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What support are we providing to students? How is our feedback assisting students to be motivated for improvement?
What support are we providing to students? How is our feedback assisting students to be motivated for improvement?

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Preparing for the Christmas Concert requires much motivation and positive support especially with the boys classes. Praising the students on their singing and making improvements to establish a better sound works in the chorus setting.

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We let our students know that failure and reflection are  part of life.    It will happen in school, at home, at work, in relationships, etc.  We attempt to help them understand that the struggle is what grows us.
Students are offered immediate feedback on many of our quizzes and tests.  They not only get the grade, but they can review the questions.  Redo's and catch-up cafe can allow students chances to correct previous mistakes while also learning about plans to improve and the possible costs of second chances.
If students feel that they have the opportunity to make improvements to their assignments and/or assessments, we may get more genuine effort.  Sometimes students fear exposing themselves by going all in on a project or class, only to struggle and be hurt.  Therefore, they protect themselves by doing nothing or very little.  At least then, they feel as though they already know the outcome and are safe from the discouragement of trying and not succeeding.

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One of the most powerful elements of feedback for learners is to praise them for their efforts and hard work. Praise for abilities over efforts reinforces the fixed mindset that students have the ability or they don’t and no amount of hard work on can change the outcome.

Throughout the learning cycle, I assess student progress through formative and summative assessments. The purpose of formative assessment is to pinpoint the learning needed for success on a later summative assessment. Formative assessment informs me and students about needs for improvement so we can both act accordingly to improve performance on the summative. What is important is that students get timely and descriptive feedback from the assessment so that they can move forward in their learning. This cycle of learning will improve results on a later summative assessment.

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We have students who can't stand imperfection and struggle. Many times these are our high achievers. They only worry about the grade and not the learning. This mindset is one of perfection and does not want to struggle so when they get to more abstract concepts they have difficulty when they do not have an A average. It's hard to make them see that struggle is necessary. This is why sometimes a grade is not the best way to get them to learn. Feedback and critique that has no penalty to their grades may be the best for this type of student. As they have to opportunities to improve work, growth will happen.

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I think the growth mindset quotes in the hallways and the Famous Failures biography display in the library are some ways we can reinforce the idea that we can learn from failure.  I may incorporate some of the "Famous Failures" in news show segments and social media posts.

Makerspace, STEM, writing and revising, PBL activities are all a way to grapple and struggle with a problem or issue or design, and trial and error, and experimentation are necessary to get to the final product or solution.

We need to share that it is ok to not be perfect the first go round or attempt in assignments and in life...
In thinking about choosing a career or job, sometimes you need to do something you don't like in order to eliminate that as a possible career choice.  For example, if someone is  undeclared or does not know what they want to do when they grow up, they can still learn from the situation they are in or get themselves out of inertia.  I used to work for Belk as a dept. manager and an assistant buyer.  I knew that was not what I wanted to do forever.  But while I was doing it, I learned that I enjoyed coaching my employees and celebrating their success , liked creating displays, enjoyed helping people, and working with children and parents in the store.  That helped lead me to
the library, where I now get to promote books and reading and self improvement, help students and teachers, and make library displays. (Slapnik)

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In PE- Before every game, sport,  or activity we work on the SKILLS that go with that particular unit.  With out the skills, they will not be sucessful at completing the game or activity.  We do not move on until all students have practiced.  If a student does not show improvement or proficiency in that skill, then they keep practicing before they move on to the more complex skills.  I like to take this same mindset into the health room.  Students need the skills or practice to learn and become proficient in a subject or lesson that they are learning.  Tests show how much effort they are putting forth into their learning.  I believe redo's can be beneficial if the student is willing to put more effort into passing the test, but if they choose not to, then it can be a waste of time.

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I've tried to create a culture where kids feel it's okay to make mistakes but to keep trying.   They are quick to point out when I make a mistake (sometimes on purpose and sometimes not) and we turn that into a learning opportunity.  I've always felt the redo's should happen all through the learning process and not wait until the test. Giving kids the opportunity to correct assignments and checkpoints as well as provide the differentiated and personalized learning along the way, students will have more success and we can get rid of the "Can I have a redo?" before they put the first answer on the test.
I also think it is important to provide kids with stories of other great individuals who have failed over and over, but kept trying and finally succeeded. It's not about how many times you failed at something, but what you did after you failed that makes a difference.

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Our academic lunch gives students ample opportunity to ask questions and get help on misunderstandings. Our grades are one method of feedback. The opportunity to retake a test helps students raise their grades and can assist in motivating students to achieve more.

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The biggest thing I try to get them to realize when they fail is that it's a learning opportunity. I want them to understand that the things they do now and over the next couple of years will shape them as a person.  Learning to take failure as a way to improve themselves goes much deeper than improving a test grade in ELA, SS, Math, etc.. it is a habit that they need to harness for the rest of their life.  As Mrs. Bryant said, I also am very open about my own learning that I am doing while teaching them, hoping to emphasize to them that they will be learning for the rest of their lives.  I feel that when I was a student, that I connected best with, and learned the most from my teachers who were genuine in their teaching.  Meaning they were not caught up in pretending to have no weaknesses in whatever the content was, but instead embraced their struggles and used them as teaching points for us.

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Our feedback should provide support for improvement.   Formative assessments are supposed to be a tool for learning.  Knowing that it is ok to get something wrong provides an environment where students can use what they know and “take a risk”.  This atmosphere should promote perseverance.  Some of the technology available to us makes personalizing the learning for students more efficient.  It also frees up time for the teacher to meet with students individually and in small groups to also fill gaps and meet the students’ needs. I think that this opens up opportunities for students to own their learning and pursue real life applications based on individual interests.

As a teacher I always try to get my students to think like Thomas Edison: From “National Treasure” (2004), Ben Gates: You know, Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly 2,000 times to develop the carbonized cotton-thread filament for the incandescent light bulb. Ben Gates: And when asked about it, he said "I didn't fail; I found out 2,000 ways how not to make a light bulb," but he only needed one way to make it work.

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I try to emphasize with my student's my own humilty. I try to tell them that I am still learning and share with them my new learning. I would like to think that they will realize that we are in this together an even when they become an adult that they can continue to learn. I try to emphasize with them that I make mistakes on a daily basis but I try to improve upon my own failure.
I also let them complain to a certain degree when they find the material difficult. I hope that being authentic with my students it will encourage them to improve upon their own learning.

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We do a lot of hand drawn visuals and diagrams in science. Students think they have to be great artists for their work to be worthy of a higher grade. When in reality, I want them to see the concept and create a visual representation as they see it with the parts labeled correctly. I purposely use "imperfect artistic" exemplars that are labeled correctly so they will think they can do much better! I found doing this motivates them to try multiple times, relieves the pressure of feeling inadequate and focuses the learning to concept. Students do not copy perfect examples but create authentic work meaningful to them. Students know they can redo mistakes in labeling without having to create perfect pictures.

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In my math class this year we correct almost every assignment. When I return papers to be corrected I explain where the mistakes happened so that we can correct those misconceptions or uncertainty. As the students are working on corrections I assist when they get stuck or are unsure about where to go next.
I also have made it a point to remind students that we all make mistakes and that it is how you handle the mistakes that makes a difference. I am trying to create a culture that embraces mistakes as a part of the learning process and helps students to become better problem solvers. ( Dyches)