September 29

In Depth Feedback for Writers with Ease

Feedback is Powerful for Growth

During virtual/hybrid learning, I wanted to continue to provide my writers with specific feedback on their written pieces. Educators know that grading and providing individual written feedback for students can be time consuming. In their article, “The Power of Feedback” John Hattie and Helen Timperley point out, “Feedback is among the most critical influences on student learning.” The question is not whether specific feedback to writers is worth it, it is how do we meet the demands and provide the information with ease? Honestly, how do we use a new system for meaningful feedback? What can we learn from this time that can make the classroom an even richer learning environment?

In the classroom, we benefit from roaming the room and conferencing on the spot with writers in the process of drafting, editing, and revising. We can hold more formal writing conferences with students as well.  We can influence the use of check lists, a rubric, and allow student writers to be in community with one another as they are in the process of writing. It is natural to say, “What are you working on as a writer today?” Those short chats increase personalized instruction and engagement. Sometimes, I just observe my writers without interrupting them and write feedback on a Post-It note that I quietly leave on their desks.

When we were not together, I missed these opportunities, but did not want my feedback to diminish in quality.  I wanted it to improve if possible. We held Zoom small group meetings  and class lessons with a writer’s workshop model.  The students regularly submitted pictures of the changes they made in their personal narrative pieces. The images helped me have the same feel as walking around the classroom and viewing students’ notebooks. There were also formative rubrics on Canvas to help kids see how their progress was making a difference on their piece.  Students chose different publishing methods for their final forms.  Once students get to a final version, they have done lots of revision.  The effort they put in deserves a specific response from the teacher. I wanted my feedback to be in paragraph form and highlight what the students accomplished and also provide questions for the students to reflect.

Google Form for Feedback Creation

I decided to create a Google Form that I could tailor to comments that I would give students for each genre of writing during the year.  I took time to think about what comments make sense for each type of writing and the different abilities of the 5th grade writers that I work with. What order also would make sense for developing a paragraph of feedback?  How do you create different statements that make each writer feel they are getting feedback that fits just them? What reflection stems make the most sense to end the paragraph of feedback? You are welcome to use my Google Form, make a copy, and personalize it for your own use.

Video for How it Works

Feedback Via Google Form

Examples of Feedback Students Received

Your personality and voice come through this piece of writing. The reader gets to know more about you. The events have a logical sequence and are easy to follow. You use great transition words to help the reader know that the location of the action is changing. Your use of inner thoughts really makes the reader connect with you. Thank you for realizing that what you were thinking makes the reader understand you better. I am glad that you attempted dialogue in this piece. It really brought life to your writing! As you look over your work, what are you most proud of in this work?

This feedback was for the writing above. The student was writing at a high level on the rubric.

 

As a writer you created an engaging lead that captures interest and may even foreshadow the content of the story. You gave a description of what the others look like, so the reader can see the image you wanted me to see. The words you chose gave sensory details that help the reader feel like they are in the story setting. Your use of inner thoughts really makes the reader connect with you. Thank you for realizing that what you were thinking makes the reader understand you better. Your dialogue helps bring the voices to life. However, you still need work on punctuation and capitalization with dialogue. Also, be careful with the spelling of the words you use in a final copy. You have some words that were misspelled. This will come with time. Pay attention to what writers do in novels as you read. Celebrate your accomplishments. What do you think you will repeat in your next piece?

This feedback was for a student who has room to grow. However, the feedback for the piece offers lots of writing traits to repeat in future pieces. It is gentle in what to work on, yet honest.

What Students Said in Response to the Feedback:

Reflection is key to helping student recognize what they did well and set goals for future writing pieces.  A next step for us, is to write a goal and a plan for writing.  These goals can be posted to Canvas to share with the teacher and allow their parents to see them.

June 8

Peer Feedback on Blogs

Modeling Feedback Impacts the Ability of Students to Give Each Other Better Feedback

One of the benefits of modeling great feedback throughout a school year is the improvement students make in giving feedback to each other. To help students, I use an E-Q-S model with them starting at the beginning of the year. We use this same feedback frame for all genres of writing and it is modeled regularly for students to be effective in the writing community.

E=Encourage

Students are asked to encourage the other writer.  What did the writer do well?  What did you like about the written piece? What stands out? How did you see the writer use the genre effectively? What should the writer do again in another piece?

Q=Question

Students are asked to politely question the other writer’s craft. For example, why did you use a certain word, provide a fact, use a source, give a certain description, or something else they are curious about.  We also encourage questions for helping the writer add more.  What else could you add in a certain spot? How can you describe the setting more? What am I suppose to see in my mind in this spot? How do you think you could improve this piece?

S=Suggest

Students are taught to use what they know about writing to help each other improve.  We want to make suggestions not demands for other writers.  However, sometimes we might find a conventions error more easily in another person’s work. Students may offer better words to make the writing sparkle. An idea for more description can be given. Conventions can be easy suggestions or spots to circle and ask the teacher about.  Overall, writers suggest ideas that could enhance the piece, but the writer decides if the changes are ones he/she wants to make.

Digital Tattoo

Discussion Board Assignment on Canvas in August

I used to tell students that they had a digital footprint on each other’s blogs.  However, I have found that calling it a tattoo is more effective. A footprint may fade with time, but a tatoo is more permanent and is less likely to change. At the start of the year, we did a digital citizenship agreement and discussion board on Canvas. There was also a paper agreement that was added to the interactive composition notebook we use in the classroom.  By making this formal, students had a better understanding of expectations and could practice right away in the Canvas discussion board on the topic of digital citizenship.

We spent time in the classroom working on what positive feedback looks like on a blog and how it is available for others to see.  Using blog comments is a wonderful way to work on digital citizenship in the classroom. The students were provided with a rubric for blog comments on Canvas. As the teacher, in Kidblog, I can control the comment submissions. The teacher is able to set up approval for all comments which allows for successful growth for students. If someone gave a comment that I felt was not meeting the standard while we were still in the classroom, I could use it as a teachable moment by having a conversation with the student. Fortunately, by the time we were on eLearning the students were proficient in leaving each other comments. Seeing their growth in this area was actually a highlight of eLearning!

During eLearning, I continued to model what the expectations for comments were so that students could be successful with their feedback.

 

Commenting Tips for Students

Think before you comment.
 Say something meaningful.
Be polite.
Write comments that reflect you in a positive way.
Only write something you would say in person.
Stay on topic.
Be clear.
Avoid sarcasm.
 Be concise.
 Assume everyone can read your comment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 15

Specific Feedback, Especially While Digitally Learning

Feedback is the path to excellence and growth for students.  Teachers have the power to shape thinking, give guidance, help students adjust, and propel students to the next level.  However, feedback needs to be meaningful and intentional for it to make an impression on students.

Purposeful feedback takes time to craft.  Educators love to see students grow.  In the classroom, it was easier to shape student performance because most of the feedback could be verbal and in the moment.  It could come in the casual side conference while visiting a student’s desk during the work process.  It could unfold in a conference for reading, writing, or monitoring a PBL project.

The classroom environment allowed for ease. The valuable moments where you share and highlight the amazing work you see one student doing propel everyone. Taking advantage of a chance to interrupt and instill how students are applying a mini-lesson into their work is powerful. What about the opportunity to interrrupt a class to shift and redirect when the application of learning needs an adjustment? All of these moments are the ones the kids miss and teachers crave to give during eLearning.

However, we have always faced the evaluation of work while grading at home and interpreting performance after the work was completed. It is tedious and the part of our job that sometimes requires a deep breath before beginning because we know it is labor intensive. Those feelings now are amplified because we are distanced from the process of engaging students in the beautiful moments of classroom learning. How do we truly give feedback in the absence of seeing all of it unfold?

What have I tried?

Mid-Workshop Interruption Videos

When my students were working on writing, I had them send me their prewriting and drafting.  It allowed me to give a mid-workshop interruption videos that I sent as an announcement on my Canvas course.

Writing Conference Feedback Videos for Individuals

For students that I felt I could shift their craft of writing better with specific feedback points, I made a video. This student needed assistance with punctuating dialogue.  Zoom sessions were hosted for students to share and conference, but not all students were able to attend.  Regardless, the student received the feedback that was needed.

Make Sure to Use Specific Rubrics on Canvas Assignments

Canvas Rubric

Use Rubrics on Canvas with Each Step of eLearning.

Rubrics are always an effective way of sharing the progression of skills for students to use as they are working.  This is an example of a rubric scored for drafting.  Along with the rubric you can add specific feedback through comments or a video as mentioned.

Writing Specific Feedback in Comments on Assignment Submissions

Clipboard History Pro Extension Sometimes as you are grading you tend to state the same things to multiple students.  Spend time crafting a response that meets the need you are seeing.  You can always copy and paste the comment.  If you have multiple comments that you use for various levels of performance use a clipboard extension tool for quick use.

Pro Tip:

Add the Clipboard History Pro extension to your Google Chrome. Also, establish the idea that you want students to master activities. During eLearning, allow students to receive feedback and make changes.  It allows students to return to content and improve.  We want our students to grow and multiple attempts enchance learning. In the video below, you will see how easy Clipboard History Pro extension makes it for me to give meaningful feedback.