KARCHER STAFF BLOG
Karcher 2017-2018 School Calendar
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This week's article...
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Know Thy Impact, John Hattie
Teachers give a lot of feedback, and not all of it is good. Here's how to ensure you're giving students powerful feedback they can use.
Continuation of last week's article...
Teachers give a lot of feedback, and not all of it is good. Here's how to ensure you're giving students powerful feedback they can use.
Some Tips About What Works …
Disconfirmation
Students may come to class with incorrect or poorly developed understandings of the topic being taught, and such misconceptions can become a major barrier to learning. One of the more powerful forms of feedback is listening to these notions and providing disconfirming feedback. A teacher might say, "Let's assume what you said is correct for the moment" and then work through an implication of the error. Often such feedback is necessary to enable the student to go beyond simply attaining factual knowledge to developing a deeper conceptual understanding of the topic.
Students may come to class with incorrect or poorly developed understandings of the topic being taught, and such misconceptions can become a major barrier to learning. One of the more powerful forms of feedback is listening to these notions and providing disconfirming feedback. A teacher might say, "Let's assume what you said is correct for the moment" and then work through an implication of the error. Often such feedback is necessary to enable the student to go beyond simply attaining factual knowledge to developing a deeper conceptual understanding of the topic.
Formative Assessment
Because students often know how they'll do on a test, tests provide students with little feedback information. However, if teachers create and give assessments that aim to provide feedback about how they taught, what they taught, and whom they taught well or poorly, that information is powerful.
At the same time, teaching students how to receive such feedback can help the students see what they know (their strengths) and don't know (their gaps) and engage them more deeply in seeking feedback or additional learning.
Because students often know how they'll do on a test, tests provide students with little feedback information. However, if teachers create and give assessments that aim to provide feedback about how they taught, what they taught, and whom they taught well or poorly, that information is powerful.
At the same time, teaching students how to receive such feedback can help the students see what they know (their strengths) and don't know (their gaps) and engage them more deeply in seeking feedback or additional learning.
Instruction First
Feedback by itself rarely makes a difference because it doesn't occur in a vacuum. It needs to follow instruction. Teachers need to listen to the hum of student learning, welcoming quality student talk, structuring classroom discussions, inviting student questions, and openly discussing errors. If these reveal that students have misunderstood an important concept or failed to grasp the point of the lesson, sometimes the best approach is simply to reteach the material.
Feedback by itself rarely makes a difference because it doesn't occur in a vacuum. It needs to follow instruction. Teachers need to listen to the hum of student learning, welcoming quality student talk, structuring classroom discussions, inviting student questions, and openly discussing errors. If these reveal that students have misunderstood an important concept or failed to grasp the point of the lesson, sometimes the best approach is simply to reteach the material.
And Doesn't Work
Praise
The place of praise is an enigma in the feedback literature. Students welcome praise. Indeed, we all do. The problem is that when a teacher combines praise with other feedback information, the student typically only hears the praise. Evidence shows that praise can get in the way of students receiving feedback about the task and their performance (Skipper & Douglas, 2011). When a student hears "Good girl! But you should have paid attention to underlining the nouns," she certainly hears the first part loud and clear—but this can be the end of the feedback message.
Some claim that praise encourages effort and diligence, but the evidence is not strong (Kamins & Dweck, 1999). The bottom line seems to be this: Give much praise, but do not mix it with other feedback because praise dilutes the power of that information.
The place of praise is an enigma in the feedback literature. Students welcome praise. Indeed, we all do. The problem is that when a teacher combines praise with other feedback information, the student typically only hears the praise. Evidence shows that praise can get in the way of students receiving feedback about the task and their performance (Skipper & Douglas, 2011). When a student hears "Good girl! But you should have paid attention to underlining the nouns," she certainly hears the first part loud and clear—but this can be the end of the feedback message.
Some claim that praise encourages effort and diligence, but the evidence is not strong (Kamins & Dweck, 1999). The bottom line seems to be this: Give much praise, but do not mix it with other feedback because praise dilutes the power of that information.
Peer Feedback
Noted education researcher Graham Nuthall (2007) placed microphones on students during the school day and then listened to their talk. One of his most crucial findings was that most of the feedback that students receive about their classroom work is from other students—and that much of this feedback is incorrect!
There's some evidence of the value of providing students with a rubric of the lesson flow to help them give more appropriate feedback to their peers on an assignment (see Hattie, 2012, p. 133). Such a rubric would show potential pathways a student might take (both correct and incorrect) at the task, process, and self-regulation levels. Through a series of questions—such as, What went wrong and why? or How can the student evaluate the information provided?—the rubric would guide feedback so it's more likely to help the student improve his or her performance.
Noted education researcher Graham Nuthall (2007) placed microphones on students during the school day and then listened to their talk. One of his most crucial findings was that most of the feedback that students receive about their classroom work is from other students—and that much of this feedback is incorrect!
There's some evidence of the value of providing students with a rubric of the lesson flow to help them give more appropriate feedback to their peers on an assignment (see Hattie, 2012, p. 133). Such a rubric would show potential pathways a student might take (both correct and incorrect) at the task, process, and self-regulation levels. Through a series of questions—such as, What went wrong and why? or How can the student evaluate the information provided?—the rubric would guide feedback so it's more likely to help the student improve his or her performance.
Feedback for Life
Right now in my own work, I'm examining the mind frames that seem to underpin successful teaching and learning—and the most crucial is "Know thy impact." Gathering and assessing feedback are really the only ways teachers can know the impact of their teaching.
Some cautions here. First, feedback thrives in conditions of error or not knowing—not in environments where we already know and understand. Thus, teachers need to welcome error and misunderstanding in their classrooms. This attitude, of course, invokes trust. Students learn most easily in an environment in which they can get and use feedback about what they don't know without fearing negative reactions from their peers or their teacher.
Second, the simple act of giving feedback won't result in improved student learning—the feedback has to be effective. When teachers listen to their students' learning, they know what worked, what didn't, and what they need to change to foster student growth.
Using feedback isn't confined to a classroom. Consider its role in self-regulation and lifelong learning. We all stand to benefit from knowing when to seek feedback, how to seek it, and what to do with it when we get it.
Please discuss, in your team time, which piece of the Know Thy Impact article is something you plan to utilize within your instructional practices within the next two weeks.
Right now in my own work, I'm examining the mind frames that seem to underpin successful teaching and learning—and the most crucial is "Know thy impact." Gathering and assessing feedback are really the only ways teachers can know the impact of their teaching.
Some cautions here. First, feedback thrives in conditions of error or not knowing—not in environments where we already know and understand. Thus, teachers need to welcome error and misunderstanding in their classrooms. This attitude, of course, invokes trust. Students learn most easily in an environment in which they can get and use feedback about what they don't know without fearing negative reactions from their peers or their teacher.
Second, the simple act of giving feedback won't result in improved student learning—the feedback has to be effective. When teachers listen to their students' learning, they know what worked, what didn't, and what they need to change to foster student growth.
Using feedback isn't confined to a classroom. Consider its role in self-regulation and lifelong learning. We all stand to benefit from knowing when to seek feedback, how to seek it, and what to do with it when we get it.
Please discuss, in your team time, which piece of the Know Thy Impact article is something you plan to utilize within your instructional practices within the next two weeks.
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Kudos
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- Kudos to Dustan Eckmann and our percussion group that performed at the BHS girls varsity basketball game during half time! Great job!!!
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Information/Reminders...
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- ELA teachers... it is your week to have students email their parents/guardians!
- Monday, February 12 - Staff Meeting from 2:40 - 3:00.
- Dan Bocock, Director of Buildings and Grounds, will be coming to share with staff the recent maintenance/repairs that have been taking place here at Karcher.
- Monday, February 12 - Freshmen Open House from 5:30 - 7:45 at BHS.
- This is for our current 8th grade students to tour the high school, learn more about all the course selection opportunities, and see and potentially sign up for clubs of interest to them.
- Please remind students about this event!!!
- Tuesday - Thursday, February 13-15 - Steve Berezowitz will continue working with 8th grade students on their high school scheduling during their compass periods up in the Reading Lounge.
- Wednesday, February 14 - 7th grade students will be entering their 2018-2019 applied academic requests into Skyward during their science class.
- All course selection sheets should have been turned in already! Please collect and get any course selection sheets still floating around out there to the library ASAP!
- Wednesday, February 14 - PLC will focus on our MAP data as we just completed our Winter MAP. We will meet in the library and data will be provided to everyone at that time to analyze.
- Friday, February 16 - Half Day with student dismissal at 12:00.
- The focus of the morning will be around Character Education with the involvement of our HS DRIVEN students. The schedule is posted on the advisory website or you can click below:
- Friday, February 16 - Half Day inservice from 1:00 - 3:00
- All teachers, except our ELA teachers, please report to the BHS auditorium as we will be starting our day there with our 6-12 teams. After a brief explanation and reminders when it comes to Essential Skills and sub skills staff will break up into content area teams.
- Room assignments for each team will be shared when we are in the auditorium.
- Please bring any materials you need in order to discuss and work collaboratively around Essential Skills within your 6-12 content area teams.
- ELA teachers and co-teaching ELA special education teachers...
- You will be meeting in the Karcher library from 1:00 - 3:00 to discuss and go over the new UOS for Reading curriculum grades 6-8 with Connie Zinnen.
- Please bring your kits for UOS Reading with you for this meeting.
Pictures from this past week!
Students in Ms. Geyso's class practicing the power of observation by looking at the details of a crime scene.
Students starting the school store in the hallways this past week!!! Great job!!!
Mr. Eckmann and our percussion group were asked to perform at a high school basketball game for half time AND they did a GREAT job!!! Awesome!
Students in Ms. Geyso's class practicing the power of observation by looking at the details of a crime scene.
Students starting the school store in the hallways this past week!!! Great job!!!
Mr. Eckmann and our percussion group were asked to perform at a high school basketball game for half time AND they did a GREAT job!!! Awesome!
