low (whether onsite or online) and this can cause issues later on with their progress. I think teaching online and onsite can be a challenge as you cannot fully give a 100% to students who are working from home (especially if you are managing students onsite in the classroom). As I have spent the last week and a half in isolation, I found the hybrid learning structure a bit of struggle - trying to maintain momentum and structure with my students (in class and online).

During my recent stint in isolation, I have focused on what I can do instead what I am limited to. What I have been able to do and focus on, is feedback for my Senior class (Level 2 and Level 3 English). Both of my classes are currently working on their first internal assessment - Close Viewing of a Visual Text. What I learnt over the last two weeks is that feedback is important but needs to be effective. Effective in that the student is able to unpack and understand my thoughts, opinions and suggestions. Effective in that it is not just about 'what they need to improve' but also celebrating what they have done so far and affirming their efforts. I have spent hours giving feedback on areas for improvement (which is not a bad thing, it is necessary). I do not think that my students (at the time) engaged with it the way I wanted to them to. Some of things that I have found to work with creating and sharing 'meaningful feedback' will be outlined below. 

CLEAR EXPECTATIONS: It is about helping people understand the bigger picture. With this bigger picture, people will understand better and commit more easily

Outlining clear instructions, how you want them to be addressed and when it needs to be done (sounds simple yeah?) Well this is very effective and can be something that we can overlook. I tend to use feedback as an opportunity to share my laundry list of things that the student needs to work on. Setting out and organized list of achievable goals with supporting links can be even more meaningful. "By setting clear expectations and giving specific instructions at the beginning, students get a better idea of what is expected of them, and it saves both parties time" (eLearning Industry) 

Teacher feedback example

POSITIVE AFFIRMATION: Positive affirmations are defined as statements that affirm something to be true. To explain, positive affirmations generally mean positive phrases that a person repeats to themselves to describe how they want to be

As I mentioned before, feedback is not just about providing recommendations or suggestions to students. It is also an opportunity to affirm what they have done well and to highlight this. Our students want to know what they can do better but I believe that they need to know what they have done well. In my experience, my students do not realize that they are making progress or that they have done something right as they are used to seeing what they have done wrong. 

Meaningful feedback is supposed to encourage and not just scrutinize. I have tried to do this with my feedback to my students, highlighting the areas in their writing that I think is gold. Talking to the students about why I have highlighted that this is important is something that I am hoping to do now that I have returned. "Your students need to derive value from your feedback. It needs to inspire some sort of change or action. So, every time you are giving feedback, make it goal-oriented and actionable for it to be truly effective." (eLearning Industry)

Teacher feedback example

PERSONALIZE IT: design or produce (something) to meet someone's individual requirements.

It seems like common sense, but it is something that I can over look when it comes to feedback. A simple act like using the student's name, addressing my feedback to them - can make a huge difference. 

"A simple act, like using the student’s name while writing feedback, also helps in developing your connection with the student. So, keep those generic responses aside and provide feedback, tailor-made to every student’s work and capabilities in order to maximize their potential." (eLearning Industry)

Teacher feedback example

Making feedback meaningful can be powerful. It can be a springboard if it is done right. I think the next step is speaking to the students through the feedback. I do not expect my students to read it and understand it straight away, I want to spend time to talk through each part with them so that they understand where I am coming from.