Feedback is one of the most powerful tools that a teacher can utilize; providing quality feedback to students carries a big impact on student achievement. However, it is important to remember that not all feedback delivers the same effect. Here are some tips to provide feedback to students that will lead to gains in student learning, and also make open-ended activities more rewarding to both teachers and students.
Practice learner empathy
For feedback to be effective, it needs to reflect students current level of understanding in relation to the understanding required to complete the assigned task or challenge. Teachers need to be sensitive to what the student immediately grasps, what is potentially confusing to the student, and how to decompose and explain what needs to be done to succeed. Ultimately, teachers must realistically measure and empathize with the understanding gap if they are to creatively resolve it in an inspiring way.
Always keep the goal in mind
Teachers that utilize rubrics to grade open-ended challenges can also use them to assist students long before grading. Because many students have a difficult time communicating the goals of a lesson or challenge, using rubrics at the beginning of a programming challenge may help students see what success looks like. This not only provides context and vision, it reduces the alienation that often accompanies a lack of clarity. Students who cannot clearly articulate the goals of a project when it is first introduced end up feeling less engaged, and will be less likely to seek feedback later. It is difficult to ask if one is going in the right direction when one does not know the final destination. Mitigate this by putting the goal front and center from the beginning.
Be flexible
Just as important as clearly communicating the goal is maintaining an attitude of curiosity about how to get there. Teachers can potentially make the mistake of relying exclusively on a conventional method or standard of progress, making it quite difficult to recognize when students are moving towards a goal in a way that appears unfamiliar. Students are always encouraged to find multiple solutions to problems, but it is up to the teacher to facilitate that process through effective feedback grounded in an openness to innovation.
Give insight early and often
Teachers who provide feedback during the activity, as opposed to only judging the outcome, help to increase student self-efficacy. Repeated feedback from the teacher creates a positive expectation of dialogue, and if its delivery is well executed, students begin to internalize this process of questioning and reflecting. Receiving frequent and timely feedback makes the most of student efforts, leading to high self-efficacy. This ideally creates higher levels of motivation and overall, more resilience.