892241

research-article2019
GMTXXX10.1177/1048371319892241General Music TodayHatch

Article
General Music Today

Going Beyond “It Sounds Good”: 2020, Vol. 33(3) 29­–35

© National Association for
Music Education 2019
Developing Student Capacity to Give DOI: 10.1177/1048371319892241
https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371319892241
journals.sagepub.com/home/gmt

Meaningful Feedback

Emily Hatch1

Abstract
National Core Arts Standards require students to use feedback from peers to refine both their performances and
their compositions in the artistic processes of Create and Perform. When asked to give feedback to a peer, many
students stop at comments like “It sounds good,” and do not naturally give specific, meaningful feedback. Therefore,
teachers need to develop the capacity of students to give meaningful feedback to each other. This article outlines
strategies and activities for building a classroom rich in meaningful student-provided feedback.

Keywords
create, feedback, perform, refine, Standards

“It sounds good!” How many students use these words
when listening to a peer’s performance or composition
task? In the National Core Arts Standards (National
Coalition for Core Arts Standards, 2014), two anchor
standards involve applying feedback to refine artistic
work and performances:
Anchor Standard 3: Refine and complete artistic work.
This anchor standard is part of the artistic process
Create, where students develop their own musical
ideas. First students explore sounds and motives and
then notate or record their final idea for their composi-
tion. Then students refine their work by getting feed-
back from others. Finally, students explain how they
used that feedback to modify their piece and present
their ideas to others.
Anchor Standard 5: Develop and refine artistic tech-
niques and work for presentation. This anchor stan-
dard is part of the Perform artistic process, where
students perform someone else’s musical ideas with
accuracy and expression. First, students select a work
to perform, analyze it, and interpret the expressive
musical qualities. Next, refine their performance. Like
Anchor Standard 3, this involves getting feedback
from others and applying rehearsal strategies to
strengthen their performance. Finally, students per-
form for others.
Why is feedback so important? “Logistically, a teacher
cannot provide students with feedback every time they
practice” (Laubenthal, 2018, p. 57). Students must
develop independent, critical thinking to give each other
feedback on creating and performing tasks. How can stu-
dents be taught to give meaningful feedback beyond the
shallow “It sounds good?”
To use feedback to refine work, that feedback must
first be specific, meaningful, and useful. The National
School Reform Faculty (2017) states that feedback must
be “audible, credible, and actionable” (“Feedback
Principles”). Hattie and Timperley (2007) add,
Effective feedback must answer three major questions
asked by a teacher and/or by a student: Where am I going?
(What are the goals?), How am I going? (What progress is
being made toward the goal?), and Where to next? (What
activities need to be undertaken to make better progress?).
(p. 86)
Feedback must be both descriptive and prescriptive as
it gives information about a performance task or compo-
sition idea.
Giving specific, intentional feedback is a vital skill for
students to develop in music classrooms. “Feedback can
motivate further learning and drive improvement”
(Payne, Burrack, Parkes, & Wesolowski, 2019, p. 37).
However, giving specific feedback involves vulnerability
and requires teachers to build classrooms into safe places
where ideas and mistakes are welcomed. “It is crucial that
feedback focuses on the task rather than the individual
1
Daegu Elementary School, Daegu, Korea
Corresponding Author:
Emily Hatch, Department of Defense Education Activity, Daegu
Elementary School, Unit 15623, APO, AP 96218, Daegu, Korea.
30 General Music Today 33(3)
and that it includes specific suggestions for how to
improve the quality of one’s work and performance”
(Valle, Andrade, Palma, & Hefferen, 2016, p. 42).
Students must master a task to give others descriptive
information and actionable steps about what to do next.
In his book Intelligent Music Teaching (2009), Robert
Duke invites music teachers to consider the end result
first and to create a “vision of an accomplished learner”
describing what students will be like at the end of the
learning process (p. 72). Applying this idea to Anchor
Standards 3 and 5, students who give meaningful feed-
back will listen to each other’s work and ideas attentively
and respectfully. They will be able to describe what they
hear and see with specific content vocabulary and will be
able to propose actionable new ideas based on the origi-
nal work or performance. They will also be able to accu-
rately pinpoint problems and present solutions to consider.
The specifics of this will look different at each grade
level; a kindergartener will be able to hear if their peer is
using an appropriate singing voice, or accurately per-
forming rhythms based on a familiar rhyme. Fifth graders
might be able to pinpoint which phrase is incorrect, or if
their peer is using a major or minor key, or a duple or
triple meter.
Strategies for Developing Meaningful
Feedback
Most students do not know how to give meaningful feed-
back. At first, they stick to comfortable, obvious reflec-
tions like, “It sounded good.” What does “good” really
mean? Students need to be challenged to think about their
words and how they can use specific words to help their
peers refine their work. A vocabulary list or frequently
referenced word wall can aid students in “using words as
a tool to evaluate musical works” (Gifford & Johnson,
2015, p. 66). This is much like the editing process of writ-
ing. If there are lots of misspelled words in their friend’s
essay, the editor shouldn’t just say, “It’s bad.” They
should circle all the words that need to be looked at again.
The same is true for music; students need to develop a
mind-set that is precise. Here are four ways to challenge
students to give feedback that is specific, meaningful, and
useful as well as unbiased and kind.
Model
The first strategy for developing the capacity to give
meaningful feedback in students is to frequently model
precise, specific feedback to students. When students
are sharing ideas with the class, teachers can model pre-
cise observations about what they hear and see. For
instance, listening to a student’s composition, a teacher
might say, “I heard mezzo-piano playing at an adagio
tempo. I noticed that Rhianna ended her composition on
A so it had a lonely sound.” Modeling can help students
learn to be reflective, independent thinkers (DeLuca &
Bolden, 2014). Since “students will need coaching and
modeling in giving feedback” (Stringham, 2016, p. 49),
teachers should also be a model of less-than-perfect per-
formances to give students a chance to practice giving
specific feedback in a low-risk situation. This lets stu-
dents practice giving feedback to the teacher first and
allows students to develop comfort with the idea of
assessing and being assessed. When students listen to
each other to give feedback, they will not always be lis-
tening to perfect performances, and so it makes sense
for the teacher to model mistakes in order to give stu-
dents practice in identifying them.
Sentence Frames
To push students beyond, “It sounded good,” sentence
frames provide a starting place for precise ideas.
Stringham (2016) suggests,
To help students improve their skills in giving feedback,
consider providing guidelines to ensure students are (1)
providing feedback on a range of attributes, (2) are sharing
things they like as well as those they do not, and (3) providing
their feedback appropriately. (p. 49)
“I noticed . . .” is an opening for many precise obser-
vations of musicality. It is possible to even direct students
further: “I noticed the melody . . .” or “I noticed the
rhythm . . .” Kindergarteners might respond to each oth-
er’s singing with “I noticed you used your high voice.” “I
noticed that your song was slow and soft like a lullaby.”
Fifth graders might respond to a peer’s performance on
recorder: “I noticed that your B and A sounded right, but
the other notes were a little squeaky.” “I noticed that you
chose to end on E, which made it sound very sad.”
Taking sentence frames a step further, use a two-part
frame: “I loved . . ./Have you thought about . . .?” (See
Figure 1) “Have you thought about” is a nonthreatening
way to introduce new ideas or changes. Students can con-
sider the new ideas without feeling pressured to incorpo-
rate them or can try out new ideas and then change their
minds (Deutsch, 2016). Asking students to provide a pos-
sible change or solution also gives them a chance to dem-
onstrate mastery of the task. Fifth graders listening to a
peer’s singing performance might say, “I loved your high
voice. Have you thought about singing faster to match the
context of the song?” A student listening to a peer’s com-
position might say, “I loved the rhythms you chose. Have
you thought about ending on a different note to make it
sound more finished?”
Hatch 31
Figure 1.  Sentence frame example.
YES NO Kept steady beat as a group
YES NO Played 12-bar blues pattern correctly
YES NO Started each line of singing with each line of
the 12-bar blues.
YES NO Instrumental response played with an interest-
ing rhythm and thoughtful note choices
Figure 2.  Blues composition task.
Harvard University’s Project Zero published a “Ladder
of Feedback” that uses four levels: first, clarifying the
information if needed. Second, feedback starts with valu-
ing the performance or work, using “I really like . . .
because . . .” Next, feedback should state concerns using
“I wonder if . . .” and finish by suggesting improvements
using “Maybe you could . . .” (Harvard University, 2019).
It is important for students to state something positive
first, in a neutral “I noticed” or a warm “I loved” before
moving on to suggestions to improve the work.
Sentence frames can all be used verbally or in writing.
Some students may benefit from the chance to think first
and organize their thoughts in writing before they need to
speak out loud.
Checklist
Making a clear checklist for a composition or performance
task provides a reference for students listening to each
other and checking for required components (Figure 2).
Checklists should be succinct and clear, using verbs to
describe each component of the task (Duke, 2009).
Checklists can also be used for the steps preceding the
feedback step and are a tool to help students stay on task
(Valle et al., 2016). Laubenthal (2018) writes,
Figure 3.  Perform assessment rubric.
The checklist is effective in lessons because students are
able to visualize the number of objectives they have achieved
and can see that they are growing along the continuum of
musical skills that are aligned with the expectations of the
teacher. Furthermore, students take responsibility for their
own learning. (p. 57)
Students can use the checklist to give each other mean-
ingful feedback by identifying which step they are com-
menting on and describing how their peer has accomplished
the step. For example, a second grader might say, “The
checklist says that you should keep a steady beat as a
group, but Ryan was not playing the same steady beat as
the rest of you.”
Rubric
Rubrics are included with the National Core Arts
Standards Model Cornerstone Assessments. They can be
useful in their prescriptive qualities and can hold stu-
dents accountable to the task, but they can also be dan-
gerous if they are too descriptive and students struggle to
find indicators of performance on many layers of a rubric
(Deutsch, 2016). Therefore, a simple rubric is a good
tool for students to use to give meaningful feedback to
each other. The simplest rubric might just use 3–2–1 and
a descriptor of each level (Figures 3 and 4). For perfor-
mances, a 3 rating indicates that the performance was
accurate and expressive (MU: Pr5.1.4 and 5.1.5); 2 indi-
cates that it was approaching the standard but had some
mistakes; and 1 indicates that it was not yet accurate and
32 General Music Today 33(3)
1- Emerging 2- Approaches Criterion
Student feedback is vague, Student feedback is general.
and does not give suggestions Student gives vague suggestions
of ways to improve the work. of ways to improve the work.
Figure 4.  Rubric of feedback.
expressive. (“Not yet” develops a growth mind-set where
the standard might not be mastered at this time but has
the potential to be mastered in the future.) Students can
listen to a peer’s performance and then quickly show
them a number with their fingers or can go into more
detail and explain why they chose that number.
Class Activities for Providing Peer
Feedback
Developing a culture of meaningful feedback takes time,
and consistent, repeated practice. Giving feedback is not
a standalone activity but a skill that should be woven into
the fabric of a music classroom over time. Students do
not naturally give meaningful feedback well and need
lots of time to practice this new but critical skill. Here are
four suggestions for including feedback activities into the
classroom tapestry.
Model/Calibration
Using a simple rubric pairs well with teacher modeling
and can work to “calibrate the class.” The teacher gives
different performances purposefully hitting different lev-
els of the rubric, and students can explain why the perfor-
mances fell where they did. Using rubrics for performance
tasks “will enable students to better understand perfor-
mance criteria, leading to more accurate and helpful
feedback on student learning” (DeLuca & Bolden, 2014,
p. 75). This can be a quick activity to repeat often as a
class is learning performance or creating tasks.
To make sure that the entire class is calibrated cor-
rectly, use the “cold call” method from Teach Like a
Champion where students are called on whether or not
they raise their hands (Lemov, 2015). A ring of cards
labeled with each student, or a way to randomize who is
being called on, can help to make sure that over time all
students are participating equally.
Ideally, all students in the class will share the same
“vision of an accomplished learner” with the teacher and
will be able to identify and explain where a performance
or composition falls on the simple rubric and why. A kin-
dergarten class might recognize the quality of high
3- Meets Criterion 4- Exceeds Criterion
Student feedback is specific. Student feedback is specific
Student gives practical and thorough. Student identifies
suggestions of ways to rehearsal strategies or clear next
improve the work. steps to improve the work.
singing voice; a fifth-grade class might be able to more
carefully assess accuracy of notes and rhythms and
expressiveness and effectiveness of a performance, espe-
cially if the music chosen to perform lends itself to a spe-
cific, recognizable interpretation (like a lullaby, or a
minor key, or an upbeat jig).
“Number Talks” is a strategy from outside the field of
music that also blends well with calibrating a class to be
able to give meaningful, thoughtful feedback. “Classroom
conversations and discussions . . . are opportunities for
the class to come together to share their mathematical [or
musical] thinking” (Parrish, 2010, p. 5). In this strategy,
individual students explain their thinking about a specific
math problem, and other students agree or disagree, and
then work to explain different ways to arrive at the same
answers. It can be easily modified for music class as stu-
dents are explaining their thinking about what level on
the rubric a performance falls and why. The Number
Talks program teaches students simple sign language for
“agreement” so they can be engaged listeners when other
students are talking. Students hold out their thumb and
pinky, folding the other three fingers toward their palm,
and then move their thumb toward and away from their
chin. Having students “agree” with their hands allows
teachers to visually see how their class is calibrated to the
same ideas and gives students a way to be engaged, active
listeners.
Assigned Listeners
Borrow some yellow pinnies (mesh jerseys that go on
over clothes to differentiate teams) from the PE teacher
and have two or three students wear them, indicating that
they are the “assigned listener.” These students are
responsible for providing feedback to the class when
working on performance tasks. They might need to iden-
tify areas to improve or suggest rehearsal strategies that
the class could use to improve specific spots in the piece
(MU: PR5.1.1b). Assigned listeners might be exempt
from the performance task and instead be challenged to
do very careful listening and give meaningful feedback.
After each performance trial, have the assigned listeners
tell the class what they heard. Assign different students to
be the listeners each performance trial, or each music
Hatch 33
Figure 5.  Example of a student’s writing on a feedback sheet.
class. The feedback given by assigned listeners could also
be assessed easily through this activity.
Find a Listener
Students working on performance or creation tasks might
be ready to get feedback at different times. In this case,
students can be responsible to find a listener. In a class-
room with a strong culture of feedback giving, students
can ask each other to listen to their performance or com-
position and give feedback. Teach students that when
approached for help, it is polite to say yes and take a few
minutes to give meaningful feedback to peers. Students
working through the steps of creating might be tasked
with finding two or three different listeners to provide
feedback. One great way to retain that feedback is for the
listener to write down their ideas. To save paper, create a
simple feedback sheet (Figure 5) and then stick it in a
sheet protector. The listeners can then use dry erase mark-
ers on the sheet protector, and the same sheet of paper can
be used over and over.
Feedback Circle
To have the whole class giving feedback to each other at
once, arrange students into a large double circle (students
34 General Music Today 33(3)
Figure 6.  Students singing to each other in a feedback circle.
Figure 7.  Instruments set into a feedback circle.
are paired off, facing each other, creating an inside circle of
students with their backs to the inside of the circle and an
outside circle of students facing their partner) (Figure 6).
Assign the outside circle to do the performance task (sing-
ing a simple song, or playing a simple song on recorder
both work well for this). Then assign the inside circle to
give them feedback, possibly using a sentence frame like,
“I noticed . . .” or “I loved/Have you thought about . . .” To
extend the activity, have the inside circle stay in place, and
the outside circle rotate one person to the right and repeat,
this time with the inside circle performing and the outside
circle giving feedback. Repeat as many times as desired.
This allows students to practice giving feedback to and get-
ting feedback from many different partners. Third graders
playing recorder for each other might say, “I noticed you
used soft air. Have you thought about checking your
thumb? Your notes were squeaky even though you were
using soft air so maybe your thumb isn’t covering the holes
all the way.” It is also possible to arrange xylophones into
a circle of paired instruments to facilitate feedback-giving
on those instruments (Figure 7).
Conclusion
Giving feedback is an ongoing process to weave into the
fabric of a music classroom. To truly develop the capacity
of students to give meaningful feedback, the skill needs
to be practiced on a consistent basis but does not need to
take the whole lesson. As teachers develop facility in
modeling and weaving in activities designed to build a
classroom culture of growth, students will become more
comfortable giving and receiving feedback on the very
personal skills of performing and creating.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iD
Emily Hatch https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8330-1148
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Hatch 35
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Author Biography
Emily Hatch teaches PK-5 General Music at Daegu Elementary
School for DoDEA. Her research interests include teaching the
National Core Arts Standards with fidelity, social justice in
music education, and teacher leadership.