Theme: Student Involvement, Student Actions Component #39: Teacher structures class so that students regularly plan learning strategies in response to feedback Strength: Strong Feasibility: Strong Feedback is an influential strategy to include in a formative assessment system. Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, & William (2005) lists “providing feedback that moves learners forward” as one of five powerful formative assessment strategies applicable to teachers of all content areas and at all grade levels. Dallimore, Hertenstein, & Platt (2004) in exploring teacher behaviors that are associated with quality student participation also found constructive feedback to be a good tool. Contrary to some beliefs that students do not use feedback, studies suggest that students do internalize feedback (Higgins, Hartley, & Skelton, 2002; Orsmond, Merry, & Reiling, 2005; Sargeant, Mann, Van der Vleuten, & Metsemakers, 2009; Weaver, 2006). Regarding student actions, although students do not necessarily directly act upon feedback (studies capturing this were difficult to find), reading the feedback closely and attending to teachers’ comments implies students’ intuitive use rather than rigorous use of feedback (Higgins, Hartley, & Skelton, 2002). Reasons and ways that students use feedback include stimulation of motivation to pursue learning in a more independent fashion, learning enhancement where comments serve as a guidance to improve assignments, reflection enhancement, and clarification (Orsmond, Merry, & Reiling, 2005). The many different ways in which students can plan learning strategies in response to feedback suggests a variety of ways that students can interpret feedback and a variety of ways that feedback can be delivered. Different types of feedback do not generate the same type of reactions from students (Santos & Pinto, 2009). Feedback that is too general does not paint a clear picture for students to know what kind of action to take (Weaver, 2006). For math, in particular, general symbols, such as an “X,” only helps high achieving students who simply needed attention drawn to mistakes (Santos & Pinto, 2009). In contrast, low achieving students required more descriptive feedback. Santos and Pinto (2009) compared the use of different types of descriptive feedback (affirmative, interrogative, or mixed) and found that the interrogative and mixed forms better facilitate students’ understanding of feedback and gets students involved in the following stages of the task. They caution, however, that lengthy feedback tended to be less effective than shorter ones. Recommended steps for teachers to take in order for students to enhance their learning experience includes aligning teacher and students’ understanding of the curriculum and expectations (Higgins, Hartley, & Skelton, 2002). Teacher-student alignment is critical considering cases in which teachers provide feedback but students are unable to act upon it due to inadequate guidance for important, factors beyond control that prevent change, and ill-

preparation for change (Sargeant et al., 2009). Rubrics and exemplars can be useful tools to aid alignment (Leahy et al., 2005; Orsmond, Merry, & Reiling, 2002). In terms of student involvement, alignment of teacher-student understanding can be achieved through probes. “Questions and probes that teachers use to diagnose misconceptions may eventually help students ask intelligent questions both of themselves and of others. Teacher feedback lets students know when they need help” (Newman, 2002). In a study comparing two teaching and feedback methods in 48 first-year university physics and chemistry courses, the conceptual-change and student-focused approach was found to be a more effective deep learning approach than the information the information transmission and teacher-focused approach (Trig well, Prosser, & Waterhouse, 1999). The student-focused approach involved teachers focusing on what students are doing and thinking rather than focusing on the facts of the content material. The importance of a teacher-student relationship is emphasized by how teachers cannot simply transmit information and how students come in to learning with a pre-conceived perception. The implications here suggest that feedback needs to be a dialogue. I gave this a “strong” feasibility rating due to the many existing studies on student uses of feedback. Additionally, the current literature supports feedback as an excellent formative assessment tool. References Dallimore, E. J., Hertenstein, J. H., & Platt, M. B. (2004). Classroom participation and discussion effectiveness: Student-generated strategies. Communication Education, 53(1). Higgins, R., Hartley, P., & Skelton, A. (2002). The conscientious consumer: reconsidering the role of assessment feedback in student learning. Studies in Higher Education, 27(1), 5364. Leahy, S., Lyon, C., Thompson, M., & Wiliam, D. (2005). Classroom assessment: Minute-by-minute and day-by-day. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 18–24 Newman, R. S. (2002). How self-regulated learners cope with academic difficulty: The role of adaptive help seeking. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 132-138. Orsmond, P., Merry, S., & Reiling, K. (2002). The use of exemplars and formative feedback when using student derived marking criteria in peer and self-assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(4), 309-323. Orsmond, P., Merry, S., & Reiling, K. (2005). Biology students’ utilization of tutors’ formative feedback: a qualitative interview study. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(4), 369-386.

Santos, L., & Pinto, L. (2009). Lights and shadows of feedback in mathematics learning. In Proceedings of the 33rd Conference of International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 5. 49-56. Sargeant, J. M., Mann, K. V., Van der Vleuten, C. P., & Metsemakers, J. F. (2009). Reflection: a link between receiving and using assessment feedback. Advances in health sciences education, 14(3), 399-410. Trigwell, K., Prosser, M., & Waterhouse, F. (1999). Relations Between Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching and Students’ Approaches to Learning. Higher Education, 37(1), 57-70. Weaver, M. R. (2006). Do students value feedback? Student perceptions of tutors’ written responses. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(3), 379-394.

Good Literature Review (Adequate Research) Number of sources q ≤2

x3

Different types of sources (i.e. journal, publication, peer-reviewed) q ≤2

x3

Word Count q ≤ 499 words

x500+ words

Adequate level of evidence indicating effectiveness of component (Relevancy) Feasibility of Implementation qNo evidence

qMinimal evidence

xStrong evidence

qOverwhelming evidence

Applied to a Variety of Subject Areas qNo specific subject areas qNo evidence

q1 subject area

q2 subject areas

Increases student achievement qMinimal evidence xStrong evidence

x3+ subject areas

qOverwhelming evidence

Helps teacher to understand students’ needs qNo evidence

xMinimal evidence

xStrong evidence

qOverwhelming evidence