Developing and Embedding Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities
Feedback
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Educational literature regularly refers to using feedback as one of the most effective ways for teachers to encourage learners to improve outcomes.
Using feedback is not as straightforward as it appears. It’s not just about writing comments on learners’ work. If it is used inappropriately, feedback can be detrimental. Providing feedback can be time consuming, so it’s important to do it correctly.
This resource explores in detail using feedback. It refers to material from educationalists and organisations that endorse research-informed approaches to educational improvement.
The resource clarifies exactly what feedback is and how to use it effectively. It suggests training activities and practical techniques you can use when planning to use feedback in your classroom.
In addition to the downloadable files listed below you can access a pre-recorded webinar on feedback from the Webinars section of this web area.
Downloads
The four presentations summarise the main points about feedback. You can use them to raise awareness, for example as part of a school Continuing Professional Development activity. The first presentation, What is Feedback, includes an opportunity for a training exercise using the accompanying Four Profiles PDF. There are suggestions for how to run a session using the Four Profiles exercise at the start of this document.
This PDF provides more detailed information on the issues you might encounter when implementing the use of feedback to improve outcomes in teaching and learning. It has links to further information and blog posts about feedback and a suggested reading list for those who want to discover more about how to make feedback work.