Giving Feedback

What is important when giving feedback?

Providing effective feedback is crucial for student development, and John Hattie’s feedback principles offer a structured way to ensure feedback is impactful. Let’s explore this through the example of English Language Arts (ELA) presentations in a middle school setting.

Hattie’s Feedback Principles

John Hattie identifies several key principles for effective feedback:

Clarify Goals and Success Criteria: Students should understand the objectives of their work and the criteria for success.
Provide Specific, Actionable Feedback: Feedback should be detailed and offer clear steps for improvement.
Encourage Self-Reflection and Ownership: Students should be encouraged to reflect on their work and take charge of their learning process.
Focus on the Task, Process, and Self-Regulation: Feedback should address the task at hand, the process used to complete it, and strategies for self-monitoring and improvement.

Applying These Principles to Peer Feedback in ELA Presentations

Scenario:

Imagine a class of seventh graders preparing and presenting book reviews as part of their ELA curriculum. Each student must deliver a 5-minute presentation summarizing the book and providing their personal analysis and opinion.

Step-by-Step Example:

Clarify Goals and Success Criteria:

Before the presentations, the teacher explains what a successful book review presentation looks like. This includes:
A clear summary of the book.
Insightful analysis and personal opinion.
Effective use of voice, eye contact, and body language.
Engagement with the audience.
The teacher provides a rubric detailing these criteria.

Provide Specific, Actionable Feedback:

After a student presents, their peers use the rubric to offer feedback.
For example, one student might say: “Your summary was very clear and easy to follow, which is great! However, you could improve your analysis by providing more specific examples from the book to support your opinion.”

Encourage Self-Reflection and Ownership:

The teacher then asks the presenting student to reflect on their performance based on the feedback received.
The student might respond: “I realize I focused more on the summary than the analysis. Next time, I’ll make sure to include more examples to back up my opinions.”

Focus on the Task, Process, and Self-Regulation:

Feedback should address not only what was presented (the task) but also how it was presented (the process).
For example, a peer might say: “You had good eye contact with the audience, which kept us engaged. To improve, you could work on varying your tone to emphasize important points.”
The presenting student is encouraged to think about strategies for self-monitoring: “I’ll practice my presentation in front of a mirror to work on varying my tone.”

Summary:

By following Hattie’s feedback principles, students learn to give and receive feedback that is clear, specific, and actionable. They are encouraged to reflect on their performance and take ownership of their learning process. This structured approach not only helps improve their current presentations but also equips them with skills to self-regulate and continuously improve in all their academic endeavors.