EDU 10.
12: Techno- Pedagogic Content
Knowledge Analysis - Commerce
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT
On: Assessing
student performance as
feedback for Students progress
Teachers proficiency - Parents
Submitted by,
Rekha Krishna R.
B.Ed (commerce)
PMTC, Mavelikara
Feedback to improve student learning
Much of the research literature around Formative
assessment points to the importance of feedback to students as
part of the learning process. Sadler argues that Formative
assessment is specifically intended to provide feedback on
performance to improve and accelerate learning. Proving a
student with a grade or mark in response to a piece of assessable
work is not, except in the broadest sense, giving feedback.
Similarly making comments on student work is not itself providing
feedback.
Ramaprasad defines feedback as information
about the gap between the actual level and the reference level of
a system parameter which is used to alter the gap in same way.
In the context of assessment for learning, the
system parameter is the intended learning outcomes from a
course, topic or a particular assessment task. The actual level is
each students achievement in response to the assessment task,
while the reference level is the agreed standard of performance
expected for successful completion of the task. So in this context,
feedback is information provided to students that is used by them
to alter the gap between their current performance and the ideal.
If comments are not or cannot be used by students to alter the
gap, then those comments do not constitute feedback.
Much of the research on feedback has focused on
the nature of written comments on students assignments,
although some has addressed wider feedback practices that can
help students build self-assessment and self-regulation abilities in
relation to their thinking, motivation and behaviour during
learning. This perspective moves the feedback process away from
being an after the assessment event transmission of information
from teacher to student and towards an ongoing dialogue to help
build students knowledge, skills, confidence and perception about
themselves as learners.
Importance of quality feedback for teachers
The work of John Hattie and others has amply
demonstrated that one of the most significant factors contributing
to learning and improvement for students is quality feedback from
the teacher. The same is true for the teacher as a learner- quality
feedback from supervisors about instruction methods, classroom
management, student engagement, questioning techniques and
so on has a key role to play in teacher development and
improvement.
Teaching is a very human profession and many
people are great at affirmation. Too few have the skill sets
associated with developmental feedback. Without the training and
skills required they default to their belief that it is important first
and foremost to make people feel good about their work. Some
leaders even see this as a way of building high trust environments
and suggest that developmental feedback can come at some
point in the future, when high trust has been cemented. I would
suggest that if this is the approach that critical point is hard to
reach. In fact the opposite is often achieved when colleagues see
fellow teachers who they know are struggling in their classrooms
being affirmed, with similar feedback as that provided to teachers
who are demonstrably doing great work in their classroomshence the oft held view that supervision is a compliance rather
than developmental process.
Providing opportunities for leaders in schools to
acquire and hone skills in providing developmental feedback is
critical to school improvement and teacher development. We
must overcome our fear of critical assessment and build our
skills as initiators of what Viviane Robinson calls learning
conversations. Explicit instruction, guided and modeled
professional learning is required if we want to see system wide
change and improvement. Knowing is not enough.
Parents feedback
In recent years there has been a fundamental
change in the way schools think about the role and nature of
assessment and the vital role feedback plays in significantly
improving learning outcomes .The driver of this change has been
the overwhelming weight of evidence and research from
international experts such as Prof. John Hattie, who have shown
how learning outcomes significantly improve when teachers and
other practitioners use assessment to provide feedback
information about aspects of a learners performance or
understanding. Feedback, Hattie states fills a gap between what
is understand and what is aimed to be understood.
Feedback is one of the most effective teaching and
learning strategies and has an immediate impact on the learning
progress of each child. This feedback can be practitioner to
learner, learner to practitioner, self assessment and feedback to
and from peers. There are different ways that this feedback is
collected, provided and used.
Whilst grades are still commonly given for tests and
reports, descriptive feedback is what early years practitioners and
teachers are typically providing on a day basis in their
interactions with learners and on their written work.
Descriptive feedback can emphasize the strengths of
the childs work as well as areas that they may need to work on
and what they need to do next.
It is important that parents and carers support the importance of
descriptive feedback and not focus only on the grades.
One way parents and carers can support
practitioners feedback to learners is to make a regular time to
talk with their child about specific pieces of work which their
teacher or other educational professional has provided feedback
on. Some guiding questions could include:
What
What
What
What
do you think you did really well?
do you think you need to improve on?
do think your teacher wants you to work further on?
did you learn?
Start by establishing that your child understands
what is being discussed. Do encourage your child to note
down any questions they may have about feedback given
and encourage them to ask follow up questions of their
teacher in a timely fashion.
If your child feels that they are making mistakes,
do not understand or cant do something immediately,
remember to reinforce that making mistakes or struggling to
understand or to do something, are a normal part of the
learning process. Stay positive about your childs learning. It
is important to remember that each child is different, some
will find parts of their learning program more challenging
than others.
Speak with your childs school if you have any
questions about what your child is learning and how they are
progressing. Some questions that may be useful could
include:
How well is my child doing?
What are my childs strengths and what do they need to
work further on?
What progress have they made?
What do they need to do now?
How can I best help my child with their learning?
