Why ISHCMC-American Academy faculty believe feedback in the classroom is such an important factor of learning.
| Effective feedback is designed to determine a learner’s level of understanding and skill development in order to plan the next steps towards achieving the learning intentions or goals. |
Feedback is a natural element of any learning practice and a key factor in the level of achievement for every learner. For teachers to provide sound feedback they need to have knowledge of what the student in front of them knows about the subject in hand : what do they understand? What don’t they understand, when are they not engaged, what are the areas that cause them to make errors.
When all this information can be evaluated and applied to feedback – feedback can be a powerful tool in the classroom.
At ISHCMC-American Academy our teaching staff consider feedback a vital part of learning at school, and a process that should absolutely go both ways: just as every student can benefit from constructive feedback, so can every teacher. Therefore we have implemented an assessment system that provides helpful feedback to both students and teachers allowing both parties to continue to learn and progress.
Feedback and Assessment at ISHCMC-American Academy
Students begin each subject unit with a diagnostic assessment to measure levels of skill and prior knowledge that ensures the teacher can tailor support and instruction accordingly for each child.
Teachers then use a formative assessment which provides feedback to students, and also feedback to help them understand the effectiveness of their teaching so that they can then adapt the specific learning process as needed.
Finally a summative assessment is prepared to form the basis for a student’s grade in a class. This assessment takes place after a child has had time to practice and get feedback from their teacher.
7 important things to remember about feedback
Effective feedback will determine a learner’s level of understanding and is essential in order to correctly plan the next steps towards achieving an individual’s goals in the classroom.
Here are 7 things to remember about feedback based on details from a ‘Feedback for Learning’* article featured in Educational Leadership magazine. These key points are relevant for anyone receiving feedback and also for those who are supplying the feedback – a guideline for both student and teacher.
- “Feedback is not advice, praise or evaluation. Feedback is information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal.”
GIVE QUALITY USER FRIENDLY FEEDBACK
Feedback should be concise, relevant and clear – and too much information can be counterproductive.
- “If students know the classroom is a safe place to make mistakes, they are more likely to use feedback for learning.”
ENCOURAGE DIALOGUE AS PART OF THE FEEDBACK PROCESS
At ISHCMC-AA our teachers will engage students using combinations of teacher-led direct instruction, collaborative learning, problem-solving, student reflection, peer feedback and group discussion.
- “The feedback students give teachers can be more powerful than the feedback teachers give students.”
FEEDBACK CAN IMPROVE TEACHING PRACTICES
Our teaching staff consider feedback a vital part of learning at school, and a process that should absolutely go both ways: just as every student can benefit from constructive feedback, so can every teacher.
- “When we give a grade as a part of feedback, students often don’t see past the grade.”
EFFICIENT FEEDBACK WILL IMPROVE LEARNING
The ISHCMC-AA summative assessment process is prepared to form the basis for a student’s grade in a class. This assessment only takes place after a child has had time to practice and get feedback from their teacher.
5.“Effective feedback occurs during the learning, when there is still time to act on it.”
TIME AND TIMING IS OF THE ESSENCE
Feedback should never be late and needs to be delivered at a time during learning when a student can process the information and apply it accordingly.
- “Most of the feedback that students receive about their classroom work is from other students – and most of that feedback is wrong.”
SELF ESTEEM IS SO IMPORTANT
Self esteem will help every child accept and consider good feedback, and ignore negative feedback that need not be applied.
- “Students need to know their learning target – the specific skill they’re supposed to learn – or else feedback is just someone telling them what to do.”
FEEDBACK SHOULD LEAD TO A SPECIFIC GOAL
During a diagnostic assessment skills and knowledge are assessed so that our teachers can tailor support and instruction accordingly for each child.
*Feedback for Learning – Educational Leadership magazine Sept 2012
