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Methods for Generating Formative Feedback for Students
This document contains examples of how you can generate information on how well
students are progressing in their learning. This information:
might inform what you do in later sessions and how you do it
gives students the opportunity to gauge their progress
could guide students in improving their learning
can show students how to complete assessments more successfully.
The information is, therefore, two-way feedback. Tasks that allow students to assess how
well they are doing also generate information for you on how well students are doing. This
gives you the chance to adapt the content or method of your teaching to accommodate
students’ learning needs.
Feedback that guides the development of both teaching and learning can be generated
within the teaching and learning process using simple classroom and lecture techniques.
The activities that generate this two-way feedback are often learning activities in themselves.
In other words, the activities generate feedback but also further students’ engagement in the
topic of study. This form of feedback is valued by students.
Two-way feedback
Two-way feedback should:
guide both students and lecturers
be a core part of teaching and learning, not an add-on
focus around course and topic learning outcomes
guide students to become independent learners and their own critics
be consequential so that it engages students and requires them to attend to it.
Typically, developmental feedback is generated by activities in class. Students may be
reluctant to complete a task outside the teaching session if it does not contribute to their
overall mark. Using a little classroom time reduces time delivering information but requires
students to engage with the information that you have already delivered and this will assist
their learning. In addition, breaking up your delivery tackles the problem of students’ shortish
attention span, which is estimated to be only 10-15 minutes. As a consequence of both the
activity and the pause, students’ learning is likely to be more effective.
Some methods
Most of the following are referenced to the external sources from which they are drawn but
are, however, not always exclusive to these sources and have become part of a growing
repertoire of approaches used by lecturers.
The One-Minute Paper: Students write for one minute on what their understanding is of
the main idea of the lecture or the most intriguing point and one or two questions that remain
uppermost in their mind. Two alternative approaches are given at Appendix A1 and
Appendix A2.
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The Five Main Points: Ask students to list the five main points that you have made in a
lecture. See Appendix B for a pro-forma.
Concept Mapping: Students are given a few minutes to illustrate the relationship
between ideas or to fill in a pre-drawn concept map with the links provided, but the concepts
removed. An example concept map is given at Appendix C.
Applications Card: Students brainstorm some of the ideas discussed and then select
two and illustrate ways that these ideas may be applied to everyday life. See Appendix D.
The Muddiest Point: Students write for one minute about the idea that is least clear to
them at that moment. See Appendix E.
Revision Cards: Students write a short list of topics that are least clear to them. You
might then re-address this material in a later class.
Learning Checks: Short multiple choice or fill-in questions are given within a lecture –
perhaps every 15 minutes, following what we know about students’ attention span. Students
are allowed time to answer the questions individually or with a partner. Each student has a
set of three cards with number 1, 2 or 3 on them. The lecturer calls for answers to questions
and students raise the card that indicates their answer. The results in class serve as a
discussion of the concepts. Students get a quick assessment of their own learning and what
they need to work on. They also encourage questions. At the same time the lecturer can
determine what is working in the lectures and what needs more attention.
(This can also be done using the electronic voting system Turning Point:
see http://blog.lboro.ac.uk/elearning/?cat=35.)
Source: http://www.karentimberlake.com/student-centered_classoom.htm
Clarification Pause: Take a lecture break every 15-20 minutes. Students discuss the
ideas with each other, check and clarify their notes and ask questions.
Fish Bowl: At the beginning of class, each student writes a question pertaining to class
content on a card and places the card in a container. The lecturer draws out some cards and
reads the questions to the class. Students are expected to provide answers. The discussion
reviews topics that were unclear and gives student who would not ask a question in front of
their peers a chance to present a question to the lecturer. Students learn to assess and
articulate what they don’t know. The lecturer obtains feedback on the level of difficulty of
various topics presented.
Peer Presentations: At mid point in a module, hand out worksheets or problem sheets
relating to module content to small groups of students. Students discuss the questions and
write their answers on OHP transparencies. One or two students describe their solution to
the class. The lecturer and students can ask questions for clarification or make suggestions.
In-class Tests: In-class tests can be marked by the student, by a peer or by student and
peer in discussion. Online tests might also be used.
Essay Plans: Students can write short essay plans in relation to a topic for 10 minutes.
These can then be discussed with a peer or even marked by a peer in relation to
assessment criteria. This shows students both their relative mastery of a topic and also their
understanding of what techniques, structures and skills are required by the essay format of
assessment.
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Snowball: This technique can be used to allow a whole class to make joint decisions. For
instance ask small groups to agree on 5 main points or answers to do with a particular issue.
Ask them to choose the most important point or answer. This single point or answer is then
fed back to the front and collated by you or a student volunteer. The number of answers or
points received at the front depends then on the number of groups in the class.
Online Networking/Wiki: Form a group on a social networking site, e.g.
www.facebook.com, or start a wiki. Ask students to research an issue, join the group and
submit their work to it. Other students can then make comment, evaluate and discuss
postings. You will find that students are likely to be a member of Facebook and familiar with
its workings and wikis. They are likely to be able to extend the forms of interaction with the
subject matter using technology on the website.
Preparation for Assessments
Self-assessment: Before students hand in draft or final assessments, or come to you for
a tutorial, ask them to complete a self-evaluation of their work/understanding based on the
assessment criteria for the module. Alternatively, they might address some questions that
encourage critical evaluation of their work as shown in Appendix F1. Alternatively, a self
assessment could be made on more generic issues to do with good coursework as shown in
Appendix F2.
More on self and peer assessment can be found at:
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/firstwords/fw25.html
Peer feedback: Students can critically evaluate and give feedback on their own, each
other’s and past students’ work. They need to do so in terms of either the assessment
criteria and the extent to which these have been met, or the learning outcomes and level of
attainment made against these. Students should give some commentary against their
assessments and also suggest ways in which the work could have been improved. Students
can also give each other feedback on drafts of assessed work. Some of the comments in
Appendix F1 can be adapted to encourage evaluation.
Acting on feedback: If an assessment takes place at an early stage in a module,
require students to demonstrate in a subsequent assessment activity how they have acted
on feedback from the first assessment. You might make the grade assigned to the
subsequent paper contingent on students’ clear and specific indication about how they had
acted upon the prior advice. You might then reason that minimal feedback can be given on
the final assessment because students will not have the opportunity to act on advice at the
end of a module. This approach reduces the ‘one-off’ nature of most assignment demands
and makes students take responsibility for their own learning.
Writing exam questions or assessment criteria: At a mid-point to a module, ask
students to propose exam questions for the topic content. This shows you what they
perceive the main issues to be. Students can also suggest criteria for a particular form of
assessment. Discussion of their suggestions shows you, and them, what their understanding
is of what they need to demonstrate in terms of content and format. As a result students
have a firmer and more widely accepted base for the assessment task.
Games: using games such as ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ adapted to the content of
your teaching provides motivation for students to engage in what are really revision/ informal
assessment activities. Examples are given on the University of Minnesota’s website:
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint/games/index.html
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Follow up to activities that produce information for you
Results of activities can be shared between you and the students, between students
or with other tutors.
You might prepare an A4 sheet with examples of appropriate responses plus
examples of some misconceptions with some explanations of why they were not
correct, plus resources for follow-up study to correct the misconception.
Use the first 5 minutes of the next lecture to give the students a verbal response
around what was appropriate and what was misconceived.
While students come into the next lecture and get settled, put an overhead up that
outlines the main idea of the last lecture, corrects misconceptions, answers questions
and suggests further reading/activities.
Base your next lecture around students’ learning needs.
Present correct answers and ask students to correct their work as necessary making
observations as to where and why they went wrong.
Appendix A1: The One-Minute Paper
Please answer each question in one or two sentences
1. What was the most useful, meaningful or intriguing thing you learned during this session?
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2.What questions (s) remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session?
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Source: Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K. P. 1993 Classroom Assessment Techniques. San
Francisco: Josey-Bass Publisher.
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Appendix A2: The One-Minute Paper
Source: http://www.karentimberlake.com/
Appendix B: The Five Main Points
Write down the main idea of this lecture in one or two sentences
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List the 5 pivotal issues addressed in the lecture
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2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.flinders.edu.au/teaching/teaching-strategies/assessment/feedback/
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Appendix C: Concept Mapping
Students can:
draw in the relationships
annotate the lines that they draw to describe why they see a relationship, e.g. ‘Father
Christmas is not the same as Saint Nicholas’ or, ‘parents perpetuate myth’ or ‘Father
Christmas lives in North Pole’
add more boxes.
Alternatively you can draw the whole grid and students can fill in the boxes.
Source: http://www.flinders.edu.au/teaching/teaching-strategies/assessment/feedback/
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Appendix D: Applications Card
Directions: Please take a moment to recall the ideas, techniques and strategies we’ve
discussed. Quickly list as many possible applications as you can.
Don’t censor yourself: these are merely possibilities. You can always evaluate the feasibility
of the applications ideas later.
Issues from the session Applications (to industry / experiments /
social life etc)
Source: Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K. P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques. San
Francisco: Josey-Bass Publisher.
Appendix E: The Muddiest Point
What was the aspect of the lecture that was least clear to you?
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Source: http://www.flinders.edu.au/teaching/teaching-strategies/assessment/feedback/
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Appendix F1: Critical Self Evaluation
Prompts for self or peer assessment:
How far does this work show that you have achieved each of the specified learning
outcomes?
How far does your work meet each of the specified assessment criteria?
What advice would you give to yourself about improving this work?
Having assessed this one, what advice would you give about the next piece of work
you do in this module?
What comments would your tutor make on this piece of work?
Write an outline for an improved version of this work.
By how many grades is this better or worse than your last work in this subject?
What grade would your tutor give this and why?
Grade this and explain why you haven’t given it one grade higher or one grade lower.
Source: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/firstwords/fw25.html
Appendix F2: Assignment Checklist
(With thanks to Dr Emma Rich, School of Sports and Exercise Science, Loughborough
University.)
Before you print / submit your final copy of the assignment check for the following…
Have you read the module handout and followed closely the submission guidelines?
Have you addressed the question throughout and responded to it, or have you
digressed from it? (This means the meaning of the question and the key words within
it)
Does your work have a clear structure that helps to retain the focus on the question?
(introduction / main body / conclusion - with sub headings if appropriate)
In responding to the question have you presented a clear argument (or narrative) that
underpins your response to the question, or is it 'fragmented' – a series of unrelated
or only loosely related points or definitions?
In developing your response to the question, have you provided illustrations/
examples that draw upon the literature and your personal experiences in order to
demonstrate your knowledge and understanding?
Have you demonstrated that you appreciate the interconnections between the
subject matter ,or have you discussed/analysed them only in isolation from one
another?
What is original about your discussion? Why is a reader going to be stimulated by
your particular synthesis of the concepts and issues?
Have you articulated or expressed your ideas clearly or have you left 'gaps' that you
are expecting the reader to fill? (The more gaps, the more interpretation on the
reader’s part has to come into play.)
Is your work sufficiently detailed and focused or are your statements vague or
generalising? Example: "research indicates that…" or "research by Penney & Evans
(1996, 1999) indicates that…." (including page numbers where necessary).
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Is your argument critical/reflective and descriptive, or merely descriptive? In other
words have you engaged in debate or merely presented a series of facts as
unproblematic.
Is the language that you use in your discussion appropriate for an academic piece of
work or is it 'everyday language' full of ambiguous colloquialisms?
Have you positioned yourself in your discussion (through reflection and some use of
subjective experience), or are you pretending to be 'objective'?
Have you acknowledged the sources of your ideas/concepts and research evidence
that you have used, that are not your own? (This includes ideas presented and
documented in lecture notes.) Or have you 'borrowed' other people's ideas and
research findings and presented them as your own? You should acknowledge all
sources via appropriate referencing techniques.
Have you referenced 'technically' as you have been asked to (however pedantic you
may feel it is)? See module handout.
Does your reference list match the references that you have referred to in the main
text or have you omitted some?
Have you spell-checked and proofread your work to eliminate minor errors and
identified areas where your argument drifts/is ambiguous or has become descriptive?
(Ideally you should read your drafts many times before final submission – if you can't
do this then get a third party to read it for you and offer feedback.)
Have you included page numbers on the text? Please do.
Have you included your Student ID no.? NOT your name.
Have you included a word count at the end of the text?
Source: http://www.flinders.edu.au/teaching/teaching-strategies/assessment/feedback/
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