Descriptive Feedback: Moving to the Next Level

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Descriptive Feedback Moving to the Next Level

• Astrid Fossum, Mathematics Teaching Specialist,
  fossumag_at_milwaukee.k12.wi.us
• Jan Brockunier, Math Teacher Leader, 81st
  Street, brockujl_at_milwaukee.k12.wi.us
• Toya Jenkins-Glenn, Math Teacher Leader,
  Engleburg,
• jenkintx_at_milwaukee.k12.wi.us
• www.mmp.uwm.edu

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In this session

• Participants will
• Deepen their understanding of different types of
  feedback.
• Analyze student work in mathematics while writing
  effective feedback statements.
• Discuss ways to use feedback in the classroom to
  guide student learning in mathematics.

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Research

• Achievement gains are maximized in context where
  educators increase the accuracy of classroom
  assessments, provide students with frequent
  informative feedback, and involve students deeply
  in the classroom assessment, record keeping, and
  communication process. In short, these gains are
  maximized where teachers apply the principles of
  assessment for learning.
• Stiggins, 2005

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Research

• Once students realize that information from both
  teacher feedback and their own self-assessment
  can help them improve, they will process material
  more deeply, persist longer, and try harder. In
  short, they will become more self-regulated
  learners.
• Brookhart, 2006

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Descriptive FeedbackOur Journey

• To use student work from CABS to drive
  instructional decisions on what we do next in
  the classroom and to provide appropriate and
  continuous feedback to students.
• How do teachers give students descriptive
  feedback that prompts them to self-reflect on
  ways to improve their work?

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Types of Feedback

• Motivational Feedback
• Evaluative Feedback
• Descriptive Feedback
• Effective Descriptive Feedback

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Motivational Feedback

• Goal is to make the learner feel good.
• Feedback that is intended to encourage and
  support the learner.
• Does not give guidance on how to improve the
  learners reasoning.
• I like how you completed the assignment.

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Evaluative Feedback

• Goal is to measure student achievement with a
  score or a grade.
• Feedback that is intended to summarize student
  achievement.
• Does not give guidance on how to improve the
  learners reasoning.
• 73

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Descriptive Feedback

• Goal is to improve student achievement by telling
  the learner what steps to take in order to move
  forward in the learning process.
• Feedback that is intended to tell the learner
  what needs to be improved.
• Gives specific guidance as to how to improve the
  learners reasoning.
• You accurately found the number of students in
  4th grade who said ice cream was their favorite.
  You now need to divide this number by the total
  number of students to get the percent who said
  ice cream was their favorite.

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Effective Descriptive Feedback

• Goal is for students to internalize the effective
  feedback.
• Feedback that is intended to be used by the
  learner to independently move their reasoning to
  the next level.
• I agree with the pattern that you have
  identified in the table. I am not convinced that
  the rule you wrote works for all the values in
  the table. How could you prove this?

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Types of Feedback
Motivational Evaluative Descriptive Effective
Feedback is primarily motivational Feedback is primarily evaluative Descriptive feedback primarily tells the student how to correct their reasoning. Descriptive feedback asks the student what to do to move their reasoning to the next level.
Purpose to encourage and support the learner Purpose to measure student achievement with a score or a grade Purpose to improve learning by indicating to the student what needs to be improved Purpose to improve learning, by moving student reasoning to the next level
More Summative More Formative
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6th grade CABS

• Wendell is planning to carpet the room below. He
  does not plan to carpet the closet. What is the
  area of his room in square yards?
• 1 square yard 9 square feet
• Answer _______
• Explain how you determined the area of the room

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Engleburg School

• Students
• Evidence of understanding
• Effectiveness
• The unexpected
• Future Goals

• Teachers
• Record keeping
• Buy in
• The unexpected
• Future Goals

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81st Street StoryOur Journey

• The path of the student
• The path of the teacher
• Time
• Collaboration
• Paradigm shift
• The road not knownOur next steps

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Questions

• Implementation
• Students responses
• Teachers responses
• Administration
• Future Plans
• Support

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In closing

• The most powerful single modification that
  enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest
  prescription for improving education must be
  dollops of feedback. Hattie, 1992