Welcome to Exploring Education Through Technology! We will use Robert Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works as a vehicle to generate conversation!
Step 1: Introduce Yourself! Not only your name, but title and school.
Step 2: Describe any experience you have had with blogs. It's okay if this is your first blogging journey!
Step 3: Simply interact! Don't hesitate to comment.
I truly like the idea of providing students with corrective feedback. One common technique that is most often used to give a group of students specific feedback on what they missed and why is to review the test after it is graded. I would like to hear from others in the group regarding creative ways they have found to provide individual feedback that is specific, positive, and corrective in nature.
I agree -- my students like to give feedback on themselves too. For instance, when they film their newscast they preview it and see all their mistakes. They correct themselves, which I think is a great way provide feedback. I can point out things that should be changed, but they catch things themselves-- which I love.
We always point out our good points and things we could improve on!
I am just like you, Dana! I love it when the children are engaged and developed enough to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. You might try a rubric for the newscast. That way, the students can gage their performances based on the rubric. It can also be a good tool for students who are not as adept at reflecting on their production.
Cindy- I find that NOT giving students a letter grade helps a lot. They just look at the grad and put it aside if they have a grade. I use rubrics with possible points and students self-score before I give points. Then we evaluate where they were wrong. What is hard for me is when they say they did a 6 out of 10 job and they are correct. So if they know that, why didn't they do better or work on it more? We are still dealing with that issue. Our first issue was honest evaluation of objectives and self scoring. Now we are working on doing a better job to get a better score. Renee
Rubrics are a great way to give specific, relevant feedback on assignments, but I use them mostly for projects...not daily work. I use self checklists sometimes, but not always. I have used peer evaluation with mixed results. The relative maturity of a class is a reliable predictor of the relative success before we ever start. :/ It's hard to get away from grading a test or an assignment when we as educators have to be able to justify a report card grade to a parent. Especially in a subject like English where the parents have very firm notions of what that class looks like based on their own educational experiences. I have occasionally used a set of comments and given no grade, but it's worth mentioning that I teach academically gifted kids who care about the grade waaaaaaaaay more than the average kid. I have students who will argue over a point to the verge of tears if it's the difference in an A or a B. They care very little for the actual learning in some cases. It's tragic! If I put a check mark or a plus sign on a paper, they freak out until they have a numerical equivalent to factor into their average. When we do sample testlet questions to practice for the EOG, I'm tempted to remove the questions that I KNOW will produce chaos, but can't because they would be so unprepared otherwise. Even as I explain, again, why the answer must be this, they are saying, but "You should count this, too, because it's a tricky question." Maybe it is tricky, and I go over every strategy I know to prepare them for the tricky questions, but the bottom line is, objectively speaking, there can only be one right answer...usually. :)
I typed a really long comment and sometime in getting it to post it disappeared. So...I think my children are in Rhonda's class! Only kidding. Both of my children act that way! I really thought about how I use this strategy in kindergarten. I use a lot of verbal corrective feedback as we don't do a lot of writing. I also use a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" activity for classroom discussions. Especially when we read a story and recall, predict, or sequence the children give the presentor a thumbs up if they agree or a thumbs down if they don't. If you give someone a thumbs down you have to present your own idea to the discussion. I also encourage them to give me "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" during morning group if they understand or have an idea of their own. I use simple rubrics with them especially for things I want them to accomplish during cooperative learning. It is not for grades only a checklist.
Most of my classroom activities are project based and rubrics are a wonderful tool. I give the students the rubric at the beginning of the project and go over it thoroughtly before beginning work. I am like Renee and wonder why a few students don't do better when they know expectations and can grade themselves before final evaluation and fix any problems. A wonderful teacher at Western, Dr. Rita Noel, introduced me to the importance of test review. What a valuable learning tool! Another successful strategy is test corrections. Many times if a student has not performed well on a test (particularly in Prin of Bus and a lot of math) I will let them do test corrections and turn back in for an improved grade.
Corrective feedback is very important in PE class. When a child is learning a specific skill, such as throwing, there is a great deal of feedback that can be given to help them improve or correct an error. Sometimes children will learn by watching peers, but corrective feedback really speeds up the learning process. I do not give written tests, but we do have skills tests in which parents and students see the results. This helps them to know what to practice on at home at helps me to know which skills need extra work. I like the "thumbs up" "thumbs down" idea and a self assessment. I think both idea would word in my classroom.
Corrective feedback is essential, in my opinion, for students of any age. I guess when we are older it is call constructive criticism, but it is essentially the same thing.
Children learn in so many different ways. Corrective feedback, whether it be on paper, by using a rubric, or by demonstration is not only good for their educational growth but also for their self esteem. I know that sometimes my child will bring home a paper with a checkmark showing that the paper has been looked at. I know teachers are busy (yes that is the understatement of the year) but it leaves me wondering just how well the paper was looked at. I think that if something is important enough to do, then it should be important enough to look at in a meaningful way....even if they are graded by other children in the class.
I agree with Shanna that corrective feedback speeds up the learning process. It lets you know where you are and what you need to do. I also like the idea of self assessment, although I am my own worst enemy :-)
Providing feedback to kindergarteners is something I strive to do. I agree with the book that feedback should be: --corrective in nature --timely (I always appreciated this as a student! the more timely, the better) --specific to criterion --and, at times, student-led
I remember a particular teacher I had in highschool who did an exceptional job providing positive, timely, yet corrective in nature and specific to criterion feedback. Maybe she read this chapter. I can still remember how her comments/feedback encouraged me in the writing process, and it fostered the love for writing that I still have today.
Well I must say that this chapter is one of the more difficult ones for me. Mostly because in PreK we don't do alot of writing, we don't read and we don't test, therefore I can't comment on any of those things. I do give my students feedback on various things that they do. I ask alot of questions about their thought process when completing a task also.
I will sometimes ask their classmates to make comments on the work that they have done. I always encourage my students to be positive with their comments. I try to follow this philosophy as well. I often hear them say I can't do it or I don't know how. I always say "I do not want to hear I can't, if we try our best we can!" I always tell them that I'm not good at everything either, but I always try and that's what is most important. I figure they are 4 and 5 years old, they have their whole lives to have their work criticized. I want them to know that if they try and do their best then they can do anything. I guess that's what I took from this chapter.
I truly like the idea of providing students with corrective feedback. One common technique that is most often used to give a group of students specific feedback on what they missed and why is to review the test after it is graded. I would like to hear from others in the group regarding creative ways they have found to provide individual feedback that is specific, positive, and corrective in nature.
ReplyDeleteI agree -- my students like to give feedback on themselves too. For instance, when they film their newscast they preview it and see all their mistakes. They correct themselves, which I think is a great way provide feedback. I can point out things that should be changed, but they catch things themselves-- which I love.
ReplyDeleteWe always point out our good points and things we could improve on!
I am just like you, Dana! I love it when the children are engaged and developed enough to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. You might try a rubric for the newscast. That way, the students can gage their performances based on the rubric. It can also be a good tool for students who are not as adept at reflecting on their production.
ReplyDeleteCindy-
ReplyDeleteI find that NOT giving students a letter grade helps a lot. They just look at the grad and put it aside if they have a grade. I use rubrics with possible points and students self-score before I give points. Then we evaluate where they were wrong. What is hard for me is when they say they did a 6 out of 10 job and they are correct. So if they know that, why didn't they do better or work on it more? We are still dealing with that issue. Our first issue was honest evaluation of objectives and self scoring. Now we are working on doing a better job to get a better score.
Renee
Rubrics are a great way to give specific, relevant feedback on assignments, but I use them mostly for projects...not daily work. I use self checklists sometimes, but not always. I have used peer evaluation with mixed results. The relative maturity of a class is a reliable predictor of the relative success before we ever start. :/ It's hard to get away from grading a test or an assignment when we as educators have to be able to justify a report card grade to a parent. Especially in a subject like English where the parents have very firm notions of what that class looks like based on their own educational experiences. I have occasionally used a set of comments and given no grade, but
ReplyDeleteit's worth mentioning that I teach academically gifted kids who care about the grade waaaaaaaaay more than the average kid. I have students who will argue over a point to the verge of tears if it's the difference in an A or a B. They care very little for the actual learning in some cases. It's tragic! If I put a check mark or a plus sign on a paper, they freak out until they have a numerical equivalent to factor into their average. When we do sample testlet questions to practice for the EOG, I'm tempted to remove the questions that I KNOW will produce chaos, but can't because they would be so unprepared otherwise. Even as I explain, again, why the answer must be this, they are saying, but "You should count this, too, because it's a tricky question." Maybe it is tricky, and I go over every strategy I know to prepare them for the tricky questions, but the bottom line is, objectively speaking, there can only be one right answer...usually. :)
I typed a really long comment and sometime in getting it to post it disappeared. So...I think my children are in Rhonda's class! Only kidding. Both of my children act that way! I really thought about how I use this strategy in kindergarten. I use a lot of verbal corrective feedback as we don't do a lot of writing. I also use a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" activity for classroom discussions. Especially when we read a story and recall, predict, or sequence the children give the presentor a thumbs up if they agree or a thumbs down if they don't. If you give someone a thumbs down you have to present your own idea to the discussion. I also encourage them to give me "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" during morning group if they understand or have an idea of their own. I use simple rubrics with them especially for things I want them to accomplish during cooperative learning. It is not for grades only a checklist.
ReplyDeleteMost of my classroom activities are project based and rubrics are a wonderful tool. I give the students the rubric at the beginning of the project and go over it thoroughtly before beginning work. I am like Renee and wonder why a few students don't do better when they know expectations and can grade themselves before final evaluation and fix any problems.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful teacher at Western, Dr. Rita Noel, introduced me to the importance of test review. What a valuable learning tool!
Another successful strategy is test corrections. Many times if a student has not performed well on a test (particularly in Prin of Bus and a lot of math) I will let them do test corrections and turn back in for an improved grade.
Corrective feedback is very important in PE class. When a child is learning a specific skill, such as throwing, there is a great deal of feedback that can be given to help them improve or correct an error. Sometimes children will learn by watching peers, but corrective feedback really speeds up the learning process. I do not give written tests, but we do have skills tests in which parents and students see the results. This helps them to know what to practice on at home at helps me to know which skills need extra work. I like the "thumbs up" "thumbs down" idea and a self assessment. I think both idea would word in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the errors.
ReplyDeleteCorrective feedback is essential, in my opinion, for students of any age. I guess when we are older it is call constructive criticism, but it is essentially the same thing.
ReplyDeleteChildren learn in so many different ways. Corrective feedback, whether it be on paper, by using a rubric, or by demonstration is not only good for their educational growth but also for their self esteem. I know that sometimes my child will bring home a paper with a checkmark showing that the paper has been looked at. I know teachers are busy (yes that is the understatement of the year) but it leaves me wondering just how well the paper was looked at. I think that if something is important enough to do, then it should be important enough to look at in a meaningful way....even if they are graded by other children in the class.
I agree with Shanna that corrective feedback speeds up the learning process. It lets you know where you are and what you need to do. I also like the idea of self assessment, although I am my own worst enemy :-)
Very insightful blog and readings.
Providing feedback to kindergarteners is something I strive to do. I agree with the book that feedback should be:
ReplyDelete--corrective in nature
--timely (I always appreciated this as a student! the more timely, the better)
--specific to criterion
--and, at times, student-led
I remember a particular teacher I had in highschool who did an exceptional job providing positive, timely, yet corrective in nature and specific to criterion feedback. Maybe she read this chapter. I can still remember how her comments/feedback encouraged me in the writing process, and it fostered the love for writing that I still have today.
Well I must say that this chapter is one of the more difficult ones for me. Mostly because in PreK we don't do alot of writing, we don't read and we don't test, therefore I can't comment on any of those things. I do give my students feedback on various things that they do. I ask alot of questions about their thought process when completing a task also.
ReplyDeleteI will sometimes ask their classmates to make comments on the work that they have done. I always encourage my students to be positive with their comments. I try to follow this philosophy as well. I often hear them say I can't do it or I don't know how. I always say "I do not want to hear I can't, if we try our best we can!" I always tell them that I'm not good at everything either, but I always try and that's what is most important. I figure they are 4 and 5 years old, they have their whole lives to have their work criticized. I want them to know that if they try and do their best then they can do anything. I guess that's what I took from this chapter.