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Feedback Loops Create a Culture of Learning Conversations

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Feedback Loops Create a Culture of Learning Conversations

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Based on our conversations with teachers, here are some key takeaways in creating a culture of conversation around feedback.

1. Thinking critically begins with yourself

Self-assessment is essential. In order to fully develop agency, students need to develop an awareness of self. To do this, students should begin a feedback loop by assessing their own work. Once feedback is received, students can examine their own views and see how they line up with others' perspectives. This process helps students to refine their evaluation of their own work, as well as the work of others. Over time, students naturally self-assess and both seek and use feedback to focus on improving all areas of their work. The classroom culture must allow for transparent conversations to move past surface level agreements about a student's task performance. Teaching students how to handle situations where their thinking doesn't align with that of others is another essential piece of handling feedback well and contributes to the development of student agency.

2. Take what you like and leave the rest

Feedback is not a mandate. Each person's perspective is going to influence the type of feedback that is given, and it will also influence the type of feedback that is given and received. In all of the conversations with teachers about feedback, it is essential to emphasize that students have a choice in how to receive and act upon feedback. Students need to realize that they do not have to take action based on every comment. Each person has the agency to decide what feedback is actionable and which is not. This means that feedback isn't just a to-do list; rather it leads to a personal decision about what to do next.

3. Involve the local community

Feedback from experts in the field offers a lens to learning that ups the game for students. In one of our schools this spring, students were asked to create a business proposal based around a good or a service. Before students finalized their plans, the teachers asked local small business owners and staff from the central office to come and offer feedback to students after listening to the proposals. Adults provided advice based on the criteria given to students, and students were given time to reflect upon those suggestions and revise their work. When students presented their final proposals, it was amazing to see how they incorporated the feedback to refine their business model. Students accepted feedback from outside adults differently than from people inside the school, and it made these young students feel as though their work was valued and important. Involving the local community encourages authentic conversations at all levels.

Through actively participating in these learning conversations, students will strengthen their skills in goal setting, growth mindset, self-efficacy, reflection, self-regulation, and their awareness of resources to help them learn, thereby becoming agents of learning.

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Feedback Loops Create A Culture of Learning Conversations

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Teachers engaging in honest & meaningful feedback loops foster a model of learning conversation culture for students at Henry County Schools. Learn more!

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John Spencer's 20-minute Feedback System

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John Spencer's 20-minute Feedback System

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How to get ACTIONABLE peer feedback in 20 minutes

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First Grade Example: Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom (Stack and Vander Els) page 75

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First Grade Example: Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom (Stack and Vander Els) page 75

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Cohort 1 Convening 6 Choice Session A Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom First Grade Example from 

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ASCD Fine Tuning Assessments for Better Feedback

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ASCD Fine Tuning Assessments for Better Feedback

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Vol. 79

No. 7

Abstract

Defining Effective Feedback

Method #1: Effective Quiz Feedback-Immediate, Informal, and Informative

Method #2: Rearranging the Test Structure

Acting on Feedback

Quizzes and tests don't count as feedback if educators and students can't act upon the information they provide.

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Credit: SOLSTOCK / iSTOCK

Abstract

Defining Effective Feedback

Method #1: Effective Quiz Feedback-Immediate, Informal, and Informative

Method #2: Rearranging the Test Structure

Acting on Feedback

A few years ago, while attending a well-known grading conference, a group of us took a break to go holiday shopping. One of the educators in our party had a mission-to find his daughter a holiday-themed snow globe.

To our colleague's delight, we came upon a store focused entirely on Christmas. With an air of confidence, he swung open the door, all but reaching for his credit card to obtain his daughter's wish. As we scoured the festive boutique, and failed to immediately find the crystal ball, he approached a sales associate.

"Where might I find your snow globes?" he asked.

"You are the fifth person today who's asked for a snow globe, and I'll say for the fifth time- we don't sell them," she said.

It was hard not to see this as an instructive example of someone being oblivious to feedback.

Another example: In his fascinating book The Secret War (Harper, 2016), Max Hastings explores the complex and perilous world of WWII espionage and intelligence. One of his conclusions is that intel was only as valuable as any country's ability to (a) disseminate it and (b) act on it. One of many examples cited was the 14 pages of intercepted radio signals suggesting that Pearl Harbor would be attacked. These intercepts had been in the possession of a U.S. intelligence officer, but they were read only as the fires raged and ships sunk.

Perhaps things are not so different in our schools. We have a lot of data, and we claim to value feedback, but to what extent is that feedback data disseminated and acted upon? Would we educators have seen the signs that the planes were on their way? Are we getting signals that we should stock snow globes only to inadvertently ignore customers' requests? Perhaps the airwaves are buzzing with valuable feedback data that's not even on our radar.

Defining Effective Feedback

Recently one of us, Myron, designed a professional development session focused entirely on feedback. At the start of the session, he asked the teachers to confirm that they regularly provide students with feedback. Then he suggested that if they were going to be examining feedback, they should define it. The response in the room was a blank stare.

According to Sadler, feedback in educational contexts is information provided to a learner to reduce the gap between current performance and a desired goal (1989). First, we need to articulate that desired goal. Effective feedback needs clear, straightforward objectives-hopefully derived from established standards. Second, any student's current performance needs to be understood by the student. This requires time for review, revision, and learning from mistakes. Finally, if the student is going to reduce the gap between the goals and current performance, then they will need to know how. Feedback has not been given unless the student has a clear, personalized direction as to what to do next (Hattie, 2012; Sadler, 1989).

Before we get to a few effective feedback tools and examples, tested and tried in real high school classrooms, let's establish a few elements of effective feedback that we will specifically look for in those examples.

Must involve student voice, choice, and agency. The teacher and student should form a co-pilot relationship on this flight.

Does not need to "count" in the gradebook-in fact, it's often much better if it doesn't.

Thrives on fewer categories to describe the learning. If you're using percentage grades that have 100 categories, consider moving to a proficiency scale.

Should be an integral part of a larger classroom-assessment system that contributes positively to student disposition and learning.

Can be used by the teacher and student in a timely fashion to make informed "next-step" decisions.

Now that we've established a definition for feedback, and elements to consider in its implementation, let's explore a few examples from our own classrooms.

When we started looking into the research on effective feedback, we began to realize that we might not be providing clear objectives, nor monitoring the airwaves for informative feedback. Perhaps our students were asking for snow globes, and we were selling toasters.

Ben decided to look more closely at his in-class quiz structure. He's always been a fan of quizzes-they are easy to create, efficient to administer, and perfect for checking student understanding on specific learning targets. After letting students complete one of these short assessments, Ben could typically grade them before heading home, which made it possible to go over them as a class the next day. These moments of revision were great for conversations and checking in on understanding ... or so he thought.

Right around the time of the snow globe incident, Ben realized that he needed to rethink how he could better utilize quiz feedback. He wanted to find a more effective way to give students the opportunity to close the gap between their current performance and the established goal and improve the quality of the feedback they were getting.

He implemented a few changes-big and small-that dramatically improved his use of feedback within the constraints of available class time. Key changes included making his quizzes entirely formative-they were not "counted" toward the final student grade. He also stopped collecting and grading the quizzes and shifted the assessment process to his students by having them self-assess their progress rather than just giving them a grade. Here's how his new quiz feedback structure works:

Ben's grade 11 chemistry course has 25 main learning targets organized into 5 units of study. After a day or two of instruction, lessons, labs, and activities, the students can expect a short quiz to assess their understanding. These quizzes are not counted toward the student grade. Each quiz takes approximately 10-15 minutes, then the class goes over it together. Some students may finish earlier than others, so while waiting they might compare their answers with their neighbor, look up previous notes, or try alternative solutions. The main purpose of the quiz is not to accumulate points, but rather for the students to check their level of understanding on a specific learning target. If a student is stuck on a question, or bumps into confusion, they can take steps to change that.

Reviewing the answers to the quiz is an opportunity for discussion, debate, and the airing of opinions. At the end of the discussion, the students self-assess their original responses and identify where they had gaps in their understanding of the concept. Based on this discussion, students use the table in Figure 1 (see below) to determine most accurately, on a scale of 1-6, the statement that best applies to their level of understanding on the established learning outcome.

After the students are done with the self-assessment, Ben walks around the room and records their self-evaluation-but only to track their progress, not to form any part of their summative grade. The power of this process is that it provides him, the teacher, with valuable feedback. He might ask students, "How are you feeling after that quiz?", "Did anything stand out to you?", or "Do you know where to find some practice questions?" This way, he can quickly identify a common problem or question and determine concepts that he should re-teach. He can also identify instructional elements and activities that may have fallen short of what his students needed and may reteach a certain concept in a new way. Throughout this process, Ben's work is in line with Hattie's suggestion that feedback is for the teacher (2012) and with research that there is a positive relationship between student performance and assessment when the teacher is willing to modify or improve instruction (Brown, Peterson, & Irving, 2009).

Ben's quiz structure reflects other research surrounding memory. According to Cepeda et al. (2008), "To achieve enduring retention, people must usually study information on multiple occasions" (p. 1). To encourage "enduring retention," Ben offers a re-quiz a few days later on the same learning target, with different questions or a different format. Once again, the re-quiz is not counted toward their overall grade. The point is to give students more feedback so they can take risks, analyze their routines, and demonstrate a better understanding of the learning target. As Susan Brookhart (2012) argues, "Feedback can't be left hanging; it can't work if students don't have an immediate opportunity to use it" (p. 27).

Method #2: Rearranging the Test Structure

While Ben restructured his quizzes for better feedback, Myron tackled his tests. According to Bjork and Bjork, "The effectiveness of tests as learning events remains largely underappreciated, in part because testing is typically viewed as a vehicle of assessment and not a vehicle of learning" (2011, p. 62).

One of the barriers Myron bumped into when trying to use test data for effective feedback was that his tests weren't designed for it. All of his test sections had been separated and organized by format: true/false, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and so on. Each of these sections were a blend of various learning priorities, and therefore the score or grade for either a section, or the entire test for that matter, was a broad and nebulous concoction. This approach flew in the face of Wiliam's suggestion that "we need to ensure that feedback causes a cognitive rather than an emotional reaction" (2018, p. 153). Students would be eager to see their overall score, indicating an emotional response, only to cast it aside immediately after. Myron yearned for a cognitive response-a change in their thinking-and he hoped that feedback on specific outcomes would achieve it.

Myron decided to restructure his regular unit test, separating the sections according to the key learning outcomes rather than according to format. As a result, students and teacher alike immediately gleaned more useful information. The students received feedback on how well they grasped specific learning priorities, and Myron could see which outcomes had been effectively conveyed to the students, individually and as a whole. This feedback for the teacher allowed Myron to improve upon or revisit specific learning objectives. Lastly, he could reorganize his gradebook, creating three or four columns organized by outcomes, rather than one column of a blended score. In one easy step, he achieved a standards-based gradebook rather than an event-based one (Dueck, 2021).

Everyone-students and teachers-learns through clearly identifying objectives and then using feedback to improve understanding of those objectives.

Once the unit tests were divided by outcomes, it was far easier to use portions of the assessment for formative or summative purposes, depending entirely on how the students (or Myron as the teacher) responded to the feedback data (Dueck, 2021). In other words, the student could decide which sections of the unit test would count in the gradebook, and which sections would be re-tested. Therefore, for example, the first test could be entirely formative, or partially formative if the student decided to revisit certain sections. If a student was satisfied with the original test, then it was rendered entirely summative. 1

Acting on Feedback

The two of us are not alone in the quest to re-engineer many of our assessment tools and processes to better align with the main tenets of effective feedback. Myron has seen evidence of this in his work internationally as well. Everyone-students and teachers-learns through clearly identifying objectives and then using feedback to improve understanding of those objectives. Considering Sadler's definition of feedback, perhaps the most important question is: To what extent are we helping our students close the gap between the identified goal and their current performance in relation to it?

When wading through the reams of grading data we collect every year, our challenge is not dissimilar to the codebreakers of WWII and the owners of Christmas-themed gift shops. To harness the power of feedback, we need to disseminate it and act on it.

Giving Students a Say

How can educators improve assessment practices so that the results are accurate, meaningful, informative, and fair? Put student voice and choice at the center of the process, says Myron Dueck.

References

Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher, R. W. Pew, L. M. Hough, & J. R. Pomerantz (Eds.), Psychology and the real world (2nd ed.). Worth Publishers.

Brookhart, S. (2012). Preventing feedback fizzle. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 25-29.

Brown, G. T. L., Peterson, E. R., & Irving, S. E. (2009). Self-regulatory beliefs about assessment predict mathematics achievement. In D. M. McInerney, G. T. L. Brown, & G. A. D. Liem (Eds.), Student perspectives on assessment: What students can tell us about assessment for learning (pp. 159-186). Information Age Publishing.

Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing effects in learning. A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095-1102.

Dueck, M. (2021). Giving students a say-Smarter assessment practices to empower and engage. ASCD.

Hattie, J. (2012). Know thy impact. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 18-23.

Sadler, R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119-144.

Wiliam, D. (2018). Embedded formative assessment, (2nd ed.). Solution Tree.

End Notes

1 For an example of a test cover that indicates how sections are tied to specific outcomes, as well as the corresponding student tracking sheet, visit my website.

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Fine-Tuning Assessments for Better Feedback

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Quizzes and tests don't count as feedback if educators and students can't act upon the information they provide.

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During my first couple years of teaching, one of the areas where I typically got marked down on my teacher evaluations was on Lesson Closure.

Apparently it took me a while to catch on that saying "Put away your books and clear off your desks" was NOT an effective way to wrap up a lesson.

Allowing some time for some student reflection and/or summarization of the main ideas from the lesson turned out not only to be relatively easy to implement, but actually really effective (who knew?) not only in just wrapping up the lesson for the students but also for giving me an idea of how much the students really "got." In some cases, it became an important part of determining how I planned instruction for the next lesson.

Most of the time I didn't require students to write their names, so their responses were sort-of anonymous. (Though, really, by this time of the year, most of us probably know our students and their handwriting well enough that it's not much of a mystery as to who wrote what.)

1. Index Cards

Using index cards became my default means of reflection/response for students. I kept stacks of blank cards in my desk at all times. I often used them as a "Ticket to Recess" or "Exit Ticket" - so students would put their completed card in my hand as they left the room at the end of class.

Index cards worked well for asking one or two questions. Sometimes I'd use content-based questions, to see if the kids were paying attention - kind of like a mini pop quiz:

1. Who was President of the Confederacy during the Civil War?

2. Which biome has trees that lose their leaves in the winter?

3. What word means the answer to an addition problem?

More often, I'd use some sort of more open-ended questions:

1. Draw a picture that shows __________________ (some concept from the day's lesson)

2. What's one thing from today's lesson that was new to you?

3. What's one things from today's lesson that you want to know more about?

4. How would this math skill be used in science or in some other area of your life?

5. What one thing from today's lesson do you think will be most important to remember? Why?

It took a while to get what I thought were "good" responses to these kinds of questions from my students. Taking time to reflect was something relatively new to them too, so for the first few times I needed to model possible responses and let them work together with a partner to talk through how to respond (a pretty good idea, anyway).

Often I'd keep the cards for the next day and use them to create small groups for the next activity, particularly based on what students are most interested in learning next.

2. Sticky Notes

When using sticky notes, I could ask the same kinds of questions as on index cards, but sticky notes added the possibility of allowing students to "vote" as a part of their response or for students to be able to see what others had written.

When I taught middle school, I might give each class period a different color sticky note so I could see how their responses compared from one group of students to another.

Sometimes (more often when working with groups of adults) I'd give them 3-4 questions and a small stack of sticky notes so they could write one answer per note, which could then be grouped by question on the wall as they left the room.

3. Journals/Notebooks

The same kinds of questions can be asked for students to respond in a notebook or journal.

The advantage to this format is that students can see the progress of their own thinking over time. I might present the same question several times over the course of a unit so that students can see how their responses change as they learn new information and have new perspective based on what they're learning.

The disadvantage of this format is that it's more work for the teacher to look at the responses, though their might be times when only certain students' responses would need to be checked.

4. Handouts/Forms

Generally I don't like making copies of a form like these to give to students, unless it's included as part of a unit packet or other larger project. I don't want their "reflection" to just feel like one more worksheet. What I like about these formats is showing them on an overhead or on the projector and then having kids draw their own version - whether its on an index card, a piece of scrap paper or in a journal - possibly with some adjustments. (Maybe they have 2 things they learned instead of 3, etc.) Reflections should be personal, after all.

5. Students' Heads

Not all reflection responses need to be written. Sometimes turning and responding to the question to a partner or two can be very effective (and quicker, if time is an issue). And sometimes students just need a minute to process their own ideas on their own.

Reflection shouldn't end up being one more assignment, one more thing for students to do each class period. Structure the time and use a tool that best encourages actual reflection - which will vary based on the particular students and the topics involved. Help the students see how taking time to think about what they are learning actually benefits them.

Five Tools for Reflection

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Ideas for allowing some time for some student reflection and/or summarization of the main ideas from the lesson

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How to Get Students Thinking About Their Own Learning

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How to Get Students Thinking About Their Own Learning

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When students begin to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning, they develop self-regulation and can set more ambitious goals.

Davor Pavelic / Ikon Images

As a special education teacher and K-12 tutor, I found that students were often told what to learn but were rarely taught how to learn, which had the potential to leave them stuck, anxious, and disengaged. My desire to teach students strategies they could use to develop their own agency and independence led me to write my book, The Independent Learner.

Metacognition refers to a student's knowledge of their own thought process. A metacognitive thinking process allows students to self-regulate and direct their thoughts, behaviors, and actions toward their goals. As early as kindergarten, teachers can instruct students in how to build their metacognitive skills through a process of planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning. Once students reach third grade, they can begin to use these strategies with increased choice and independence.

When students begin working without a plan, they become easily confused and overwhelmed by the task. They may give up, get distracted, or become off-task very easily. Taking time to plan can help students avoid these issues. Planning can include previewing the task, setting goals, deciding how to approach the task, and connecting to previously learned information. The following strategies help students to plan.

Building prior knowledge: Teachers can help students build prior knowledge by connecting new information to what students already know. This might look like having students brainstorm in groups to answer a question, watch a short introductory video clip or demonstration, or look at and discuss pictures or objects related to the topic that will be studied. A strong foundation of background knowledge can help students to accurately make predictions and prioritize information during the lesson.

Goal setting: Having students set goals and track progress is linked to a 32 percent increase in achievement. Teachers can help students to set short-term goals related to the skill they are learning as well as the student's long-term personal goals and values.

Planning the process: We have all had the experience of setting goals, only to lose the motivation and follow-through necessary to make them a reality. Teachers can help students think about the changes they need to make in their daily behavior and habits in order to get from where they are now to where they want to be. Students can make a plan or checklist and use this to monitor their daily progress or the baby steps toward their goal.

Students who are having trouble monitoring don't know when to seek help or may be overly dependent on the teacher to make sure they are doing their work correctly. They may lack a sense of self-efficacy or the belief that their efforts affect their actions or fail to change their approach when it is not working. When a student is monitoring their learning, they are assessing their level of understanding and trying to determine whether the strategy they have selected is working. The following strategies help students monitor.

Metacognitive talk: When students are learning a new skill, the teacher can model thinking aloud to make the thought process visible for students. This helps them to develop the complex thinking skills necessary for that subject area. The teacher can encourage students to use discussion to construct knowledge instead of just participating to display what they know. Strategies like think-pair-share or visually explaining the steps of their thinking help students to understand that there are many ways to approach a particular problem or task.

Analyze, prioritize, summarize: Students can be taught various methods of summarizing information and isolating key facts, details, and keywords. One method that students enjoy is a one-pager.

Diversify: When approaching a new learning task, it is important for students to know many ways to solve a problem or approach the skill. Strategies that mix verbal and visual information make learning more memorable. When students are familiar with many strategies, they have the tools necessary to exercise their own agency in selecting what works best for them.

If students are not evaluating their learning, they often do not understand how to use strategies in other contexts or for future problem-solving. They may know that they got something wrong but are not able to tell you why or what they should do differently next time to avoid that same issue. To evaluate their learning, students consider whether the strategy they chose worked and what they would change for next time. The following strategies help students to evaluate.

Assess: Testing should be used during learning, not just once learning is complete. Students can create their own practice tests or test questions, or teachers can use pre- and post-tests with clickers to find out what students know, help students to prioritize important information, and assess learning during the lesson.

What am I working toward?

What progress have I made so far?

Where do I go from here?

Seek feedback: In the classroom, the teacher acts as a coach to students, providing information about learning goals and progress. Successful feedback should not shame students or focus on personal qualities but instead should answer these questions:

Reflect and revise: After assessment, self-assessment, or feedback, students reflect on whether the strategy they are using is working. Then they decide what changes they need to make. Students may also consider areas where they need to seek out help. When they revise, students consider what did not go so well and fix it. They should be able to explain their mistake or what did not work and then select a strategy to correct their work. As you might notice, this starts the metacognition cycle back at the planning stage.

The only way to make learning truly relevant to each student is to teach the tools and strategies they will need to take a more active role in their learning. Incorporating metacognitive skills and self-regulated learning strategies has helped my students to become more independent, engaged, and capable of exercising their own agency.

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How to Get Students Thinking About Their Own Learning

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When students begin to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning, they develop self-regulation and can set more ambitious goals.

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Tech Tools for Formative Assessment and Feedback

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Tech Tools for Formative Assessment and Feedback

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I set out to explore this thing again this year because I want to offer a professional learning opportunity to my staff about Student Assessment & Feedback Tools.We hope to eventually get approval for our SMART Schools Bond Act application and actually get more (and more up-to-date) devices into our school and into the hands of students.Our teachers have been so long without devices that some need ideas for how they will use them, while others are always searching for the new thing to try with what we have.

Here is a look at what I looked at:

If you have a need to have a class vote, this is an interesting way to do it.Not sure how I would use it in my library, but it would be worth demonstrating for the classroom teachers. One quick application that comes to mind is teachers who have macaroni jars as behavior incentives.When the jar is full, students vote on what they want the reward to be.This would be a cool way to let the students vote that would make the reward even sweeter.

I have Padlet set up for teachers to share materials and supplies that they no longer need, so I can see the purpose, but I have not come up with a real-life application for my elementary school students. I read How to Use Padlet: A Fantastic Tool for Teaching . I still can't see myself using many of those ideas.

After a quick visit to the Sample room for CoolTools folks I think that this is similar enough to Padlet and Answer Garden that I am not going to pursue it further.I can see a lot of application for professional learning though.It could be a parking lot for questions.Of course, it could be used for that at any level, but at the elementary level in my school, I would be afraid that the students would focus on the technology (and get lost somewhere else) rather than pay attention to my lesson.

I can see how this might be good for brainstorming purposes.They would be fun with a professional development class.But I don't see how they are really applicable for much in my elementary school learning environment.The best application I could come up with to create a word cloud for PR purposes.

& Good to know these products exist.I show so few videos that they are not relevant to me.Similarly, I don't think most of my coworkers will need it, but if I was a middle or high school teacher, especially a Social Studies teacher, I think that this would be invaluable.It seems like a good thing to use for a substitute plan.The students could be actively engaged in learning regardless of what kind of substitute ends up in the room.If you coupled it with Google Classroom, the students wouldn't even need the sub's instructions to start it.

Formative Assessment Tools

I used Kahoot with most of my 3-5 classes in the spring. They loved it. I loved the instant feedback as well as the availability of spreadsheets to track learning.BUT I don't really have access to enough portable devices to make this feasible right now.There is only one Chromebook cart for the entire building.My library computers are desktops that are not located near the SMARTboard, so the sad fact is that the students can't use Kahoot with our current computers because they can't see the questions from where they are.

This seems to make up for my problems with Kahoot.Although everyone has to take the quiz at once, they can be on computers that are far apart.So, I could conceivably have up to 14 groups being "quizzed" at once.I still can't do the entire class, but I could do half of the class and then the other half. It is obviously easier to do the quiz on a touch screen device, but not necessary.For the middle and high school where so many students have their own devices, this would work very well.

I like how you can add graphics.That means that this can be used for MANY different subjects and types of assessment.Too bad that the answer choices can't be images as well.

I could see classroom teachers using this for a quick formative assessment in math class.When the students break into groups for differentiated learning, part of their computer time (as most elementary teachers have 4-5 computers in their room) could be completing a quiz to gather results for the next day.The teacher would lose some class time to resetting the quiz for each small group, so they still might prefer Google Forms.

This is a British product.There were not many easily accessible videos or examples to view. It is web-based or an app.It does require devices for each student.In the Quickfire mode it appears that after the initial sign-in with code process, the students could be at computers that do not face a central screen.

I found the site itself strangely uninformative.They just wanted me to sign up before I really understood what I was signing up for, but a YouTube video that I located, https://youtu.be/0sA8pJY7cwM, explained some of the benefits of the site. One of the best things seems to be how flexible the site is.You don't have to retype everything.You can import word documents, pdfs or google docs and put in spots (short answer, show your work, true/false, or multiple choice) where the students answer on their computer where they would have put their pencil and paper answer.Of course, you can build the questions from scratch as well even adding graphics.The students answer the assessment in one of three ways: you can enter a class and invite them all, you can give them a link (through Google Classroom, for example), or they can use a code on the goformative.com/join website.The advantage to the last one being that they can log in as guest to be anonymous (at least from the site's perspective).From the promotional video I found, https://youtu.be/1Cu8F6gMshg , you can export your results.It is not as flashy as Kahoot or Quizziz, but it would be much easier to convert your old assessments to digital ones with this tool.It is not clear to me at least if there is a way to stagger when your students take the assessment or if you need 1:1 to take full advantage.

This is not strictly an iOS product.It is available for Android as well.This is a great tool when you don't have one-on-one technology available.Quite a few of our teachers are using this for instantly-available formative assessment and up-to-the-minute DDI.I have not used it myself.With 500 or so students, there would be A LOT of cards to deal with.Perhaps I could have one set and just reuse them with different classes by assigning just numbers to the cards with each student having a number.I don't know yet.

I use this ALL the time - with my students and with staff.I have students do formative assessments on it.I collect student evaluations of other's presentations, student evaluations of group member's work, student reading interest inventories, and more.I have used this to help colleagues create easy formative assessments for DDI tracking.We use Google Forms to track faculty and staff opinions on library materials, to gather contact information for the union, to collect district-wide interest in professional learning and their evaluations of district-provided professional learning.Google Forms is awesome.Still having enough technology available to fully implement it is an issue.If only the SMART Schools Bond Act money would come in! I had tried the Flubaroo add -on for self grading quizzes time ago.It seemed cumbersome in a way that Google Forms self-grading does not, but it does allow for more answer formats that stand-along Google Forms does.In addition, some schools will have trouble with the add-ons. (BTW, checking out the comparison reintroduced me to the Control Alt Achieve blog which has some other interesting posts!)

This does look like a cool site.The free version only allows 30 participants which would work for a classroom teacher, so I will show it during my professional learning opportunity.However, many of the features don't work on the free version, including Google Classroom integration.Bummer.Without the 1:1 device, I'm not sure it is something I would personally use.

Portfolio +/or Blogging Tools

For the most part, we don't have iOS devices, so this option is out.Actually, after a little exploration, I found out that they do support Android devices, Chromebooks, and computers with Chrome or Firefox.However, from what I saw, this is more of a blogging or a portfolio tool than an assessment tool.As a result, it is not really what I am looking for.This is all complicated by the fact that MANY of our students cannot be photographed or have their names posted on the web, so showing parents work via a web app is not a good idea for my school.

I can't see when I will have the time/need for video responses to questions at this point and the fact that it is a pay site makes it less attractive.I suppose that this might help to garner student interest, but if you need a gimmick to get the students interested in the library, then maybe you need to rethink your program.I accessed the link to 2nd Graders Use Their Research To Respond Via Flipgrid ! But I couldn't actually see the student work.After some Googling, I did find a fresh link to a project on text structure at https://expectmiraculous.com/2016/09/22/students-as-teachers-exploring-text-structure-with-flipgrid/ The students are having fun, BUT this takes an enormous amount of time to video all of the responses, not to mention the need for so many devices.Fun for an end-of-the-year-when-you-have-extra-time activity, but again the fact that so MANY of our students cannot be photographed makes this impractical.

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Thing 18: Student Assessment & Feedback Tools

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I set out to explore this thing again this year because I want to offer a professional learning opportunity to my staff about Student...

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Caitlin Tucker's Peer Feedback: Make it Meaningful

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Caitlin Tucker's Peer Feedback: Make it Meaningful

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Seven Keys to Effective Feedback - Wiggins

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Seven Keys to Effective Feedback - Wiggins

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Vol. 70

No. 1

Abstract

What Is Feedback, Anyway?

Feedback Essentials

Progress Toward a Goal

"But There's No Time!"

Advice, evaluation, grades-none of these provide the descriptive information that students need to reach their goals. What is true feedback-and how can it improve learning?

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Abstract

What Is Feedback, Anyway?

Feedback Essentials

Progress Toward a Goal

"But There's No Time!"

Who would dispute the idea that feedback is a good thing? Both common sense and research make it clear: Formative assessment, consisting of lots of feedback and opportunities to use that feedback, enhances performance and achievement.

Yet even John Hattie (2008), whose decades of research revealed that feedback was among the most powerful influences on achievement, acknowledges that he has "struggled to understand the concept" (p. 173). And many writings on the subject don't even attempt to define the term. To improve formative assessment practices among both teachers and assessment designers, we need to look more closely at just what feedback is-and isn't.

What Is Feedback, Anyway?

The term feedback is often used to describe all kinds of comments made after the fact, including advice, praise, and evaluation. But none of these are feedback, strictly speaking.

Basically, feedback is information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal. I hit a tennis ball with the goal of keeping it in the court, and I see where it lands-in or out. I tell a joke with the goal of making people laugh, and I observe the audience's reaction-they laugh loudly or barely snicker. I teach a lesson with the goal of engaging students, and I see that some students have their eyes riveted on me while others are nodding off.

Here are some other examples of feedback:

A friend tells me, "You know, when you put it that way and speak in that softer tone of voice, it makes me feel better."

A reader comments on my short story, "The first few paragraphs kept my full attention. The scene painted was vivid and interesting. But then the dialogue became hard to follow; as a reader, I was confused about who was talking, and the sequence of actions was puzzling, so I became less engaged."

A baseball coach tells me, "Each time you swung and missed, you raised your head as you swung so you didn't really have your eye on the ball. On the one you hit hard, you kept your head down and saw the ball."

Note the difference between these three examples and the first three I cited-the tennis stroke, the joke, and the student responses to teaching. In the first group, I only had to take note of the tangible effect of my actions, keeping my goals in mind. No one volunteered feedback, but there was still plenty of feedback to get and use. The second group of examples all involved the deliberate, explicit giving of feedback by other people.

Whether the feedback was in the observable effects or from other people, in every case the information received was not advice, nor was the performance evaluated. No one told me as a performer what to do differently or how "good" or "bad" my results were. (You might think that the reader of my writing was judging my work, but look at the words used again: She simply played back the effect my writing had on her as a reader.) Nor did any of the three people tell me what to do (which is what many people erroneously think feedback is-advice). Guidance would be premature; I first need to receive feedback on what I did or didn't do that would warrant such advice.

In all six cases, information was conveyed about the effects of my actions as related to a goal. The information did not include value judgments or recommendations on how to improve. (For examples of information that is often falsely viewed as feedback, see "Feedback vs. Advice" above and "Feedback vs. Evaluation and Grades" on p. 15.)

Decades of education research support the idea that by teaching less and providing more feedback, we can produce greater learning (see Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Hattie, 2008; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001). Compare the typical lecture-driven course, which often produces less-than-optimal learning, with the peer instruction model developed by Eric Mazur (2009) at Harvard. He hardly lectures at all to his 200 introductory physics students; instead, he gives them problems to think about individually and then discuss in small groups. This system, he writes, "provides frequent and continuous feedback (to both the students and the instructor) about the level of understanding of the subject being discussed" (p. 51), producing gains in both conceptual understanding of the subject and problem-solving skills. Less "teaching," more feedback equals better results.

Feedback Essentials

Whether feedback is just there to be grasped or is provided by another person, helpful feedback is goal-referenced; tangible and transparent; actionable; user-friendly (specific and personalized); timely; ongoing; and consistent.

1. Goal-Referenced

Effective feedback requires that a person has a goal, takes action to achieve the goal, and receives goal-related information about his or her actions. I told a joke-why? To make people laugh. I wrote a story to engage the reader with vivid language and believable dialogue that captures the characters' feelings. I went up to bat to get a hit. If I am not clear on my goals or if I fail to pay attention to them, I cannot get helpful feedback (nor am I likely to achieve my goals).

Information becomes feedback if, and only if, I am trying to cause something and the information tells me whether I am on track or need to change course. If some joke or aspect of my writing isn't working -a revealing, nonjudgmental phrase-I need to know.

Note that in everyday situations, goals are often implicit, although fairly obvious to everyone. I don't need to announce when telling the joke that my aim is to make you laugh. But in school, learners are often unclear about the specific goal of a task or lesson, so it is crucial to remind them about the goal and the criteria by which they should self-assess. For example, a teacher might say,

The point of this writing task is for you to make readers laugh. So, when rereading your draft or getting feedback from peers, ask, How funny is this? Where might it be funnier?

As you prepare a table poster to display the findings of your science project, remember that the aim is to interest people in your work as well as to describe the facts you discovered through your experiment. Self-assess your work against those two criteria using these rubrics. The science fair judges will do likewise.

2. Tangible and Transparent

Any useful feedback system involves not only a clear goal, but also tangible results related to the goal. People laugh, chuckle, or don't laugh at each joke; students are highly attentive, somewhat attentive, or inattentive to my teaching.

Even as little children, we learn from such tangible feedback. That's how we learn to walk; to hold a spoon; and to understand that certain words magically yield food, drink, or a change of clothes from big people. The best feedback is so tangible that anyone who has a goal can learn from it.

Alas, far too much instructional feedback is opaque, as revealed in a true story a teacher told me years ago. A student came up to her at year's end and said, "Miss Jones, you kept writing this same word on my English papers all year, and I still don't know what it means." "What's the word? " she asked. "Vag-oo," he said. (The word was vague!)

Sometimes, even when the information is tangible and transparent, the performers don't obtain it-either because they don't look for it or because they are too busy performing to focus on the effects. In sports, novice tennis players or batters often don't realize that they're taking their eyes off the ball; they often protest, in fact, when that feedback is given. (Constantly yelling "Keep your eye on the ball!" rarely works.) And we have all seen how new teachers are sometimes so busy concentrating on "teaching" that they fail to notice that few students are listening or learning.

That's why, in addition to feedback from coaches or other able observers, video or audio recordings can help us perceive things that we may not perceive as we perform; and by extension, such recordings help us learn to look for difficult-to-perceive but vital information. I recommend that all teachers videotape their own classes at least once a month. It was a transformative experience for me when I did it as a beginning teacher. Concepts that had been crystal clear to me when I was teaching seemed opaque and downright confusing on tape-captured also in the many quizzical looks of my students, which I had missed in the moment.

3. Actionable

Effective feedback is concrete, specific, and useful; it provides actionable information. Thus, "Good job!" and "You did that wrong" and B+ are not feedback at all. We can easily imagine the learners asking themselves in response to these comments, What specifically should I do more or less of next time, based on this information? No idea. They don't know what was "good" or "wrong" about what they did.

Actionable feedback must also be accepted by the performer. Many so-called feedback situations lead to arguments because the givers are not sufficiently descriptive; they jump to an inference from the data instead of simply presenting the data. For example, a supervisor may make the unfortunate but common mistake of stating that "many students were bored in class." That's a judgment, not an observation. It would have been far more useful and less debatable had the supervisor said something like, "I counted ongoing inattentive behaviors in 12 of the 25 students once the lecture was underway. The behaviors included texting under desks, passing notes, and making eye contact with other students. However, after the small-group exercise began, I saw such behavior in only one student."

Such care in offering neutral, goal-related facts is the whole point of the clinical supervision of teaching and of good coaching more generally. Effective supervisors and coaches work hard to carefully observe and comment on what they observed, based on a clear statement of goals. That's why I always ask when visiting a class, "What would you like me to look for and perhaps count?" In my experience as a teacher of teachers, I have always found such pure feedback to be accepted and welcomed. Effective coaches also know that in complex performance situations, actionable feedback about what went right is as important as feedback about what didn't work.

4. User-Friendly

Even if feedback is specific and accurate in the eyes of experts or bystanders, it is not of much value if the user cannot understand it or is overwhelmed by it. Highly technical feedback will seem odd and confusing to a novice. Describing a baseball swing to a 6-year-old in terms of torque and other physics concepts will not likely yield a better hitter. Too much feedback is also counterproductive; better to help the performer concentrate on only one or two key elements of performance than to create a buzz of information coming in from all sides.

Expert coaches uniformly avoid overloading performers with too much or too technical information. They tell the performers one important thing they noticed that, if changed, will likely yield immediate and noticeable improvement ("I was confused about who was talking in the dialogue you wrote in this paragraph"). They don't offer advice until they make sure the performer understands the importance of what they saw.

5. Timely

In most cases, the sooner I get feedback, the better. I don't want to wait for hours or days to find out whether my students were attentive and whether they learned, or which part of my written story works and which part doesn't. I say "in most cases" to allow for situations like playing a piano piece in a recital. I don't want my teacher or the audience barking out feedback as I perform. That's why it is more precise to say that good feedback is "timely" rather than "immediate."

A great problem in education, however, is untimely feedback. Vital feedback on key performances often comes days, weeks, or even months after the performance-think of writing and handing in papers or getting back results on standardized tests. As educators, we should work overtime to figure out ways to ensure that students get more timely feedback and opportunities to use it while the attempt and effects are still fresh in their minds.

Before you say that this is impossible, remember that feedback does not need to come only from the teacher, or even from people at all. Technology is one powerful tool-part of the power of computer-assisted learning is unlimited, timely feedback and opportunities to use it. Peer review is another strategy for managing the load to ensure lots of timely feedback; it's essential, however, to train students to do small-group peer review to high standards, without immature criticisms or unhelpful praise.

6. Ongoing

Adjusting our performance depends on not only receiving feedback but also having opportunities to use it. What makes any assessment in education formative is not merely that it precedes summative assessments, but that the performer has opportunities, if results are less than optimal, to reshape the performance to better achieve the goal. In summative assessment, the feedback comes too late; the performance is over.

Thus, the more feedback I can receive in real time, the better my ultimate performance will be. This is how all highly successful computer games work. If you play Angry Birds, Halo, Guitar Hero, or Tetris, you know that the key to substantial improvement is that the feedback is both timely and ongoing. When you fail, you can immediately start over-sometimes even right where you left off-to get another opportunity to receive and learn from the feedback. (This powerful feedback loop is also user-friendly. Games are built to reflect and adapt to our changing need, pace, and ability to process information.)

It is telling, too, that performers are often judged on their ability to adjust in light of feedback. The ability to quickly adapt one's performance is a mark of all great achievers and problem solvers in a wide array of fields. Or, as many little league coaches say, "The problem is not making errors; you will all miss many balls in the field, and that's part of learning. The problem is when you don't learn from the errors."

7. Consistent

To be useful, feedback must be consistent. Clearly, performers can only adjust their performance successfully if the information fed back to them is stable, accurate, and trustworthy. In education, that means teachers have to be on the same page about what high-quality work is. Teachers need to look at student work together, becoming more consistent over time and formalizing their judgments in highly descriptive rubrics supported by anchor products and performances. By extension, if we want student-to-student feedback to be more helpful, students have to be trained to be consistent the same way we train teachers, using the same exemplars and rubrics.

Progress Toward a Goal

In light of these key characteristics of helpful feedback, how can schools most effectively use feedback as part of a system of formative assessment? The key is to gear feedback to long-term goals.

Let's look at how this works in sports. My daughter runs the mile in track. At the end of each lap in races and practice races, the coaches yell out split times (the times for each lap) and bits of feedback ("You're not swinging your arms!" "You're on pace for 5:15"), followed by advice ("Pick it up-you need to take two seconds off this next lap to get in under 5:10!").

My daughter and her teammates are getting feedback (and advice) about how they are performing now compared with their final desired time. My daughter's goal is to run a 5:00 mile. She has already run 5:09. Her coach is telling her that at the pace she just ran in the first lap, she is unlikely even to meet her best time so far this season, never mind her long-term goal. Then, he tells her something descriptive about her current performance (she's not swinging her arms) and gives her a brief piece of concrete advice (take two seconds off the next lap) to make achievement of the goal more likely.

The ability to improve one's result depends on the ability to adjust one's pace in light of ongoing feedback that measures performance against a concrete, long-term goal. But this isn't what most school district "pacing guides" and grades on "formative" tests tell you. They yield a grade against recent objectives taught, not useful feedback against the final performance standards. Instead of informing teachers and students at an interim date whether they are on track to achieve a desired level of student performance by the end of the school year, the guide and the test grade just provide a schedule for the teacher to follow in delivering content and a grade on that content. It's as if at the end of the first lap of the mile race, My daughter's coach simply yelled out, " B+ on that lap!"

The advice for how to change this sad situation should be clear: Score student work in the fall and winter against spring standards, use more pre-and post-assessments to measure progress toward these standards, and do the item analysis to note what each student needs to work on for better future performance.

"But There's No Time!"

Although the universal teacher lament that there's no time for such feedback is understandable, remember that "no time to give and use feedback" actually means "no time to cause learning." As we have seen, research shows that less teaching plus more feedback is the key to achieving greater learning. And there are numerous ways-through technology, peers, and other teachers-that students can get the feedback they need.

So try it out. Less teaching, more feedback. Less feedback that comes only from you, and more tangible feedback designed into the performance itself. And, of course, send me some feedback on this article at gwiggins@authenticeducation.org.

Feedback vs. Advice

› You need more examples in your report.

› You might want to use a lighter baseball bat.

› You should have included some Essential Questions in your unit plan.

These three statements are not feedback; they're advice. Such advice out of the blue seems at best tangential and at worst unhelpful and annoying. Unless it is preceded by descriptive feedback, the natural response of the performer is to wonder, "Why are you suggesting this?"

As coaches, teachers, and parents, we too often jump right to advice without first ensuring that the learner has sought, grasped, and tentatively accepted the feedback on which the advice is based. By doing so, we often unwittingly end up unnerving learners. Students become increasingly insecure about their own judgment and dependent on the advice of experts-and therefore in a panic about what to do when varied advice comes from different people or no advice is available at all.

If your ratio of advice to feedback is too high, try asking the learner, "Given the feedback, do you have some ideas about how to improve?" This approach will build greater autonomy and confidence over the long haul. Once they are no longer rank novices, performers can often self-advise if asked to.

Feedback vs. Evaluation and Grades

› This is a weak paper.

› You got a C on your presentation.

› I'm so pleased by your poster!

These comments make a value judgment. They rate, evaluate, praise, or criticize what was done. There is little or no feedback here-no actionable information about what occurred. As performers, we only know that someone else placed a high or low value on what we did.

How might we recast these comments to be useful feedback? Tip: Always add a mental colon after each statement of value. For example,

"Good work: Your use of words was more precise in this paper than in the last one, and I saw the scenes clearly in my mind's eye."

"This is a weak paper: Almost from the first sentence, I was confused as to your initial thesis and the evidence you provide for it. In the second paragraph you propose a different thesis, and in the third paragraph you don't offer evidence, just beliefs."

You'll soon find that you can drop the evaluative language; it serves no useful function.

The most ubiquitous form of evaluation, grading, is so much a part of the school landscape that we easily overlook its utter uselessness as actionable feedback. Grades are here to stay, no doubt-but that doesn't mean we should rely on them as a major source of feedback.

References

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge.

Mazur, E. (2009, January 2). Farewell, lecture? Science, 323, 50-51.

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Advice, evaluation, grades-none of these provide the descriptive information that students need to reach their goals. What is true feedback-and how can it improve learning?

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Dr. Jeanette Westfall has been working in public education since 1985 and worked for Liberty Public Schools (MO) from 2013-2023, most recently as the assistant superintendent for instructional design. Jeanette's degrees include a Doctorate in Education from the University of Missouri, a Master of Arts degree in Education from Baker University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Texas State University.

Jeanette started teaching at the elementary level in the Del Valle School District (TX) before moving across the United States for more than a decade as an Air Force spouse. Jeanette and her family settled in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1999, where she taught high school language arts as well as gifted and talented English, worked as one of the first instructional coaches for the district, and finally served as a high school principal in the St. Joseph School District (MO) before she joined Liberty Public School District in 2013. Jeanette has been an active learner during her public education career, participating in the Learning Forward Academy, as a Department of Education #GoOpen advocate, and serving on numerous AdvancEd/Cognia School Accreditation Teams.

Jeanette has been married to Kurt Westfall since 1984 and have two sons (Matt/Amber and Mike/Keely), and they spend their time enjoying their three grandchildren (Aria, Holden & Bode) as much as they possibly can.

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Learner Agency: A Field Guide for Taking Flight

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Learner Agency: A Field Guide for Taking Flight [Vandas, Kara, Westfall, Jeanette, Duvall, Ashley, Zhao, Yong] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Learner Agency: A Field Guide for Taking Flight

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Assessment is an essential part of teaching and learning, but too often it leads to misleading conclusions-sometimes with dire consequences for students. How can educators improve assessment practices so that the results are accurate, meaningful, informative, and fair?

Educator and best-selling author Myron Dueck draws from his firsthand experience and his work with districts around the world to provide a simple but profound answer: put student voice and choice at the center of the process.

In this engaging and well-researched book, Dueck reveals troubling issues related to traditional approaches and offers numerous examples of educators at all levels who are transforming assessment by using tools and methods that engage and empower students. He also shares surprising revelations about the nature of memory and learning that speak to the need for rethinking how we measure student understanding and achievement.

Readers will find sound advice and detailed guidance on how to

* Share and cocreate precise learning targets,
* Develop student-friendly rubrics linked to standards,
* Involve students in ongoing assessment procedures,
* Replace flawed grading systems with ones that better reflect what students know and can do, and
* Design structures for students' self-reporting on their progress in learning.

Inspired by the origins of the word assessment -derived from the Latin for "to sit beside"-Dueck urges educators to discard old habits and instead work with students as partners in assessment. For those who do, the effort is rewarding and the benefits are significant

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Giving Students a Say: Smarter Assessment Practices to Empower and Engage

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Giving Students a Say: Smarter Assessment Practices to Empower and Engage [Dueck, Myron] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Giving Students a Say: Smarter Assessment Practices to Empower and Engage

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Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom Stack and Vander Els

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Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom Stack and Vander Els

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"This book is far more than some tips and activities to try in your class; it reveals a whole new way of thinking about how we instruct, assess, and motivate student learning. "
-- From the foreword by Mike Mattos

"Jonathan Vander Els and Brian Stack have written the map for educators seeking to transform their schools into equitable, competency-based, next-generation learning environments. Their experience; their steady, practical guidance; and the many voices of fellow educators that populate this book make this a must-have resource for all transformation-minded educators. "
-- Andrew Calkins , codirector, Next Generation Learning Challenges

---- Andrew Calkins , codirector, Next Generation Learning Challenges

"Change is often challenging, particularly when you set out to innovate on a century-old model of schooling. Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom takes you deeper into competency-based learning and reveals additional details that elevate the work the authors started in their book Breaking With Tradition. Vander Els and Stack provide critical information for guiding educators' transformative work. "
-- Denise Airola , director, Office of Innovation for Education

"The authors expertly unpack the philosophy of competency-based education, providing a guide for what is necessary in instruction, assessment, grading, and support in the competency-based classroom. Their clear guidance, along with practical templates, design rubrics, and practitioner perspectives, makes this a must-read book. "
-- Ken O'Connor , educational consultant

"Jonathan Vander Els and Brian Stack offer a comprehensive, encouraging, and expert roadmap for transforming schools in service of greater equity and student engagement through competency-based learning. Based on their deep experience as leaders of competency-based schools, Vander Els and Stack convey both the big ideas and the nuts and bolts of classroom practice and professional learning communities. I will pull this book off my shelf again and again as a key competency-based learning reference. "
-- Eliot Levine , research director, Aurora Institute

"Jonathan Vander Els and Brian Stack have shared their expertise in a manner that will benefit the field of education for years to come. . . . For years, educators have been asking for practical examples and models to begin this important work. Vander Els and Stack have delivered on this need with Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom. "
-- Mike Burde , superintendent, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, Wyoming, Michigan

---- Mike Burde , superintendent, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, Wyoming, Michigan

Jonathan G. Vander Els, EdS, specializes in supporting teachers and administrators in schools and districts across the United States in developing, sustaining, and enhancing structures to support all learners. As a practitioner, Jonathan is able to blend his experience and expertise to meet educators where they are and assist them in developing practical next steps to ensure high levels of learning for students in their school.

Jonathan has consulted, coached, and presented at conferences and PLC at Work® Institutes throughout the United States on building highly effective professional learning communities (PLCs), implementing competency-based and personalized learning, and developing balanced and rigorous assessment systems. He is coauthor of Breaking With Tradition: The Shift to Competency-Based Learning in PLCs at Work® , written with Brian Stack.

Jonathan serves as a project director for the New Hampshire Learning Initiative, overseeing and participating in the personalized and competency-based work throughout the State of New Hampshire. Formerly, Jonathan was principal of Memorial Elementary School in Sanborn Regional School District in Kingston, New Hampshire. Under his leadership, Memorial School became a nationally recognized Model PLC and competency-based learning elementary environment.

Jonathan has an education specialist degree from the University of New Hampshire in educational administration and supervision, a master's degree in elementary education, and a bachelor's degree in history. Jonathan is currently enrolled at the University of New Hampshire in their PhD Educational Leadership and Policy strand, with a focus on competency-based learning. Jonathan lives with his wife and three children on the New Hampshire Seacoast.

To learn more about Jonathan's work, follow @jvanderels on Twitter.

Brian M. Stack, CAGS, is the principal of Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, New Hampshire, and a professional development provider supporting educators in schools and districts around the world. Since 2010, Brian has been a member of the research, design, and implementation team for his school district's nationally recognized K-12 competency-based learning system. An educator since 2001, Brian was a high school mathematics teacher, curriculum director, high school administrator, and school board member in three different school districts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He has worked as a consultant and expert coach for a number of schools, school districts, and organizations engaged in personalized and competency-based learning across the United States. His is coauthor of Breaking With Tradition: The Shift to Competency Based Learning in PLCs at Work® with Jonathan Vander Els.

Brian is a member of the New Hampshire Association of School Principals. He received the 2017 New Hampshire Secondary School Principal of the Year award from that organization. In 2010 and again in 2013, he was recognized with the Outstanding Role Model award, also from that organization. He is a strong advocate of personalized learning, competency-based learning systems, and high school redesign for the 21st century. He has presented his education reform and redesign work in workshops and conferences across the United States.

Brian received his bachelor's degrees in mathematics and mathematics education from Boston University and a master's degree in education administration from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He received his CAGS in educational leadership from New England College. He lives with his wife, Erica, and their five children--Brady, Cameron, Liam, Owen, and Zoey--on the New Hampshire Seacoast.

To learn more about Brian's work, follow him at @bstackbu on Twitter.

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Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom: Equitable, Individualized Learning in a PLC at Work®

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Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom: Equitable, Individualized Learning in a PLC at Work® [Jonathan G. Vander Els, Brian M. Stack] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom: Equitable, Individualized Learning in a PLC at Work®

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"Joe Feldman shows us how we can use grading to help students become the leaders of their own learning and lift the veil on how to succeed. . . . This must-have book will help teachers learn to implement improved, equity-focused grading for impact."

--Zaretta Hammond,

Author of Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain

Crack open the grading conversation

Here at last―and none too soon―is a resource that delivers the research base, tools, and courage to tackle one of the most challenging and emotionally charged conversations in today's schools: our inconsistent grading practices and the ways they can inadvertently perpetuate the achievement and opportunity gaps among our students.

With Grading for Equity, Joe Feldman cuts to the core of the conversation, revealing how grading practices that are accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational will improve learning, minimize grade inflation, reduce failure rates, and become a lever for creating stronger teacher-student relationships and more caring classrooms. Essential reading for schoolwide and individual book study or for student advocates, Grading for Equity provides

A critical historical backdrop, describing how our inherited system of grading was originally set up as a sorting mechanism to provide or deny opportunity, control students, and endorse a "fixed mindset" about students' academic potential―practices that are still in place a century later

A summary of the research on motivation and equitable teaching and learning, establishing a rock-solid foundation and a "true north" orientation toward equitable grading practices

Specific grading practices that are more equitable, along with teacher examples, strategies to solve common hiccups and concerns, and evidence of effectiveness

Reflection tools for facilitating individual or group engagement and understanding

As Joe writes, "Grading practices are a mirror not just for students, but for us as their teachers." Each one of us should start by asking, "What do my grading practices say about who I am and what I believe?" Then, let's make the choice to do things differently . . . with Grading for Equity as a dog-eared reference.

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Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms

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Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms [Feldman, Joe Charles] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms

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How to successfully introduce self-assessment in your classroom - Education Hub

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How to successfully introduce self-assessment in your classroom - Education Hub

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Self-Assessment in the Elementary School

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Self-Assessment in the Elementary School

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Self-Assessment in the Elementary School

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Self- Assessment in Kindergarten classroom

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Self- Assessment in Kindergarten classroom

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Teaching Kids to Give and Receive Quality Peer Feedback

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Teaching Kids to Give and Receive Quality Peer Feedback

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Jamie Kobs knows the value of giving students timely and meaningful feedback, but she often struggled with the volume of incoming assignments. Then she discovered a solution: her students. Feedback didn't always need to come directly from her, the veteran high school English teacher realized. In fact, if she taught kids the skills to deliver constructive, focused feedback, it could be equally meaningful coming from fellow classmates.

"Besides relieving me of some of the pressure, creating a classroom culture where students give each other feedback has helped me increase engagement and build community," Kobs says. "Having more frequent interactions among students builds rapport and trust and disrupts the idea that I'm the only expert in the room."

A high-functioning feedback culture also frees up teachers to give more low-stakes assignments, creates more opportunities for students to practice, and democratizes the creative process-replacing the top-down dynamics of more typical classrooms and making kids an equal and accountable part of learning outcomes for everyone. Kids who frequently draw, create podcasts, or write fiction with the expectation that their peers will be consuming it, and who are themselves expected to provide useful feedback, are more likely to be attuned to the elements that make art or stories truly outstanding and "feel more seen, heard, valued, and, consequently, engaged in their work," according to Kobs.

But the middle and high school years can be a difficult time for students when it comes to peer evaluation-some initial reluctance is normal. Research shows that adolescents are hypersensitive to criticism, and when they feel judged, they can become self-conscious, stressed, or withdrawn. Other students may feel tentative or shy about giving feedback to peers they admire, and for English language learners, the process might feel especially daunting.

Developing a culture of feedback must therefore happen in tandem with creating a safe and supportive classroom. By scaffolding the feedback process in a classroom where kids feel valued and empowered-the effort requires "consistent modeling, repetition, and a commitment to sharing the feedback with students," says Kobs-even teens can become more comfortable with the act of giving and receiving peer feedback.

Here are six considerations for creating a culture of feedback in the classroom.

Encourage reflection, not correction: Consider limiting feedback cycles to work products that are not highly structured, or that require granular feedback related to syntax, grammar, and spelling. When students in Mark Gardner's high school English class provide feedback, he encourages them to focus on collectively reflecting, not correcting, each other's work. Very few incoming high school students have mastered the conventions of writing well enough to be reliable copy editors, he says. Rather than correcting syntax errors, Gardner wants his students to focus on providing feedback that outlines clear next steps that peers can take toward improvement.

"My students focus on idea development, clarity, and arrangement to make sense of the writer's text," he explains. He asks students to write full sentences in their observations like, "I am confused about who 'they' are in this sentence" or "I like how you repeated keywords from your hook here in your conclusion."

Assign feedback partners: To prevent students from worrying about evaluating friends, high school history and government teacher Benjamin Barbour recommends assigning partners instead of letting kids choose who to critique in the class. Once students are working in pairs, consider allowing them to share feedback with each other rather than with the whole class, making it a generally less stressful experience for kids.

Offer choices: Including an element of choice in the feedback process can build student agency and motivation, writes educator Dr. Catlin Tucker in her blog. A peer feedback choice board, for example, allows students to select prompts that provide direction and context for delivering feedback that's "specific, meaningful, and kind," Tucker notes.
Courtesy of Dr. Catlin Tucker
For English language learners, teachers can create choice boards "with sentence frames to provide students with additional support as they give each other focused feedback," Tucker writes. "For example, under the box labeled 'Greatest Strength,' teachers could rework that as a series of fill-in-the-blank statements. The strongest part of this draft was ______. I thought ______ was done well. I really liked ______."

Deliver feedback that is specific: Emphasize the idea that criticism must be both constructive and specific in nature in order to be helpful. English language arts specialist Katherine James says that students often leave general or vague feedback like "I really enjoyed your story."

Instead, encourage kids to be focused and specific with their feedback. "Give examples of what specific feedback sounds like-for example: I really liked your simile 'the rain hit the pavement like arrows' because it helped me visualize the setting," rather than the more general 'I liked your description,'" James says.

Specificity counts in oral feedback too, and scaffolding student responses is equally important. After Socratic seminars or academic discussions in her classroom, Kobs directs students to "give a specific example of something someone else said during this discussion that resonated with you," and "explain why it stuck with you."

Model feedback, and suggest sentence starters: During the brainstorming stage of a personal narrative assignment in her high school English classroom, Kobs's students pitch ideas via Flipgrid videos. Students then watch and respond to the pitches of two classmates with the help of sentence starters.

To ensure that the feedback cycle is targeted and productive, Kobs and her colleagues "model both the pitch and the response steps with videos of our own" and provide sentence starters to help kids focus on the most important aspects of the piece and clarify how to deliver their feedback. Sentence starters might prompt students to say, "I didn't get the part about...," pose questions or suggestions out of curiosity like "What happened next?" or "Maybe you can try...," or make connections: "Something similar happened to me when..."

Prompt deeper engagement: Consider trying an "I like, I wish, I wonder" framework as another way to help focus students on content rather than grammar and spelling errors. It encourages them to interact creatively with their peers' work, says James, and encourages critical thinking as students try to provide meaningful feedback.

"When reading each other's work and giving feedback, they must discuss one thing they liked about the other person's work, one thing they wished that person had done differently, and one thing they wondered about (for example, how a main character felt about or reacted to an event)," she explains.

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Teaching Kids to Give and Receive Quality Peer Feedback

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Building a classroom culture of feedback requires scaffolding and a safe, nurturing environment, but it's worth the effort, teachers say.

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Self-Assessment:  Reflections from Students and Teachers

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Self-Assessment:  Reflections from Students and Teachers

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Self-Assessment: Reflections from Students and Teachers

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Developing Students' Ability to Give and Take Effective Feedback

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Developing Students' Ability to Give and Take Effective Feedback

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Developing Students’ Ability to Give and Take Effective Feedback | KQED

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Schools are using a modified version of the Six Thinking Hats technique to teach students how to give effective feedback to one another.

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Empowering Students to Own the Assessment Process

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Empowering Students to Own the Assessment Process

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Empowering Students to Own the Assessment Process

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Article: Personalizing Learning: Reflection and Goal-Setting - by Dougherty and Camp

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Article: Personalizing Learning: Reflection and Goal-Setting - by Dougherty and Camp

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Reflection and goal-setting is the simplest way to begin personalizing learning because it mirrors a practice we engage in every day of our lives. Sometimes this shows up in small ways, like aiming to show gratitude more often, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or reading more. Technology is playing a larger role in this practice, especially as it applies to our health. This can be as simple as checking your steps on a smartwatch to signing-up for an exercise and diet app. We reflect and set-goals at church, in a therapy session, at the gym, when we go shopping, or around the dinner table. It is one primary format in which we aim to improve ourselves. And it's one reason why reflection and goal-setting is often the first step educators take to personalize learning.

Student reflection and goal setting are practices that can build a bridge for students between the content they are learning and why they are learning it. While these are two separate practices, they can, and should be interconnected in the classroom. Reflecting on what we know and how we learn builds self-awareness that can make goal-setting a truly meaningful experience.

Reflection

Reflection is a process where students describe their previous learning, how it evolved, and how it might impact future learning. In the same way we build academic skills in students, reflection is a skill that needs to be carefully cultivated in our classrooms. We should show our students different ways it can look and guide them to choose the process they find most meaningful. Reflection can begin with making time for simple prompting questions at the end of a lesson or after an assessment. Educators can help student begin to reflect by using prompts such as:

What is one thing that would improve your practice in the future?

How would you rate your learning experience? (5 stars, red/yellow/green, thumbs-up/down, etc.)

What did you learn? What do you still want or need to learn?

Self-Reflection

Supporting student reflection begins with self-reflection. Investigating and understanding our own identities, biases, and experiences is a crucial step to helping students navigate for themselves. Through reflection, educators and students can develop self-awareness competencies, from identifying one's strengths, to developing clear goals for specific tasks, amongst others ( CASEL , 2020). Through reflection and goal setting, students are more well-positioned to take academic risks, learn from their experiences, and more intentionally tackle the next task in front of them.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is one piece of the reflective process. Goals allow students to name milestones they want to achieve or practices they would like to grow in. Milestones could be around performance, effort, or habits. Setting goals empower students to dictate their own indicators of success that are important for their personal growth. Individually crafted goals can foster a sense of ownership in students when it comes to their learning. Goals create an opportunity for connections to be drawn between classroom learning and broader dreams students hold for themselves.

Modeling

Think back on the different ways that you and your students have most successfully reflected and set-goals in the past. Reflection and goal-setting is a habit that can be developed over time. Modeling this process is one of the best ways to start this work. Share ways in which reflection and goal-setting have been successful and challenges you've encountered. This will help make your classroom a safe and supportive place for students to be reflective, vulnerable, empowered to own their learning.

More Personalized Learning reading

Blog: Six Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like

Blog: The Core 4 Elements of Personalized Learning

Blog: Personalized Learning Requires Flexibility: An Update to Education Elements' Core 4

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Getting it Right

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Student reflection and goal setting are critical elements of personalized learning in that they build a student's ownership of their learning.

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Learner Agency:  3rd grade Manor Hill Elementary Example from the Field

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Learner Agency:  3rd grade Manor Hill Elementary Example from the Field

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Stories from the Field: Choice Session A Cohort 1, Convening 6

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Elementary Example A Practitioner Perspective page 75-76 from Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom (Stack and Vander Els) 

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Elementary Example A Practitioner Perspective page 75-76 from Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom (Stack and Vander Els) 

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Cohort 1 Convening 6 Choice Session APractitioner Perspective page 75-76 in Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom

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Grade 5 Example: Irene Stinson, Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom p. 79

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Grade 5 Example: Irene Stinson, Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom p. 79

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Cohort 1 Conv 6 Choice A Fifth Grade example:  Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom

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High School Example of Feedback in a graded classroom with Questions of Focus

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High School Example of Feedback in a graded classroom with Questions of Focus

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Vol. 79

No. 7

Abstract

Defining Effective Feedback

Method #1: Effective Quiz Feedback-Immediate, Informal, and Informative

Method #2: Rearranging the Test Structure

Acting on Feedback

Quizzes and tests don't count as feedback if educators and students can't act upon the information they provide.

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Credit: SOLSTOCK / iSTOCK

Abstract

Defining Effective Feedback

Method #1: Effective Quiz Feedback-Immediate, Informal, and Informative

Method #2: Rearranging the Test Structure

Acting on Feedback

A few years ago, while attending a well-known grading conference, a group of us took a break to go holiday shopping. One of the educators in our party had a mission-to find his daughter a holiday-themed snow globe.

To our colleague's delight, we came upon a store focused entirely on Christmas. With an air of confidence, he swung open the door, all but reaching for his credit card to obtain his daughter's wish. As we scoured the festive boutique, and failed to immediately find the crystal ball, he approached a sales associate.

"Where might I find your snow globes?" he asked.

"You are the fifth person today who's asked for a snow globe, and I'll say for the fifth time- we don't sell them," she said.

It was hard not to see this as an instructive example of someone being oblivious to feedback.

Another example: In his fascinating book The Secret War (Harper, 2016), Max Hastings explores the complex and perilous world of WWII espionage and intelligence. One of his conclusions is that intel was only as valuable as any country's ability to (a) disseminate it and (b) act on it. One of many examples cited was the 14 pages of intercepted radio signals suggesting that Pearl Harbor would be attacked. These intercepts had been in the possession of a U.S. intelligence officer, but they were read only as the fires raged and ships sunk.

Perhaps things are not so different in our schools. We have a lot of data, and we claim to value feedback, but to what extent is that feedback data disseminated and acted upon? Would we educators have seen the signs that the planes were on their way? Are we getting signals that we should stock snow globes only to inadvertently ignore customers' requests? Perhaps the airwaves are buzzing with valuable feedback data that's not even on our radar.

Defining Effective Feedback

Recently one of us, Myron, designed a professional development session focused entirely on feedback. At the start of the session, he asked the teachers to confirm that they regularly provide students with feedback. Then he suggested that if they were going to be examining feedback, they should define it. The response in the room was a blank stare.

According to Sadler, feedback in educational contexts is information provided to a learner to reduce the gap between current performance and a desired goal (1989). First, we need to articulate that desired goal. Effective feedback needs clear, straightforward objectives-hopefully derived from established standards. Second, any student's current performance needs to be understood by the student. This requires time for review, revision, and learning from mistakes. Finally, if the student is going to reduce the gap between the goals and current performance, then they will need to know how. Feedback has not been given unless the student has a clear, personalized direction as to what to do next (Hattie, 2012; Sadler, 1989).

Before we get to a few effective feedback tools and examples, tested and tried in real high school classrooms, let's establish a few elements of effective feedback that we will specifically look for in those examples.

Must involve student voice, choice, and agency. The teacher and student should form a co-pilot relationship on this flight.

Does not need to "count" in the gradebook-in fact, it's often much better if it doesn't.

Thrives on fewer categories to describe the learning. If you're using percentage grades that have 100 categories, consider moving to a proficiency scale.

Should be an integral part of a larger classroom-assessment system that contributes positively to student disposition and learning.

Can be used by the teacher and student in a timely fashion to make informed "next-step" decisions.

Now that we've established a definition for feedback, and elements to consider in its implementation, let's explore a few examples from our own classrooms.

When we started looking into the research on effective feedback, we began to realize that we might not be providing clear objectives, nor monitoring the airwaves for informative feedback. Perhaps our students were asking for snow globes, and we were selling toasters.

Ben decided to look more closely at his in-class quiz structure. He's always been a fan of quizzes-they are easy to create, efficient to administer, and perfect for checking student understanding on specific learning targets. After letting students complete one of these short assessments, Ben could typically grade them before heading home, which made it possible to go over them as a class the next day. These moments of revision were great for conversations and checking in on understanding ... or so he thought.

Right around the time of the snow globe incident, Ben realized that he needed to rethink how he could better utilize quiz feedback. He wanted to find a more effective way to give students the opportunity to close the gap between their current performance and the established goal and improve the quality of the feedback they were getting.

He implemented a few changes-big and small-that dramatically improved his use of feedback within the constraints of available class time. Key changes included making his quizzes entirely formative-they were not "counted" toward the final student grade. He also stopped collecting and grading the quizzes and shifted the assessment process to his students by having them self-assess their progress rather than just giving them a grade. Here's how his new quiz feedback structure works:

Ben's grade 11 chemistry course has 25 main learning targets organized into 5 units of study. After a day or two of instruction, lessons, labs, and activities, the students can expect a short quiz to assess their understanding. These quizzes are not counted toward the student grade. Each quiz takes approximately 10-15 minutes, then the class goes over it together. Some students may finish earlier than others, so while waiting they might compare their answers with their neighbor, look up previous notes, or try alternative solutions. The main purpose of the quiz is not to accumulate points, but rather for the students to check their level of understanding on a specific learning target. If a student is stuck on a question, or bumps into confusion, they can take steps to change that.

Reviewing the answers to the quiz is an opportunity for discussion, debate, and the airing of opinions. At the end of the discussion, the students self-assess their original responses and identify where they had gaps in their understanding of the concept. Based on this discussion, students use the table in Figure 1 (see below) to determine most accurately, on a scale of 1-6, the statement that best applies to their level of understanding on the established learning outcome.

After the students are done with the self-assessment, Ben walks around the room and records their self-evaluation-but only to track their progress, not to form any part of their summative grade. The power of this process is that it provides him, the teacher, with valuable feedback. He might ask students, "How are you feeling after that quiz?", "Did anything stand out to you?", or "Do you know where to find some practice questions?" This way, he can quickly identify a common problem or question and determine concepts that he should re-teach. He can also identify instructional elements and activities that may have fallen short of what his students needed and may reteach a certain concept in a new way. Throughout this process, Ben's work is in line with Hattie's suggestion that feedback is for the teacher (2012) and with research that there is a positive relationship between student performance and assessment when the teacher is willing to modify or improve instruction (Brown, Peterson, & Irving, 2009).

Ben's quiz structure reflects other research surrounding memory. According to Cepeda et al. (2008), "To achieve enduring retention, people must usually study information on multiple occasions" (p. 1). To encourage "enduring retention," Ben offers a re-quiz a few days later on the same learning target, with different questions or a different format. Once again, the re-quiz is not counted toward their overall grade. The point is to give students more feedback so they can take risks, analyze their routines, and demonstrate a better understanding of the learning target. As Susan Brookhart (2012) argues, "Feedback can't be left hanging; it can't work if students don't have an immediate opportunity to use it" (p. 27).

Method #2: Rearranging the Test Structure

While Ben restructured his quizzes for better feedback, Myron tackled his tests. According to Bjork and Bjork, "The effectiveness of tests as learning events remains largely underappreciated, in part because testing is typically viewed as a vehicle of assessment and not a vehicle of learning" (2011, p. 62).

One of the barriers Myron bumped into when trying to use test data for effective feedback was that his tests weren't designed for it. All of his test sections had been separated and organized by format: true/false, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and so on. Each of these sections were a blend of various learning priorities, and therefore the score or grade for either a section, or the entire test for that matter, was a broad and nebulous concoction. This approach flew in the face of Wiliam's suggestion that "we need to ensure that feedback causes a cognitive rather than an emotional reaction" (2018, p. 153). Students would be eager to see their overall score, indicating an emotional response, only to cast it aside immediately after. Myron yearned for a cognitive response-a change in their thinking-and he hoped that feedback on specific outcomes would achieve it.

Myron decided to restructure his regular unit test, separating the sections according to the key learning outcomes rather than according to format. As a result, students and teacher alike immediately gleaned more useful information. The students received feedback on how well they grasped specific learning priorities, and Myron could see which outcomes had been effectively conveyed to the students, individually and as a whole. This feedback for the teacher allowed Myron to improve upon or revisit specific learning objectives. Lastly, he could reorganize his gradebook, creating three or four columns organized by outcomes, rather than one column of a blended score. In one easy step, he achieved a standards-based gradebook rather than an event-based one (Dueck, 2021).

Everyone-students and teachers-learns through clearly identifying objectives and then using feedback to improve understanding of those objectives.

Once the unit tests were divided by outcomes, it was far easier to use portions of the assessment for formative or summative purposes, depending entirely on how the students (or Myron as the teacher) responded to the feedback data (Dueck, 2021). In other words, the student could decide which sections of the unit test would count in the gradebook, and which sections would be re-tested. Therefore, for example, the first test could be entirely formative, or partially formative if the student decided to revisit certain sections. If a student was satisfied with the original test, then it was rendered entirely summative. 1

Acting on Feedback

The two of us are not alone in the quest to re-engineer many of our assessment tools and processes to better align with the main tenets of effective feedback. Myron has seen evidence of this in his work internationally as well. Everyone-students and teachers-learns through clearly identifying objectives and then using feedback to improve understanding of those objectives. Considering Sadler's definition of feedback, perhaps the most important question is: To what extent are we helping our students close the gap between the identified goal and their current performance in relation to it?

When wading through the reams of grading data we collect every year, our challenge is not dissimilar to the codebreakers of WWII and the owners of Christmas-themed gift shops. To harness the power of feedback, we need to disseminate it and act on it.

Giving Students a Say

How can educators improve assessment practices so that the results are accurate, meaningful, informative, and fair? Put student voice and choice at the center of the process, says Myron Dueck.

References

Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher, R. W. Pew, L. M. Hough, & J. R. Pomerantz (Eds.), Psychology and the real world (2nd ed.). Worth Publishers.

Brookhart, S. (2012). Preventing feedback fizzle. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 25-29.

Brown, G. T. L., Peterson, E. R., & Irving, S. E. (2009). Self-regulatory beliefs about assessment predict mathematics achievement. In D. M. McInerney, G. T. L. Brown, & G. A. D. Liem (Eds.), Student perspectives on assessment: What students can tell us about assessment for learning (pp. 159-186). Information Age Publishing.

Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing effects in learning. A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095-1102.

Dueck, M. (2021). Giving students a say-Smarter assessment practices to empower and engage. ASCD.

Hattie, J. (2012). Know thy impact. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 18-23.

Sadler, R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119-144.

Wiliam, D. (2018). Embedded formative assessment, (2nd ed.). Solution Tree.

End Notes

1 For an example of a test cover that indicates how sections are tied to specific outcomes, as well as the corresponding student tracking sheet, visit my website.

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Fine-Tuning Assessments for Better Feedback

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Quizzes and tests don't count as feedback if educators and students can't act upon the information they provide.

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All Grade Levels: Aurora Institute: Cultivating Peer to Peer Feedback 

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All Grade Levels: Aurora Institute: Cultivating Peer to Peer Feedback 

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This post is adapted from the Next Generation Learning Challenges' Friday Focus from February 3, 2017.
In this week's Friday Focus, we discuss ways to help students and adults alike develop and strengthen their peer-to-peer feedback chops, an important and necessary skill for all learners.

Theories about Feedback

"Helpful feedback is goal-referenced; tangible and transparent; actionable; user-friendly (specific and personalized); timely; ongoing; and consistent," writes Grant Wiggins in Seven Keys to Effective Feedback. Giving and receiving quality feedback requires that we listen carefully, observe, and reflect, and then synthesize and frame our thoughts and critiques in a way the recipient can hear and be able to use. In our NGLC grantee schools where feedback is an essential component to the learning experience, we see an emphasis on building strong relationships in which learners trust each other and know that feedback is being given in their best interest. We also see a focus on having a growth mindset, in which the person receiving the feedback understands it's a necessary part to learning.
Sometimes, in schools, feedback can be provided by a critical friend, "someone who is encouraging and supportive, but who also provides honest and often candid feedback that may be uncomfortable or difficult to hear," as defined by The Glossary of Education Reform.
An Evidence Base for Feedback

When trained in protocols, practiced, and emphasized, peer feedback at the student-peer level and the educator or colleague-peer level, within and outside of school settings, has been shown to have an impact on performance, community, culture, learning, and more. Explore the research below to learn more about feedback's impact and how feedback is being implemented in the learning process:

The Workshop School: Clear & Concise Feedback During Presentations

At the Workshop School, feedback is an important part of learning. Students practice and are expected to be able to give feedback in a way that is appropriate and useful and, on the flip side, students learn how to receive feedback with openness and apply what they hear to their approach or work. One place you really see this in action is during students' Gateway Project presentations. In 10th grade, Workshop students present a portfolio of work to demonstrate they are ready to transition to the Upper House Program, which involves more time spent on off-site internships, access to college classes, and the opportunity to design their own projects. (As you can imagine, students really want to get in!) These presentations of their work are given to a panel of reviewers, and afterward their peers have a chance to provide verbal and written feedback on the quality of the work and presentation itself. Listen in as student Gio offers feedback to his classmate.

Feedback is personal. When you create something, share something, or articulate your ideas, you are opening yourself up-you are vulnerable. It's important when we talk about using feedback in the learning process that we acknowledge this with each other and our students. It's also why using protocols and communication techniques can be an effective way to ensure that feedback is meaningful and thoughtful. (Nobody likes to hear, "I think you could have done better" without some context to back it up!) At New Tech Network, where schools are built around a project-based learning model, feedback is a core component to the experience, and they have some great tools to do it well. New Tech Network's Critical Friends Peer Review provides steps and prompts on how students can approach sharing projects, what listeners should be paying attention to, and how to give feedback. Rubrics are also an important component to ensure projects are being evaluated on certain criteria. Here's the 6 A's Project Idea Rubric for review.

Weekly Feedback Cycles at Gilroy Prep

Gilroy Prep, a charter school that serves kindergarteners through 5th grade in Gilroy, California, has an instructional model based on research and application by well-known and effective blended schools like Rocketship and Kipp Heartwood Academy. And one fundamental aspect of the staff's learning experience is regular coaching. Weekly feedback cycles include video and written feedback for teachers, as well as tactical next steps (e.g., try to not write with your back facing kids for more than five seconds at a time). This focus creates opportunities for teachers to engage in the deliberate practice necessary to build effective classroom management skills. Case in point: last year when we were visiting the school, we went into a first-year kindergarten teacher's classroom and were amazed by her seamless transition times and her ability to engage every child at all times. The feedback cycles encourage rapid prototyping and regular coaching, which helps the Gilroy Prep staff accelerate the learning curve and focus their time on instruction and rigor.

Feedback in the Assessment for Learning Project (ALP)

The Assessment for Learning Project (ALP), which we have written about before, is one of the largest initiatives we're involved in now. In partnership with the Center for Innovation in Education, grantees are rethinking and recreating assessment, and feedback is playing an important role in the projects of several grantees. Henry County Schools in Georgia is studying how using effective feedback protocols that teachers and students are extensively trained in will help students more deeply understand their learning and work, take greater ownership of their learning, and advance 21st-century skills like communication. Check out their quality feedback flow graphic to learn more. WestEd's Student Agency in Assessment Project asks how self assessment and peer feedback practices-at both the teacher and student level-can contribute to learner agency. During the project, teachers film students engaged in learning and then use a set of continuums as an opportunity to reflect deeply on how to build richer and deeper opportunities for self assessment and peer feedback into their classrooms. (Check out the peer-feedback continuum for a great tool to apply to your own work.) And Leadership Public Schools, in partnership with web platform Gooru, is integrating and scaling a crowdsourced, rubric-based grading tool for writing that lets users (students and teachers) respond and give feedback to pieces of student work. The hypothesis is that providing teachers and students with this web-based tool will increase the regularity and quality of feedback, promote cooperative learning, and improve writing and other communication skills necessary for success in college and career.
"The beauty in being able to collaborate with peers is that they have experienced the same struggles as you in completing the task at hand, which enhances their ability to give you honest feedback." - An eleventh grader participating in WestEd's project
See also:

The "Friday Focus" started out as a e-mail to NGLC grantees. Within it, NGLC staff curated a set of resources around a particular aspect of personalized learning implementation. It has since grown into the valuable resource displayed here because next generation educators have valued the content it provides.

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Friday Focus: Cultivating Peer-to-Peer Feedback - Aurora Institute

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This post is adapted from the Next Generation Learning Challenges' Friday Focus from February 3, 2017. In...

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Example from a District Perspective:  Using Feedback Loops to Encourage a Culture of Learning through Learner Profiles

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Example from a District Perspective:  Using Feedback Loops to Encourage a Culture of Learning through Learner Profiles

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Based on our conversations with teachers, here are some key takeaways in creating a culture of conversation around feedback.

1. Thinking critically begins with yourself

Self-assessment is essential. In order to fully develop agency, students need to develop an awareness of self. To do this, students should begin a feedback loop by assessing their own work. Once feedback is received, students can examine their own views and see how they line up with others' perspectives. This process helps students to refine their evaluation of their own work, as well as the work of others. Over time, students naturally self-assess and both seek and use feedback to focus on improving all areas of their work. The classroom culture must allow for transparent conversations to move past surface level agreements about a student's task performance. Teaching students how to handle situations where their thinking doesn't align with that of others is another essential piece of handling feedback well and contributes to the development of student agency.

2. Take what you like and leave the rest

Feedback is not a mandate. Each person's perspective is going to influence the type of feedback that is given, and it will also influence the type of feedback that is given and received. In all of the conversations with teachers about feedback, it is essential to emphasize that students have a choice in how to receive and act upon feedback. Students need to realize that they do not have to take action based on every comment. Each person has the agency to decide what feedback is actionable and which is not. This means that feedback isn't just a to-do list; rather it leads to a personal decision about what to do next.

3. Involve the local community

Feedback from experts in the field offers a lens to learning that ups the game for students. In one of our schools this spring, students were asked to create a business proposal based around a good or a service. Before students finalized their plans, the teachers asked local small business owners and staff from the central office to come and offer feedback to students after listening to the proposals. Adults provided advice based on the criteria given to students, and students were given time to reflect upon those suggestions and revise their work. When students presented their final proposals, it was amazing to see how they incorporated the feedback to refine their business model. Students accepted feedback from outside adults differently than from people inside the school, and it made these young students feel as though their work was valued and important. Involving the local community encourages authentic conversations at all levels.

Through actively participating in these learning conversations, students will strengthen their skills in goal setting, growth mindset, self-efficacy, reflection, self-regulation, and their awareness of resources to help them learn, thereby becoming agents of learning.

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Feedback Loops Create A Culture of Learning Conversations

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Teachers engaging in honest & meaningful feedback loops foster a model of learning conversation culture for students at Henry County Schools. Learn more!

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Summit View Elementary School Article and Podcast: Building Student Agency Through Feedback and Self-Reflection.

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Summit View Elementary School Article and Podcast: Building Student Agency Through Feedback and Self-Reflection.

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Design Time:  A place to catch your ideas for your design in your classroom.

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Design Time:  A place to catch your ideas for your design in your classroom.

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The Education Hub:  Eight Tools for Peer and Self Assessment

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The Education Hub:  Eight Tools for Peer and Self Assessment

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8 tools for peer and self-assessment - THE EDUCATION HUB

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A systematic look at eight tools that students can use for peer and self-assessment

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Metacognition: Nurturing Self-Awareness in the Classroom - Edutopia

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Metacognition: Nurturing Self-Awareness in the Classroom - Edutopia

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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6 Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like (Reflection and Goal Setting)

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6 Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like (Reflection and Goal Setting)

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We have a few answers to this question. One is that personalized learning always involves these core four elements - targeted instruction, data-driven decisions, flexible content, and student reflection and ownership. Check out our Core Four white paper for a more detailed description of these elements, as well as classroom examples.

Another answer is that, "it depends" - we believe strongly in the design thinking process, and that school leaders and teachers are in the best place to put together instructional models that meet the needs of their students. Check out this great blog post on the process by my colleague, Kelly!

That being said, we realize that we can never answer this question enough. In response to this demand, here is a short collection of videos, photos, artifacts, and teacher testimonies that we hope will help illustrate what personalized learning could look like at your school or district. Some of these examples are from Education Elements districts and schools, and some are from other places!

Personalized learning is: Incorporating Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting

In Middletown, NY , the school culture incorporates student reflection and goal-setting starting with the youngest grades. Check out these classroom photos of goal-setting artifacts.

From a Middletown teacher: "[Students] use a Google form, and t
he forms are sent to me automatically so I am able to instantaneously see how they are self-assessing. It gives them a sense of accountability and it also lets me be aware of how they think they did... I use their self-assessment to help guide my instruction and to help group them for math and ELA." Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Student Ownership & Reflection
Personalized Learning is: Flexible & Intentional Master Schedules

In Wake County, NC, school leaders at Rogers Lane Elementary School have created a master schedule that's aligned to their three core principles: Agents of Change, Out of this World Learning, and Intentional and Reciprocal Relationships. While it's still a work in progress, the schedule does a wonderful job of showing the back-end work it takes to explicitly incorporate co-teaching, multi-level classrooms, student choice, and blocks for targeted small-group instruction.

Additionally, to help parents and students better understand how this schedule would affect a student's daily experience, Rogers Lane created a "Day in the Life of" Primer .
Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Flexible Path and Pace Check out this video from a high school teacher, where she describes how she has students use a digital tool to demonstrate their ability to collect and analyze data from a field exercise.
Personalized Learning is: Using Digital Content and Tools in a Purposeful Way - Flexible Path and Pace
Check out from an elementary school teacher about how he uses a portfolio of digital content tools in his classes. These last 2 videos are part of a larger collection of great this video videos from BetterLesson on blended learning strategies.

Personalized Learning is: Incorporating Personalized Playlists

Many personalized learning classrooms incorporate flexible pacing by having students go through content via playlists. However, not all playlists are personalized.

My colleague Brittany, in partnership with teachers and school leaders at Rochester School District, NH, put together this helpful Playlist Building 101 Guide that describes how to build a personalized learning playlist.

Personalized Learning is: Planning for Flexible Seating
Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL

Flexible seating is a popular strategy because it is a physical manifestation of targeted, fluid instruction. With a focus on student choice and comfort, flexible seating is a great way to convey to students, "You matter."

Edutopia has a terrific article specifically focused on flexible seating at the high school level, including classroom photos and teacher testimonies. Ashley Rice Broomfield, a 1st grade teacher, shares, " I am in my 13th year of teaching, but this is my first year incorporating flexible seating into my classroom. I will never go back to traditional seating."

EdSurge also has a great post on 10+ brain-based methods to redesign your classroom, and how to include your students in the redesign process. We love this quote: "A good friend of mine often reminds me that we aren't raising a class of second graders, but in fact, we are raising future adults. She says, 'If they're old enough to do it for themselves, they should not only be allowed to, but expected to do so.'"

Finally, see these pictures above from our awesome partners in Loudoun County Public Schools, VA!

check out the BONUS:#LoudounPL hashtag for more amazing pictures of how Loudoun County schools are personalizing learning.

Personalized Learning is: Involving Students in Grading Conversations

Prolific blogger Catlin Tucker offers another great strategy - including "grade interviews" with students. Tucker shares, " As grade reporting approaches, I sit down with every single student for a grade interview. Students come to these grade interviews prepared with a formal argument. These conversations are invaluable. Students walk away knowing exactly what they need to work on or what they are doing well. Also, I feel like I know my students so much better because we sit down and chat about their learning every 5-6 weeks!" Check out her full blog post !

Additionally, student-led conferences (SLC's) can be a great way to engage both students and parents in reflection. In an SLC, a student might not only explain what progress he or she is making, but why it is that progress is occurring. This Edutopia post has a great set of resources on SLC's, sourced from articles like this Atlantic piece to protocols and videos of SLC's in action.

To learn more about how these examples build on the core four elements of personalized learning, check out our white paper.

More Personalized Learning reading

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Getting it Right

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Reflection and Goal-Setting

Blog: How to Pick the Right Instructional Model for Your Classroom

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Flexible Pace & Path

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Targeted Instruction

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Collaboration & Creativity

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Six Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like

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Personalized learning takes different forms in different classrooms - here are six examples of what personalized learning looks like.

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McMillian and Hearn: Student Self-Assessment, The Key to Stronger Student Motivation and Higher Achievement. 

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McMillian and Hearn: Student Self-Assessment, The Key to Stronger Student Motivation and Higher Achievement. 

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Student Reflection Tool to use with paper airplane activity to model feedback loop 

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Student Reflection Tool to use with paper airplane activity to model feedback loop 

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Student Reflection Tool to use with paper airplane activity to model feedback loop 

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DIRT- what is it? Student exercise books/work marked to a high level with challenging questions, comments and support to guide them to improve their work.

It's also a great idea to have a slide on your display board/a poster/laminated document explaining what DIRT stands for -

Guest post by www.twitter.com/franloxley

DIRT is a great way for students to act upon the feedback that you have given as their teacher.

DIRT allows students to reflect/act upon the comments that have been written, as feedback. Therefore ensuring the feedback is being put to use and is supporting the progress of our students, not for their next piece of work but NOW - today, in their lesson.

'DIRT lessons' can take as long as you feel necessary, they can form the starter or for longer pieces of work (controlled assessment?) take the whole lesson.

A great way to show progress of your students and a way of them seeing the improvements that they have made, is to get students to complete the 'DIRT' work in a different colour.

DIRT can be used for peer assessment also - clear, measurable lesson objectives can support students giving peer to peer assessment.

Use the following links for more information:

Images by @CalderstonesLiteracy - http://t.co/yGVuywV6Hu

Giving students these templates can help them focus on generic methods to improve their work. I will ask them to work on the any of the numbered points above that are relevant to them.

Image by Barry Dunn- https://twitter.com/SeahamRE

Click to download an editable maths version of the above image by @Grahamandre.

[learn_press_profile]

I am Teacher, Senior Leader and Trainer. I have also been an AST in Teaching and Learning. I tweet as @TeachLeadAAli. I manage this FREE online toolkit of activities for Teachers; www.trythisteaching.com

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Resources: Check out my other ideas and posts by clicking here! DIRT- what is it? Student exercise books/work marked to a high level with challenging questions, comments and support to guide them t...

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DIRT Document created by Keith Burt (link to editable version)

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DIRT Document created by Keith Burt (link to editable version)

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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In Flight with Paper Airplanes - Exploring with Elementary Engineering.  Lesson ideas

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In Flight with Paper Airplanes - Exploring with Elementary Engineering.  Lesson ideas

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In Flight With Paper Airplanes
An exploration with elementary engineering

What better way to engage fifth-grade students in science and engineering practices than to use paper airplanes to encourage them to question, explore, create, and test designs! This multi-day unit draws from a fourth-grade curriculum (Pearson 2012) aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS Lead States 2013) used in teacher education methods classes and taught to grade 5 students. In this article, we share an integrated unit that includes reading selections about Amelia Earhart and the forces involved in paper airplane flight, an overview of how we used paper airplanes in an experimental design process, and how we helped students develop conclusions based on the claims, evidence, and reasoning framework (CER; McNeill and Krajcik 2012).

Introduction

Our 45-minute introduction lesson is designed to acquaint students with the principles of engineering, gravity, and the design process. We started by asking students what they know about paper airplanes and flight, using a Know, Wonder, Learn (KWL) chart. Some student notes revealed they knew that airplanes were made from a sheet of paper, needed wings to fly, needed someone to throw them, and can travel far. They wondered about gravity, how to prevent a paper airplane from making loops, and airplane size and weight.

Next, we asked students to think about the work of an engineer (e.g., What does an engineer do?). We discussed how an engineer might design, develop, and test new products. Any product, like smartphones, computers, washing machines, and even classroom furniture, had to be engineered and tested. To understand how much of our world is "engineered" and to incorporate movement, we took a "silent" engineering walk through the school to look for engineered items. Students recorded examples they observed on a sticky note that later we transferred to a class list ( Figure 1). Once we regathered everyone, we focused our discussion on how each example was part of an engineering process of trial, test, and redesign.

Next, we told students that we would explore the design process of engineering by making paper airplanes. We used a shared reading to develop concepts about the forces that would be involved in the flight of a paper airplane (see Supplemental Resources). Before we started the reading, we had students work with a partner on a word sort, a vocabulary strategy that allow students to develop relationships among words and reasoning skills of classification and deduction ( Zygouris-Coe 2015). Partners sorted the words into groups related to parts of the airplane ( Figure 2). As the shared reading proceeded, we stopped to discuss some of the key concepts (lift, drag, gravity, and thrust) and uncover the meaning of words unfamiliar to students. We emphasized how paper airplanes fly down as a result of gravity.

Conducting the Mini-Investigation

Students really looked forward to the day that we would begin the actual scientific and engineering study ( Pauley, Weege, and Koomen et al. 2016)! We started this 45-minute lesson with an overview of the main goals of the unit: to make and test a control paper airplane, to make another paper airplane with one change (a testable variable), and see how that flight compared to the control. In this lesson, we introduced the students to the mini-investigation sheet that they would eventually complete (see Supplemental Resources).

We modeled how to make a basic dart airplane and talked about safety and handling of the paper airplanes. We outlined behavioral expectations and classroom management techniques, including how to throw the airplanes safely in the air and not at each other, the importance of throwing paper airplanes one at a time, and using safety googles during the flight. In our class, students worked together in small groups (of three or four students) where each group made one paper airplane; however, individual students could each make one and then as a group choose the one that they thought might perform better. We spent some time talking with students about how this first paper airplane would be their control and how they would measure the distance travelled over three trials. A control is important in science and engineering investigations because it offers the investigator the opportunity to compare across variables. We found it was very important to give students time to "pilot" throwing their airplane in a consistent manner. By doing this, we were able to have the students actually model what worked and what didn't versus us just telling them. For example, some student groups figured out and then demonstrated to the class how to get the most accurate measurement by laying metersticks end to end or throwing the plane with the arm and plane at a right angle to the floor. We instructed the students on how to make a data table on the back sheet of the mini-investigation ( Figure 3) and to collect both qualitative data (observations of flight behavior) and quantitative data (measurement of distance travelled) that we used as formative assessment. We concluded this part of the unit by having students jot down a few notes again on that first page of the mini-investigation sheet about how they might modify and improve their plane's design to increase the distance travelled.

The Design Process

We began the design process lesson (45-minutes) by having the fifth-grade students refer to their mini-investigation sheets to talk together in their groups about some of the modifications and improvements that they might make to increase the distance traveled of the paper airplane. Adding rudders; using different lengths, sizes, or weight of paper (office paper, cardstock, cardboard, or wax paper); or adding weight using paper clips or clay are some of the variable design modifications students have tested. After the students talked for a bit in their groups, we found it helpful to pull the students together as a whole group to share some of the ideas that were emerging about a possible design change using prompts such as: What worked well with the first model? What didn't? What changes can be made to yield different results or Why do you think a particular change will produce those results?

After the group discussion, the students continued working on their mini-investigation sheets within their small groups to craft a research question, form hypotheses, and lay out their plan. Students used the question frame ( How does _____ affect ____?) to develop their research question. For example, Molly's group question was "How does material affect distance?" We taught the students to identify multiple hypotheses or the possible outcomes of their investigation ( Pauley, Weege, and Koomen 2016). We talked about how important it is to identify a null hypothesis or the possibility that there will be no effect between the variables. In Molly's group, there are three possible outcomes:

H ₁: The control will travel the farthest.

H ₂: The cardboard plane will travel the farthest.

H O: The material will not affect distance.

Once the groups decided on their one design modification to test, they completed the mini-investigation sheet, with an eye to being consistent with the first set of trials with the control (i.e., same position for the launch and same person). We wrapped up this part of the unit by asking each group to share the variable they decided to test, which also served as a formative assessment.

Design Modifications and Testing

The next sequence of this unit allowed students time to construct their group's modified airplane within a 45-minute lesson. We found it helpful for students to first review their mini investigation sheet and to keep in mind that they were testing the independent variable (the design modification that they will be comparing to the control). Next, each group constructed the new plane with its variable modification. The students tested their new design by running three trials as they did earlier in the unit, collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. We found that students need ample time to work and inquire to ensure accurate and comparable results. At the end of this part of the unit, student groups should have completed all three trials.

Safety Considerations

Working with paper airplanes sounds unthreatening; however, there are some things to take into account when teaching this unit.

Students should wear safety goggles when they are testing the airplanes in flight.

Use adequate spaces to encourage safety for all students (i.e., hallways, extra rooms, classroom).

Outline expectations for throwing airplanes (i.e., one person in the group throws one plane at a time down the runway; paper airplanes are not thrown at or over people).

Analysis and Conclusion

The final leg of this unit is where the students compare the experimental data against the control data, focusing on the analyze/interpret and conclude/report sections of the mini investigation sheet. To do this, students need to review the data tables from each of the two tests. As they review their data, we guide them with questions such as: "What do you notice about your two sets of data? How are they similar? How are they different? What patterns do you see?" (see Supplemental Resources). Students write down the answers to these questions in the analyze and interpret section of their planning sheet. For example, Jorge and his group noticed a pattern in distance traveled when using different-size paper for their planes: "The size of the paper can affect the distance it travels."

Next, the students identify the claim that was supported by their evidence and circle it on their mini-investigations sheet. To communicate their conclusion, we use the claims, evidence, and reasoning (CER) sentence frames modified by Julie Jackson and colleagues (2016) based on the research of McNeill and Krajcik (2012).

I claim ________ (claim: what the student knows/answers to a question or solution to a problem) because ___________ (evidence or data that support one of your hypotheses). I know I am right because ______ (reasoning: scientific concept, rule, or principle) ( Jackson, et al. 2016, p. 65).

CER can be a little complicated for fifth graders, so we model how to use the frames. For example, Ellery and her fifth-grade group, wrote "I claim that my re-designed paper airplane is faster than my control because after three trials it went farther than my control by an average of 37 cm (supporting hypothesis 2). I know I am right because my re-designed paper airplane weighed less than my control which had less of a pull of gravity" (see NSTA Connection).

Ellery tied the outcome of her group's investigation to one of the key disciplinary core ideas of the unit: gravity. These written conclusions became part of our summative assessment using our rubric (see Supplemental Resources). To conclude, we returned to the KWL chart and asked students to reflect on what they had learned through the activities about paper airplanes and what makes them fly. The various colors of the sticky notes represent each stage of the KWL process.

Amelia Earhart

Engineering is a field with one of the worst gender gaps in all of the sciences ( Kanny, Sax, and Riggers-Piehl 2014). This unit creates an opportunity to address this disparity by highlighting the work of the pioneer aviator and champion of women's rights: Amelia Earhart. Amelia Earhart was an American aviator who was the first woman to solo fly a plane across the Atlantic Ocean. She broke many records for airplane travel during her lifetime. Amelia disappeared in the South Pacific Ocean in July 1937 while trying to fly her plane named Electra around the world with her navigator Fred Noonan. She was declared dead on January 5, 1939.

We include a supplemental reading about Amelia Earhart that provides an overview of her accomplishments. To foster vocabulary development, we recommend using a word sort or the Five Most Important Words strategy ( Zygouris-Coe 2015). This strategy promotes deep understanding of words within a text and their context. First, students write down five words in a graphic organizer. Next, they use their own words to define the five selected words. Finally, they explain why the word is important in the reading selection. This strategy invites a student to explain what the words mean and why they are important for his or her understanding.

Reflections on Unit Taught

Forces demonstrated by paper airplanes

Drag and Gravity. As a paper airplane moves through the air, it pushes against the air, creating resistance or drag. If you want a paper airplane to fly far, you need to design a paper airplane with as little drag as possible. When we throw paper airplanes, they do not keep flying continuously. Instead, they fall down to the ground because of the force of gravity. Gravity is an invisible force that pulls objects to the center of our planet Earth. Objects with greater mass (like Earth) pull more than objects with less mass (paper airplanes). Keeping the paper airplane's weight to a minimum will help fight against the pull of gravity.

Thrust and Lift. In this unit, student pilots use their muscles to thrust (forward movement) the paper airplane forward. Lift occurs as a result of the air below the paper airplane wing pushing up more than the air above the wing of the airplane is pushing down. The difference in pressure is actually what makes the paper airplane fly. The forces of thrust and lift help the paper airplane make a longer flight.

When the four forces are balanced they achieve a longer flight. Planes like the basic dart are designed to be thrown with a lot of force so they overcome gravity since they do not usually have a lot of drag or lift.

Versatility and adaptability are strengths of this unit. For example, when Laura was teaching this unit, she had only 25-minute segments to fit in a unit that was designed to span five 45-minute lessons. To maximize class time, she pre-folded the paper airplanes and measured the area of the room set aside for conducting the data collection. Additionally, we found it valuable to have students communicate their findings and conclusions with other groups at the end of the unit. We did this using the jigsaw approach, where students come together in groups, with each group member representing a different primary investigative group. In this way, students are informally modeling sharing of results using their mini-investigation sheets, similar to what scientists do when they share their findings at a conference. For example, Ellery (above) talked about what she learned by redesigning her paper airplane and the role of weight on gravity.

Connecting to Three-Dimensional Standards

Science and Engineering Practice
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Classroom Connection:
Students design and construct an investigation that tests a modified design feature using paper airplanes.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Classroom Connection:
Students analyze and interpret data from two different test trials of the paper airplane.

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Classroom Connection:
Students explain in writing their conclusion using the CER sentence frames.

Disciplinary Core Idea

PS2.B: Types of Interactions
The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth's surface pulls that object toward the planet's center.

Classroom Connection:
Students use evidence from their paper airplane investigation to support their argument that the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on objects is down.

Crosscutting Concept

Classroom Connection:
Students identify patterns in their data to support their claims and explanations regarding the best design solution.

Performance Expectation

The materials, lessons, and activities outlined in the article are just one step toward reaching the performance expectation listed below.

5-PS2-1. Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.

References

Jackson J., Durham A., Dowell S., Sockel J., and Boynton I.. 2016. Claims and evidence. Science and Children 54 (4): 64-69.

Kanny M.A., Sax L.J., and Riggers-Piehl T.A.. 2014. Investigating forty years of STEM research: How explanations for the gender gap have evolved over time. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 20 (2): 127-148.

McNeill K.L., and Krajcik J.. 2012. Supporting grade 5-8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence and reasoning framework for talk and writing. Boston, MA: Pearson.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next generation science standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: National Academies Press

Pauley L., Weege K., and Koomen M. 2016. Native Plants and Seeds, Oh My! Science and Children 53 (9): 32-38.

Zygouris-Coe V.I. 2015. Teaching discipline-specific literacies in grades 6-12: Preparing students for college, career, and workforce demands. New York: Routledge.

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An exploration with elementary engineering

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How to Provide Better Feedback Through Rubrics

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How to Provide Better Feedback Through Rubrics

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A rubric is an evaluation tool consisting of a set of criteria, a fixed scale (e.g., 4-point, 7-point), and descriptors that distinguish the differences in the levels of the scale (Arter & McTighe, 2001). The term has its origins in the Latin word rubrica meaning "red earth" or colored soil used to mark things of importance. The term also references the large, red opening word in biblical manuscripts, indicating the text that follows deserves attention. Today, these meanings persist, since a well-crafted rubric signals to students the qualities that are most important in their work.

Rubrics are typically used by teachers to judge the degree of students' understanding, proficiency levels of skills, the quality of their products or performances, and their growth from one level to the next. But beyond being evaluation tools, rubrics can be an excellent way to give feedback for improving teaching and learning. Well-crafted rubrics provide a shared language that lets teachers and students work together to navigate the most important attributes of deep learning and effective performance.

Three types of rubrics are commonly used in schools:

A holistic rubric provides an overall impression of a student's performance, yielding a single rating or score. Figure 1 shows a holistic rubric for a project asking students to create a public service message (McTighe, Doubet, & Carbaugh, 2020). Holistic rubrics gauge the overall quality or impact of a student's work; for example, to what extent did the story entertain its readers or to what extent was the argument convincing?

An analytic rubric also contains a performance scale but divides a targeted product or performance into distinct elements or traits and judges each independently. Figure 2 shows an analytic rubric for mathematical problem solving.

A developmental rubric describes growth along a proficiency continuum, ranging from novice to expert. Think of the six different colored belts in karate that designate various proficiency levels. Developmental rubrics are well suited to subjects that emphasize skill development over time, such as physical education or world languages.

What Makes a High-Quality Rubric?

An effective rubric is grounded by clear and appropriate criteria that serve as the basis for judging student responses, products, or performances. In essence, the criteria specify what "success" looks like. In a standards-based system, the criteria should be derived primarily from the targeted standards or outcomes being assessed, rather than from any specific assignment or assessment task. For example, if a teacher is focusing on expository writing, the rubric's criteria for any such writing task would target accuracy (information presented is correct and appropriate descriptive vocabulary is used); completeness (all relevant aspects of the topic are addressed); clarity (precise, well-chosen, academic vocabulary is used to suit audience and purpose; organization (information is logically framed and sequenced); and conventions (proper punctuation, capitalization, spelling; etc. is used).

When a high-quality rubric is used effectively, teachers and learners benefit. For teachers, good rubrics:

Specify the salient qualities of successful performance, based on targeted standards.

Support sound evaluation by describing important distinctions in the degree of understanding, proficiency, or quality from one level to the next.

Serve as teaching targets, since they reflect the qualities embedded in standards.

Provide feedback to teachers on how their instruction might need to be adjusted.

For students, high-quality rubrics:

Serve as learning targets, since they identify the key qualities of successful learning and performance.

Communicate how their work will be judged, presenting important distinctions in the degree of understanding, proficiency, or quality from one level to the next.

Enable them to self-assess their work and performance based on the success criteria.

Provide feedback that affirms areas of strength and informs needed improvements.

Leveraging Rubrics to Provide Effective Feedback

Feedback is descriptive information that's used to affirm areas of strength in learning and performance and point to areas needing improvement (Frontier, 2021). Grant Wiggins (2012) argued that to be most effective, feedback must provide information that is specific, understandable, timely, and actionable. A well-constructed rubric can provide the basis for specific feedback that is understandable to the learner, ensuring the learner knows exactly what they have done well and what they need to do next to improve. Timely and actionable describe how the rubric should be used if we want students to receive feedback in the manner we intend-to guide their next efforts toward deeper learning and improved performance.

Holistic rubrics are appropriate when a rubric's primary purpose is to assign a grade for an assignment or summative assessment task. However, a letter grade or a numerical score, on their own, don't provide feedback. How can students improve their writing skills, for instance, if all they receive is a "3" (or a " B-") on a holistic rubric for their essay? Without more detailed information, learners are left to guess what to do differently on their next essay.

Clarifying Rubrics

To help students understand a rubric's relevant language, teachers should explicitly teach key vocabulary contained in standards and associated rubric criteria.

Accordingly, we strongly recommend using analytic rubrics as feedback tools. Since they identify and evaluate distinct traits important to effective performance, analytic rubrics provide more detailed, targeted feedback to students about the strengths of their performance and areas needing attention. Analytic rubrics can also provide valuable feedback to teachers. For example, if a teacher notices a high percentage of students are showing weakness on a particular trait, that information suggests the need for greater instructional emphasis on that dimension of performance. Since there are several traits to consider, using an analytic scoring rubric may take a bit more time than assigning a single score. But we believe that the more specific feedback that results is well worth the effort.

Figure 3 summarizes key "do's and don'ts" for constructing and using rubrics in a manner that meets Wiggins' criteria for effective feedback.

Guiding Students to Use Feedback from Rubrics

Presenting students with a well-developed rubric and reviewing it with them is necessary, but not sufficient, to guarantee that students will get the most benefit possible from that feedback. Research on how feedback is used by those who receive it notes that "the ability to receive feedback well is not an inborn trait, but a skill that can be cultivated" (Stone & Heen, 2014, p. 8). In other words, students need to be taught the meaning of rubrics and how feedback works if we expect them to highly benefit.

For instance, to help students understand a rubric's relevant language, explicitly teach key vocabulary contained in standards and associated rubrics. If explanation or justification appear frequently in your priority standards and success criteria, for example, these terms should be highlighted as learning goals and included in vocabulary lessons and assessments.

One method we highly recommend is using examples of student work-anonymous samples from previous classes or ones you've created-to make more concrete the often-abstract criteria in rubrics and bring feedback to life. Teachers might:

Show students one or two examples of high-quality work, highlighting how the success criteria are evident within them. Highlight specific traits that are most important to the targeted standard. Then show several more samples and ask students to identify where they see the success criteria appearing in each.

To help students identify distinctions among the different performance levels described in rubrics, use a set of anonymous student work samples that range in quality. Present the diverse examples and ask students to rank order them into three or four sets and to give a rationale for their placements by describing the differences they see between the sets, using the language of the success criteria.

To help learners see how to use rubric criteria and level descriptors as feedback, ask students to identify specific ways that lower-level examples could be improved. Model this process through a "think aloud" to get students started.

Another good practice is to teach students how to use success criteria from a rubric to self-assess and set future learning goals. This practice is based on the recognition that the most effective learners are metacognitive -they self-assess their performance, welcome and use feedback, learn from their mistakes, and set goals to improve their performance (Wiggins & McTighe, 2004). Two simple graphic additions to a rubric, illustrated in Figure 4, can support the cultivation of these learning habits (McTighe, 2013). The first is the inclusion of two tiny check boxes at the bottom of each cell of an analytic rubric. The student uses the check boxes on the left to self-assess their work before they turn it in. The teacher uses the other box for his or her evaluation. Ideally, the two judgments should match. Any discrepancy raises an opportunity to discuss the success criteria in relation to a student's work.

The bottom of the rubric includes a section for feedback comments (from the teacher or peers) and a space for the student to identify learning goals and action steps to improve their performance, based on external feedback and self-assessment. These minor additions turn an evaluation instrument into a tool for feedback, self-assessment, and goal setting.

Of course, teachers will need to explicitly teach students how to self-assess their work against criteria and model how to set improvement goals. But imagine the impact if every K-12 teacher, across subject areas, embraced this practice and encouraged their students to regularly self-assess and identify specific action goals!

Well-crafted rubrics can serve as a shared road map for teaching and learning. They mark the most important routes for teachers and students to navigate as they walk the circuitous path to deeper learning and more effective performances. When educators use those rubrics to teach students how to discuss and describe that terrain, rubrics become the basis for the specific, understandable language of feedback-which students can leverage to guide their next steps to improvement.

Reflect and Discuss

➛ Do rubrics function effectively as a feedback tool in your classroom or school? Why or why not?

➛ Based on the criteria McTighe and Frontier discuss, in what ways could you improve the design and clarity of your analytic rubrics?

➛ What steps could you take to help students better understand and use rubrics for assignments?

Teaching with Clarity

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How to Provide Better Feedback Through Rubrics

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Well-crafted rubrics create a shared language that lets teachers and students work together.

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How to Give Feedback:  MIT Teaching and Learning Lab

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How to Give Feedback:  MIT Teaching and Learning Lab

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How to Give Feedback | Teaching + Learning Lab

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Feedback has been known to be an important part of the learning process. Especially when coupled with deliberate practice, feedback can help students spend their time mastering aspects that they need to focus on most rather than practicing what they already know. Effective feedback works as a map to guide students by letting them know where they are now and what to work on in order to get to their goal. Without good feedback, students may carry misconceptions that they did not even realize they had while learning the material and walk aimlessly towards a goal without being sure how they can get there.

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How to give feedback to develop great learners

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How to give feedback to develop great learners

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How to give feedback to develop great learners

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Learn how to ensure feedback is heard, understood, and actioned to enhance children’s learning.

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3 Techniques for Providing Students with Feedback

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3 Techniques for Providing Students with Feedback

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Teachers can take a conversational approach to giving academic and behavioral feedback, helping students focus on what they can do next.

Giving feedback on academic or behavioral issues can be stressful for students and teachers alike. However, there are ways to make the process feel supportive and affirming. Feedback is most effective when delivered in an environment that emphasizes care and not just compliance. Students feel supported and more comfortable engaging in learning in classrooms where educators cultivate unconditional positive regard, or valuing and accepting each student as a person worthy of respect and empathy regardless of their current behavior, performance, or circumstances.

corrective in nature and focused on skills that a student is learning,

process-oriented and focused on the strategies that a student is using, or

delivered to help a student transfer what they have learned in one setting to another context to function as a more effective learner.

What is Feedback?

Where they are going and what their goals are.

What progress they have made so far.

How they are doing on the current task.

What needs to change.

The next small step forward to get from where they are now to where they want to be.

In each of these cases, feedback is conversational and relies on asking questions and listening to students' perspectives on both academic and behavioral issues. It should motivate students to take action and give them a clear path forward by reminding them:

3 keys to providing better Feedback

Avoid empty praise by elaborating: A common trap that educators fall into is offering praise when they are trying to provide feedback. Praise is not the same as positive feedback because it is often vague, unactionable, and conditional. In fact, recent research has shown that empty praise can be detrimental. When we praise students they become less intrinsically motivated and can develop a fixed mindset.

In contrast, positive feedback may start with a positive comment but elaborates on what the student did well in detail. When providing feedback, the teacher may also ask questions to help the student reflect or gain insight on their process, strategy, or perspective. For example, "Your goal for this lesson is to learn to calculate the mean from data presented in a table. You went from being unfamiliar with this skill on the pretest to getting 7 out of 10 problems correct. That's fantastic progress! Can you show me what your process looked like for solving number 2? It seems like that problem was trickier than some of the others that you tried."

Then when the student shows the steps for how they completed the incorrectly solved problem, the teacher could ask them to compare it to the steps they used to solve a problem correctly. This may help the student to identify the error. If the student does not know how to fix the problems that are worked incorrectly because they are different, the teacher would provide direct instruction on the necessary process and the student would correct the problems they missed as a way to practice the correct procedure.

Focus on the skill or process, not the person: When feedback comes across as criticism, students can become defensive and unable to take in what the teacher is saying. Clinical psychologist Susan Heitler says that " criticism complains while feedback explains." While criticism isolates the student by identifying them as the problem in the past or present, feedback creates a way for the student and teacher to work together as a team. Feedback is actionable and provides students with additional information, insight, or suggestions.

For example, if a student walks in late, a teacher might be frustrated that they are missing an important warm up at the beginning of class and say, "You are two minutes late again. Hurry up and sit down. Everyone else has already started." This does not clearly express the teacher's actual intention, which is concern about missing an important part of the lesson. Instead, the teacher could say "Kerry, I am so glad you are here!"

Once the other students have started working or for a few minutes after class seek out a time to talk to the student privately saying, "I have noticed that you have been arriving a few minutes late to class. Is everything OK? I am concerned that you are missing the warm up. What can we do to solve this problem?"

Focus on the future: Feedback is future-oriented and optimistic. As educators, we give feedback with the positive intention to help students improve because we see their potential and have a vision for what they can accomplish. After receiving feedback, students should be given time to reflect and revise their work or think about what they can do differently in the future.

In the academic example where the student was working on finding the mean from a data set represented in a table, the student would correct their work using the process they learned. Then they would explain how they corrected their work to the teacher or a peer to make sure they were on the right track. When they tried new problems on this same concept in the future, they would now know the process to use to solve the problems correctly.

With the late student above, the teacher may find out that the student was stopping at the restroom because that is the only time they have to go. Then they may be able to use this information to help the student make a plan where they come in on time, complete the warm up, and then take a bathroom break. After going over this plan together, the student knows what to do in the future to improve their performance in class.

When teachers cultivate the ability to deliver effective feedback that can be heard, understood, and received by students, they can help them to grow not only in their academic skills but also to improve their behavior, motivation, and engagement in the classroom. The process of giving feedback, allowing time for reflection, and making a plan to revise gives students agency and an important role in their own learning.

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3 Techniques for Providing Students With Feedback

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Teachers can take a conversational approach to giving academic and behavioral feedback, helping students focus on what they can do next.

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STEAM Paper Airplane Challenge for Younger Students

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STEAM Paper Airplane Challenge for Younger Students

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STEAM Paper Plane Experiment to Challenge your Kids

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Research, design, make, decorate & fly your own paper planes in this STEAM challenge for kids. Will yours go the furthest, fly the longest, hit the target

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Teaching Young Children to Reflect on Their Learning

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Teaching Young Children to Reflect on Their Learning

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Teaching Young Students How to Reflect on Their Learning

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Early elementary students can identify and articulate their goals through structured reflection on what matters most to them.

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primary grades · process · reflections · Reflective Practice
Today Maggie Gayton asked her first graders to write a reflection about what they have learned recently as a writer. Her students, using pictures and words, reminded us of the power of writing workshop and the importance of reflecting on our writing lives.Maggie will post these reflections on her Celebrating Writers bulletin board along with pictures from the celebration.

Check out some of the reflections:

Edited 15 April 2011: This morning there was an email from another first grade teacher sharing her kids' reflections after they completed their nonfiction writing celebration. I don't have samples, but their words alone gave me goose bumps.

What did I do well?

Cover to cover illustrations

Details

Illustrations

Good coloring

Wrote more words

Taking time

Leaving spaces

Title

Cover

What's the last thing you learned as a writer?

Use more colors

Frames

Make it look real

Decorations

Coloring my title

Make it make sense

Use a lot more colors

Draw a close up

Use neat handwriting

How to work the pictures out

Add more words

Punctuation

Write more than one sentence

Writing nonfiction

What do I want to learn to become a better writer?

Add more words

How to add jewelry on girls

How to write long words

Courage

How to add more expressions

What can I do to become a better writer?

Draw people like they really are

Don't rush

Add more details to my illustrations

Use speech bubbles.

Think

Practice every day

Add colors

Write a lot more books

Write more words

Unhurried. Finding the magic in the middle of living. Capturing a life of ridiculous grace + raw stories. View all posts by Ruth Ayres

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Today Maggie Gayton asked her first graders to write a reflection about what they have learned recently as a writer. Her students, using pictures and words, reminded us of the power of writing workshop and the importance of reflecting on our writing lives.Maggie will post these reflections on her Celebrating Writers bulletin board along with...

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In an older version of our PBL 101 workshop, we showed a slide with the "Elephant in the Room" installation by the British street artist Banksy (shown below). We were referring to grading, a topic that is huge but often avoided when educators talk about instructional reform, because (a) it's personal to each individual teacher, (b) it's "the coin of the realm," especially in middle school and high school, so messing with the familiar grading system can cause a backlash among students and parents, and (c) it can be really tricky.

In our work with teachers, we hear questions such as:

Do I have to invent a whole new grading system when we do PBL units?

How can I assign individual grades if students work in teams in a project?

How do I assess individual student achievement/mastery of content and success skills in PBL?

This post is about grading within a traditional context. In a later post we can get into more advanced issues such as, "What would a whole new system of assessment and reporting on student achievement look like?" and, "Should the college admissions process put less emphasis on GPA and test scores, and instead look more at projects and portfolios?" and, "Should we even have grades at all?"... Stay tuned.

Suggestions for Grading in PBL

Here are some answers to the above FAQs and more:

You do not need to reinvent your entire grading system when you're new to PBL, but you'll need to make some adjustments.

For example, there will be fewer traditional homework assignments, and perhaps fewer graded assignments generally, so manage your students' (and their families) expectations accordingly. Instead, use checkpoints with a deliverable, which gets a "go/no-go" assessment, not grades or points, to tell students they're ready to move on in the project. Emphasize formative assessment and use it often - without grades, just feedback on how to improve. (Btw, as you gain experience with PBL, you'll see how the grading/assessment system needs to change in more profound ways, such as giving separate grades for content knowledge and success skills/work habits.)

Do not give one grade for the entire project.

Doing so would give too much weight to one grade, and also mask a student's strengths and weaknesses in particular areas. Assign a grade or score separately to each major summative assessment or product.

Give far greater weight to individual work, not group work.

This will help prevent concerns about unfair grades, especially from high-achieving students (and their parents); also see item #2 above and #4 below. Don't simply "jig-saw" the work in a project; if students only do one part of a product or presentation, they're not likely to learn all that you intend. Make sure students have to truly collaborate on all parts of a project.

It's OK to (occasionally) use traditional measures like quizzes and tests.

These tools can be part of your mix, along with written assignments, as they are especially useful for assessing individual student content knowledge in a project.

Use rubrics to make quality criteria clear, and use them for formative as well as summative assessment.

Rubrics help making grading criteria explicit and clear, even while acknowledging the truth that assessment involves subjective human judgment. We recommend separate rubrics-or at least separate sections of a rubric-for content knowledge/understanding and for success skills. Early on in a project, make sure students understand the rubric's language, and have them practice using it on exemplars, and for formative self-assessment at checkpoints during a project. Having students co-create a rubric builds ownership and understanding.

Consider NOT grading the final product or presentation. The process is as (or more) important than the final product in PBL.

You might be thinking, but grades motivate students! If I don't grade the final product, what's their incentive to do it well? Based on what we've seen and heard from teachers, a good project is plenty motivating to students. They want to do well because they care about the authentic problem or driving question. If students know they will be sharing their work with experts or making a presentation to a public audience, they don't want to look bad. And finally, working in a team, IF the collaborative culture in a classroom is healthy, creates motivation to do good work; students won't want to let their teammates down.

Thoughts from PBLWorks National Faculty

Finally, here are some wise tips offered by our National Faculty members, gleaned from classroom experience, when I asked them for their thoughts about grading in PBL. Some of these might push your thinking:

Erin Gannon:
"Involve students as much as possible! Create a rubric early on with students for important work so that the expectations are crystal clear, and be sure to refer back to it during work time. There should be no surprises at the end because students have a solid understanding of how they can show mastery/ability/understanding."
Heather Wolpert-Gawron:

"In the spirit of being the coach, make sure that grades are used for feedback. If they are simply summative indicators of how close they got to some concept of perfect, that doesn't tell a student what elements are lacking.

Mix it up. Use rubrics for one assignment, screencast feedback for another, peer-scored for another, "outsider-scored" for another, credit/no-credit for some, stars vs. letter grades for another, etc.

Release their grade to them only if they prove they've groked the feedback. So many times the student cuts to the grade at the end of the artifact and never reads the "why." Only release that Holy Grail to them when they're comprehended the journey.

Not everything needs to be graded! In PBL, it's the process, not the product. What would it look like if the final product never saw a grade? It should instead be the result of a series of feedback opportunities earned throughout the unit."

Randi Downs:
"If a final product is known, like a TED talk, letter to editor, podcast, etc. a powerful approach is to have the students participate in an "immersion" into that product. Students immerse themselves into bunches of TED talks, for example, and jot down what they notice works, one item per sticky note. Then, in groups, they categorize the sticky notes, label their categories, and share out. From this, we create our final product rubric. I learned this from Katie Wood Ray and her book, Study Driven. It's pretty much how I had my students create their rubrics for every project."

Ian Stevenson:
"A powerful process for reflection is to have students score themselves on the rubric whenever the teacher is going to use a rubric (as frequently as possible). This gives a good starting point for conversation with the student. I always asked students for specific evidence if their self-score was higher than mine (and was willing to change my assessment if they pointed out something that I had missed, or explained their perspective more clearly). It also forced me to have specific evidence in order to explain any differences I had that the student wanted to know. This reinforced their confidence with oral communication, especially with the more introverted students, as well as ability to defend their argument! Once I knew students were honest and reflective, I could stop grading so much and use their self-scores on more of the formative checkpoints.

"I love Randi's process of the product immersion so students can co-create the rubric. This is crucial for those projects where students are given significant choice in the products of the project. If students can self-assess on the physical aspects of the product, then the teacher can focus more on the content and visible thinking."

Here are some more readings about grading in PBL:
Project Based Grading, by Mike McFadden

How Do We Assess (And Possibly, Grade) Project Based Learning? by Ross Cooper

Evaluation Within Project Based Learning, by Michael Hernandez

PBL Pilot: Matching PBL With Traditional Grading
and
Standards-Based Assessment in PBL, by Matt Meyers

Developing Confidence Through Delayed Grading (video), Edutopia

How Do We Grade? - Grading and Reporting in a PBL/PrBL Math Class, by Jeff Devarona, New Tech Network

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The Elephant in the Room: Grading in Project Based Learning

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Editor in Chief John Larmer, with contributions from the PBLWorks National Faculty, offers tips for teachers to answer FAQs about grading issues in PBL.

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Rubric for Giving and Receiving Feedback

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Create a new spreadsheet and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Sheets to edit Excel files. Free from Google.

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Test your paper folding technique with these paper airplane examples. Whether you are looking for a quick diversion from the grind of adulthood or are teaching a youngster DIY skills, these planes are a great way to add a little levity to your day. The examples below are all beginner or intermediate level. The materials are cheap and only require paper, a pair of scissors, a ruler, and some double stick tape (optional) to complete.

For best results use a flat, thin-edged ruler. Make good creases along each edge. Adding double stick tape to the inside of the body keeps the wings from separating in flight.

The most basic version. A simple standard that everyone should know how to make.

1. Fold the paper in half vertically.

2. Unfold the paper and fold each of the top corners into the center line.

3. Fold the top edges into the center line.

4. Fold the plane in half toward you.

5. Fold the wings down, matching the top edges up with the bottom edge of the body.

6. Add double stick tape to the inside of the body. The finished plane should look like this.

This one is built for distance, plus it just looks cool.

1. Fold the paper in half vertically.

2. Unfold the paper and fold each of the top corners into the center line.

3. Fold the peak toward you and 3/4" from the bottom of the paper.

4. Fold both top corners into the center line.

5. Fold the remaining tip over the two flaps at the center line to lock them in place.

6. Fold the plane in half away from you.

7. Fold the wings down 1" from the bottom of the plane.

8. Fold up the sides of each wing 1/2" tall.

9. Cut two small slits at the back of each wing. Fold up the tabs.

10. Add double stick tape to the inside of the body. The finished plane should look like this.

Built correctly, this bee-like beauty stays in the air for a long time.

1. Fold the paper in half horizontally.

2. Unfold the paper and fold each of the top corners into the center line.

3. Fold the peak down to meet the edge of the previous fold.

4. Fold the upper sides into the center line.

5. Fold the top edge 1/2" away from you.

6. Fold the plane in half towards you.

7. Fold the wings down 1/2" from the bottom of the plane.

8. Add double stick tape to the inside of the body. The finished plane should look like this.

Count on speed and distance from this sleek plane.

1. Fold the paper in half vertically.

2. Unfold the paper and fold the top edge down 2".

3. Fold the top edge down again to meet the bottom of the previous fold.

4. Fold the top edge down one more time to meet the bottom of the previous fold.

5. Fold the top edges down and away from you to the center line on the back of the paper.

6. Fold the plane in half towards you.

7. Starting at the top of the thick nose of the plane, fold the wings down 1/2" in the front and slightly angled to 1 1/2" in the back. Fold up the edges of the wings 1/2".

8. Add double stick tape to the inside of the body. The finished plane should look like this.

This plane is deceptively fast and stays aloft for quite a distance.

1. Fold the top right corner over to the left side, making a fold from the top of the paper to the bottom right corner.

2. Unfold the paper and repeat for the left corner.

3. Unfold the paper again and fold the top right corner over to meet the crease made from the first fold.

4. Fold the left corner over to meet the crease from the second fold.

5. Fold the top right edge over to meet the edge of the fold from step 3. Repeat for the other side.

6. Fold the top edge down and towards you to meet the point where the right and left layers cross.

7. Fold the plane in half away from you. Staring at the nose, fold the wings down at a slight angle, 1/2" in the front to about 2" in the back.

8. Add double stick tape to the inside of the body. The finished plane should look like this.

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Learn the simple steps for high-flying fun with this tutorial on five basic paper airplane patterns.

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Elementary Examples of Progress Monitoring

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Elementary Examples of Progress Monitoring

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Examples of progress monitoring at the Elementary Level

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Contains questions to think about for each pathway (5 Pathways)

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Learning progressions allow teachers to differentiate content based on increasing levels of complexity.

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ReDesigns work with one school for grading

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ReDesigns work with one school for grading

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This is a high school example that includes, pathways, progressions and grading options

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How to Write Effective Driving Questions for Project-Based Learning

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How to Write Effective Driving Questions for Project-Based Learning

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How to Write Effective Driving Questions for Project-Based Learning

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Good driving questions are written to help guide the teacher and the student.

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The Tricky Part of Writing a Driving Question

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The Tricky Part of Writing a Driving Question

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We've noticed over the years of facilitating our PBL 101 workshops that one of the most challenging parts for teachers designing a project is writing the driving question.

One reason is that it's a writing task, and not everyone is a writer. Many teachers are great at creating curriculum units and lesson plans, and many are great at working with students, but crafting the wording of a question that captures the heart of a project can be tricky.

Let's review. A good driving question meets the following criteria:

Engaging for students. It is understandable and interesting to students, and it provokes further questions and focuses their inquiry process.

Open-ended. There are several possible answers, and it cannot simply be Googled.

Aligned with learning goals. To answer it, students will need to learn the targeted content and skills.

Troubleshooting Common Pitfalls

Let's look at some typical "first drafts" and how they can be improved to better meet the above criteria.

What were the causes of the U.S. Civil War?
Not open-ended and does not require critical thinking and debate.

What was the most important cause of the U.S. Civil War?

What should people consider when planning for financing college or buying a home?
Not as engaging as it would be if it were specific and had a charge to take action.

What financial planning advice would we give to our "client" family?

Why is genetic engineering a bad idea?
Engaging, but slanted in one direction.

Should we allow designer babies?

How can we use measurement skills and geometry to plan a park?
States learning goals but doesn't have to; lacks a purpose or "why."
How can we plan a park that people in our community will visit?

Specify the Role & Product, or Not?

Another issue about driving questions that crops up in our workshops and among our National Faculty when coaching teachers is more matter of preference, although it can affect student engagement. You'll notice on the above chart that I did not include the project's product in any of the revised driving questions. I also did not include a role that students are playing. But the product and role could be specified in some projects, and might be useful for students in some cases.

At the Buck Institute, we talk about two general types of driving questions in PBL, and here are some pros and cons for each...

1. Driving Questions that explore a philosophical or debatable issue, or an intriguing topic, such as:

Is there "liberty and justice for all" in our society?

Could there be life on other planets?

What should be our policy on immigration?

What does it mean to be a man?

Does it matter what we eat?

Pros: Highly engaging to students; the kind of question they'll keep talking about when they leave the classroom. Often resemble "essential questions" found in Understanding by Design and the Coalition of Essential Schools, which teachers may be familiar with.

Cons: Harder to write; may feel like advanced PBL practice because the task and product are not spelled out. Typically found more often in upper grade levels and certain subject areas (e.g., humanities) more than others (e.g. math, world languages, career/tech).

2. Driving Questions that specify a product to be created or a problem to be solved-to which the students' role may be added, such as:

How can we help protect an endangered species in our area?

How can we reduce bullying?

How can we create a guide to our community for new immigrants?

How can we, as historians, create podcasts that tell the story of our city?

How can we, as medical interns, diagnose a sick patient?

Pros: Easier to write. Helps focus younger students on their task in a project. Roles define the kind of thinking we want students to do (as historians, scientists, etc.), add a real-world element, and can be good for career exploration.

Cons: Can feel less engaging for students; sometimes simply states what the teacher wants students to do. Roles may feel fake to some students; older students in PBL especially may prefer being themselves.

As with many decisions teachers need to make when designing and facilitating PBL, how to write a driving question depends on your own style, your context, your students.

I lean toward student engagement as the most important criterion. I'd also advise teachers to get feedback from colleagues on your draft driving questions-and even from students in a focus group.

Or you could actually co-craft it with students... but that process is a whole 'nother story (see this post by our National Faculty member Sara Lev for more on that).
Feel free to reach me on Twitter @johnlpbl to share your driving questions and get feedback!

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A Tricky Part of PBL: Writing a Driving Question

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PBLWorks Editor in Chief John Larmer gives guidance for troubleshooting pitfalls and deciding which type of DQ fits your project.

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Both inquiry-based and project-based learning use questions to engage students in learning about topics and ideas that interest them. These questions are called driving questions (also referred to as "essential questions").

A driving question is an open-ended question that is used to stimulate interest and create authentic learning experiences for students. The most successful driving questions are engaging, open-ended, and include elements of cross-curricular learning.

In this article, we'll go through what makes a good driving question and provide some examples that can be used in both the elementary and secondary classroom. We'll also show you how to teach your students how to write a good driving question themselves.

What makes a good driving question?

First, there are a few essential elements that make up a good driving question:

1. The question needs to be engaging

In order for students to be switched-on about their learning, the topic or question needs to be relevant to them. Driving questions should ignite student curiosity and encompass ideas that students find interesting and important. Furthermore, they should motivate students to ask more questions and make sense of the answers they find in a context that is relevant to them. There are always multiple paths of learning a question can take. However, these are pointless unless students are motivated to pursue them.

2. The question needs to be open-ended

In order for a driving question to be accessible to all students, it needs to be open-ended. Driving questions go beyond basic researching and presenting. Instead, they should encourage students to approach the question from a unique angle. They should spark discussion or debate, and raise further questions that align with students' own passions and wonderings. The table below models how open-ended questions should look, and offers some simple switches.

3. The question needs to relate to curriculum expectations

Well-written driving questions should connect with learning goals that are set out by the curriculum. In fact, using driving questions allows teachers to utilize a cross-curricular approach in their teaching, where the goal is to bring together the main ideas and skills from more than one subject simultaneously. Cross-curricular approaches are a great way to get students to see the connections that exist between various subjects. We've written an extensive guide on using cross-curricular learning approaches to help plan this aspect of your inquiry units.

Teaching students to write good driving questions

In my experience, teaching students how to write high-quality inquiry questions can be a bit tricky. They need to understand what makes a good inquiry question and how to formulate a question that they can pursue in-depth. Furthermore, students need to understand that driving questions often do not produce a single, "correct" answer, and that learning for the sake of regurgitating isn't true learning. Below are some steps I've taken to introduce students to the process of creating rich, high-quality inquiry questions.

Use a provocation or invitation

A good place to start teaching students about driving questions is to use provocations and invitations to stimulate interest in the topic. For example, if you want to begin an inquiry about skyscrapers and buildings, invite students to browse photos and blueprints of famous buildings. In addition, lay out building blocks or other materials so that students can make their own structures. We've written about how to create learning provocations that get students excited to make this process simple and fun.

If you're looking for wooden skyscraper blocks to use at a provocation table, these are a great option that include 35 high-quality wooden blocks.

If your students are a bit more creative, challenge them to build a full treehouse cottage with a crane, stairs, and slides (pictured to the right).

Encourage question-storming

Once students have explored the topic or subject, begin asking open-ended questions about what they've made or discovered. Encourage students to write their questions down on whiteboards or sticky notes and add them to a wonder wall or Q-matrix. I sometimes refer to this as "question-storming", where students simply write down any and all questions they have and stick them on a q-matrix. This way, they can pour out their curiosities and see what their peers are thinking about too.

Refining student driving questions

Gather students together and discuss their wonderings about the provocation. Then, read their questions and have them share their thoughts with classmates. As you do this, think about ways to tweak their existing questions into more open-ended and flexible questions that could serve as a driving question. The challenge here is that the question should aim to incorporate both learning standards and student wonderings. It will likely take a few inquiries before you feel confident doing this on the fly, as it does take practise to fuse the two together.

Click here to download an excellent lesson on creating effective inquiry questions.

Types of driving questions

The majority of driving questions can be categorized by the type of thinking that is required to explore the question, or the kind of product or service that can be created. Below are a few general categories that most driving questions can be classified by:

Questions that solve problems

These types of questions aim to solve a real-world problem. Often, students delving into these questions will need to contend with multiple solutions to determine the best course of action to take, or the most comprehensive solution to apply. Here are some examples:

How can we repurpose vacant buildings in inner-cities?

What type of bridge can we build to replace an old one in our community?

How have natural disasters affected Canada and the world?

Moreover, we've created a free PDF containing 50 nature and environment questions if you'd like some more ideas!

Questions that tackle big ideas

Questions that address issues like social justice, homelessness, sustainability, and infrastructure tend to be fairly large in scope and depth. For example:

How can we bring positive awareness to diversity in our society?

What makes a good citizen?

How are good and evil depicted in different cultures?

You can download a PDF with 50 more questions about civics, freedom, and government using this link, or read more about using inquiry to teach social justice!

Scenario-based questions

Scenario-based learning is an approach to learning based on an authentic scenario that mirrors real-life situations, issues, and decision-making. In my experience, students love digging into this type of learning because they can really be creative and come up with interesting ideas:

How might we reduce the amount of plastic in our landfills?

In what ways could we balance our needs and wants with sustainable resource development?

How would introducing a Universal Basic Income work in Ontario?

Furthermore, we've written a complete guide on using scenario-based learning in the classroom if you're looking for more ideas and guidance!

Alternative-reality questions

These types of questions are similar to scenario-based questions, but they differ in their approach. For example, while scenario-based questions invite students to think about a potential situation and how they would approach it, alternative-reality questions tend to focus on a specific change in circumstance. Here are some examples:

What might have happened if Rosa Park didn't give up her seat?

How might our community change if the average daily temperature climbed 10 degrees warmer?

How would the United States look if a third major political party was introduced?

Further interesting alternative-reality questions can be found in our article about writing stories of the future.

Examples of driving questions

Remember that driving questions are used to engage students; they should accompany students throughout the inquiry or project, and should increase their overall engagement in the process.

Below is a table full of question prompts to use in your classroom. You can also download them as a PDF here.

Takeaways

(1) A driving question is an open-ended question that is used to stimulate interest and create authentic learning experiences for students; they should also be cross-curricular in nature to reap the most active learning opportunities.

(2) Good driving questions need to be engaging, open-ended, and align with curriculum expectations; the goal is for students to feel motivated and to see the value in their learning and contributions.

(2) Teaching students to write rich, high-quality inquiry questions can involve the use of provocations and invitations (read about the difference here), brainstorming questions, and also explicitly teaching the question-forming process.

(3) Finally, there are different categories of driving questions depending on the type of thinking required and what you want the final product to look like; these categories include questions that solve problems, tackle big ideas, involve a scenario, or involve an alternative reality.

What kinds of driving questions have you used with your class?

Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on Instagram!

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Creating Strong Driving Questions for Inquiry Learning - Learning by Inquiry

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Driving questions are open-ended questions that are used to stimulate interest and create authentic learning experiences for students.

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Paper Airplanes: Why Flaps and Folds matter

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Paper Airplanes: Why Flaps and Folds Matter | STEM Activity

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Kristen Logan is a personalized learning coach with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) Office of Personalized Learning. Kristen has 15 years of experience in education in SC, including roles as a classroom teacher, math coach and instructional coach.
We know that learning is not meant to be one-size-fits-all. Every student learns in different ways, at different rates and has different interests. But there tends to be a gap between knowing and doing. According to the South Carolina Framework for Personalized Learning, there are four components to personalized learning: student ownership, learner profiles, flexible learning environments and learning pathways.

The South Carolina Framework for Personalized Learning provides a guideline for educators who are shifting their practices to become student-centered. Many educators ask, "Where do I start?" There is no one way to tackle personalized learning. Student ownership threads itself throughout the other three components, and there is not one component that is more important than another. However, the component that seems to have the most leverage for shifting practices is learning pathways because it "adapts to each student's learning progress, motivation and goals."

Knowing the complexity of learning pathways, I knew it would be critical to help my teachers visualize what learning pathways could look like. After spending time building our culture around the idea of mastery learning and using professional learning communities ( PLCs) to discuss the WHY behind personalized learning, we began talking about how learning pathways could be our solution for meeting the needs of our different learners.

To introduce learning pathways to my teachers, I created the Learning Pathways Schematic based on my teaching experiences. Before beginning a unit, it is critical to use a pre-assessment to determine what students already know and can do. In reviewing pre-assessment data, typically students fall into one of three buckets: on, below or above target (of course there are always outliers). The schematic represents those three buckets: path 1 represents students above target, path 2 represents students on target and path 3 represents students below target.

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Making Sense of Learning Pathways | KnowledgeWorks

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Kristen Logan is a personalized learning coach with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) Office of Personalized Learning. Kristen has 15 years of experience in education in SC, including roles as a classroom teacher, math coach and instructional coach. We know that learning is not meant to be one-size-fits-all.