Feedback is an important tool for teachers to use. If students do not have feedback, they do not know how to improve their learning. Immediate feedback is huge so that they can use it to influence their learning. Otherwise, they are likely to continue making the same mistakes. As a teacher, I use feedback to inform my own lesson. I am not perfect and neither are my lessons. When I look at student data, I can see where there was a breakdown in my own lesson. When lessons build on previous ones, it’s important that students fully understand each one. I can use that feedback to know when I need to revisit or clarify a previous lesson.
As a parent and a teacher, I’ve learned the importance of praising progress and not innate talent. Just like the readings said, we are not simply born smart, we become smart. It’s important to recognize what we don’t know and how we plan to learn what our learning target is. That clear path helps direct student learning.
One of the most important aspects of feedback in my classroom is to create that safe space for them to make mistakes. Often, students are embarrassed about being wrong or being heard. I try to manufacture situations where everyone has to answer a question, but it has no right answer or only wrong choices are given. That sounds odd. Recently, I was teaching codominance. I gave them a picture of a red and white cow. At this point, they only knew about regular dominance. I asked them which color was dominant, red or white. I had them get up and declare by going to different sides of the room. Everyone effectively answered and a few explained their reasoning. At the end, I got to tell them they were all wrong and all right. Their reasonings paved the way to understanding and the setup showed them that it’s okay not to know. That’s the point of school. The more opportunities I give students to fail in a low stake setting, the more they engage in the material and ultimately learn.