Feedback
Feedback can play a powerful role in student learning. It can help students identify gaps in their knowledge or faulty thinking, and help them to improve analytic and other skills for future assignments. However, to be beneficial to students it needs to be effectively communicated. Use the following principles adapted from Wiggins (2012) to make your feedback as useful as possible to students .
Qualities of effective feedback
Specific
What is the problem that has been identified? How can it be remedied? If the work is good, why is it good?
Aligned with course outcomes/evaluation criteria
Focus on giving feedback that helps students better meet the learning outcomes of the course and the goal of the assignment.
Feedforward
If you are providing feedback on a draft or formative assessment, give specific feedback for improving it for a more polished piece. However, TAs typically grade final assignments and might not have opportunities to provide feedback on drafts. Therefore, when giving feedback on a final version, focus on what could be improved in future assignments.
Prioritized & balanced
Try not to overwhelm students with too much feedback (especially if it’s critical). Prioritize the most important two or three elements. Make sure there is a balance of things to work on and things the student has done well.
Timely
Aim to provide feedback to students as soon as possible.
Mindful
Try to use positive language to strike a supportive tone.
Examples of ineffective vs. effective feedback
| Instead of saying… | Try… | Why? |
| “Vague” | “Which research finding are you referring to here?”
“Can you provide specific details to show what you mean here?”
|
Being more specific with the feedback, pointing out which areas are unclear and what can be done to remedy it. |
| “Confusing” or “???” | “I lost the thread of your argument. Why is this information important? How is it related to your argument?”
“You missed X criteria in your paper, which is one of the main goals of this assignment. Be sure to read the assignment description and rubric thoroughly for the criteria next time, and don’t hesitate to ask me questions along the way if you are unsure.” |
Striking a more positive tone, outline specifically which evaluation criteria the student has missed out on. Prioritize what’s important.
By mentioning future assignments, this feedback is feedforward so that the student has an opportunity to apply this feedback. |
| “Good job!” | “This excellent example moves your argument forward.”
“An apt metaphor that helped me understand your argument about this historical metaphor.” |
The student met the goals of the assignment, but might not know why. This is an opportunity to remind them of the intended learning outcomes they’ve achieved. |
Samples of feedback taken from Clarkston & Barker, 2014.
