Giving Written Feedback/Document

Written feedback Although most teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and record marks, this information is not always used constructively to inform future teaching and learning. Teachers need to provide pupils with written feedback so that they recognise their next steps in learning and how to take them.

For written feedback to be constructive pupils need to be clear about what is expected of them. The learning objectives and learning outcomes need to be the reference point for a teacher’s written feedback and need to be shared and made clear to pupils in advance of attempting a task. It is important to consider how prompt and regular feedback can be given that will encourage pupils to think about their work and the task.

Providing effective written feedback

Below are a number of teacher comments and some feedback criteria (A–D) to help you judge the helpfulness of the comments to the pupils. Decide whether the comments provide information to the pupil about A) whether they are on the right track; B) their limitations (plus encouragement to correct the work); C) a way to improve their learning; D) a way to think through the answer for themselves. You started off well. Unfortunately you have made the same error in the last three questions. Can you see what this is? You may find it helpful to go back to the grid method. Your poem about copper sulphate was interesting. We need to discuss how you think copper crystals are made. Attainment 3, effort 2. You have made good progress in your handwriting. Your spelling still needs work. I think we need to talk about this work in more detail. Yet again you have not completed the work. Well done – 1 merit. A good ‘best fit graph’. The conclusion clearly explains the relationship between the force and the extension of the spring. There are a lot of inaccuracies in this work. Please check it through again. This work shows you have clear understanding of finding the areas and perimeters. What strategies did you use to calculate the answers? What were the important steps for you? You’ve plotted some interesting shapes. Well done! You have included more adjectives, which help bring the character alive on the page, but your sentence structure is not as varied as John’s. Experiment more by using complex sentences. Cracking piece of work. I like the diagrams and the interesting way you presented the impact of man on the environment. Keep it up! I think you have copied all of this from the Internet. Well done. Your presentation for Year 6 pupils was really exciting and engaging. Do you think the time transition would allow those who are not quick at reading enough time? Comment inserted in a spreadsheet comment box on cell F5: ‘I think you have used the wrong columns. To work out the ticket prices you would need to look at the costs of the production and how many seats are available.’ Wow! You have really put a lot of work into this – thank you. It is detailed and balanced and had me ‘on the edge of my seat’. Did you learn a lot from it? The only thing I would change is the conclusion, which caught me by surprise because it did not seem to follow from what you had written in the main section of the account. Does the account need adjusting or the conclusion? Although this is an interesting piece of writing, with an accurate storyline and creative use of adjectives, the paragraphing is very weak and that makes the whole account much less structured than it should be. Some of the comments are simply a teacher’s judgement of a piece of work. Other comments ask further questions or invite dialogue. Some of the feedback gives specific advice for improvement and other comments indicate ways in which pupils could think a problem through for themselves. Which kind of feedback do you think pupils find most helpful? If good feedback usually requires further action from the pupil, what are the implications for classroom routines?

Developing constructive written feedback

Select three exercise books that represent a range of achievement within a class that you teach. Read through the written feedback that you have given. Now read the following characteristics of constructive written feedback and traffic-light those statements in terms of how they reflect your own practice (red: rarely; amber: often; green: typically). The written feedback focuses on the learning objectives selectively; confirms that pupils are on the right track; stimulates the correction of errors or improvement of a piece of work; scaffolds or supports pupils’ next steps; provides opportunities for pupils to think things through for themselves; comments on progress over a number of attempts; avoids comparisons with other pupils; provides pupils with the opportunity to respond.

Feedback needs to scaffold learning and engage pupils in a dialogue about their work rather than allow them to make comparisons with other pupils. Research suggests that there are a number of negative effects when a classroom culture focuses on rewards, grades or marks. Pupils will sometimes avoid difficult or more challenging tasks because they risk failure or low marks. Comparison with other pupils’ marks often leads to lower self-esteem and lack of confidence about ability. Pupils sometimes waste time trying to interpret the meaning of marks and grades rather than thinking about how to improve their work.

You may feel that providing feedback in this form could be time-consuming. This need not be the case. If you are clear about the success criteria before setting a piece of work this can greatly speed up the marking process and can also provide you with the likely comments. In video sequence 12g, the science teacher used GCSE grade criteria to generate the criteria for a written explanation on photosynthesis. Pupils were provided with this in advance of their homework, then during the following lesson used the criteria in a peer-assessment session. The teacher also used this set of criteria with another class to mark their work. Doing this enabled her to give feedback quickly and to signal which criteria had been met. Some teachers prepare slips with comments on in advance and place these in books as appropriate. Whatever method you may use, it is very important to provide pupils with opportunities to respond. In some cases this may involve re-drafting or considering what to keep in mind for the next similar piece of work.