Professional Learning around giving feedback / feedforward in writing

Today at our staff meeting with Mary Wootton around feedback / feedforward in students writing, we discussed:

Strengths of our feedback

• Giving specific feedback about the learning and next steps.
• Timeliness of giving and receiving feedback. Provide a choice for students to ask for feedback at the beginning of their writing or at any time during their writing or at the end.
• Peer feedback is honest yet helpful
• Providing time for students to respond to feedback.

Challenges in giving feedback

• With younger students, unless feedback given is discussed with students, they just read the comments and make minor changes and resolve the feedback comment.
• Time for giving peer feedback and responding to feedback is a challenge. But we must persevere

The quote from John Hattie is very thought provoking.

"The incidence of feedback in the typical classroom is very low, usually seconds at best per day. "

A feedback strategy: from the book "Enriching Feedback in the Primary Classroom" By Shirley Clarke 2003

'It was dismal.'

Reminder prompts

Say why you thought this

Scaffolded prompt

Why was it dismal? Why did you hate being there? It was dismal because........

An example prompt

Choose one of these or write one of your own

It was dismal because I was bored all the time

I found it dismal only having one person to talk to

Providing feedback and feedforward is really important. Conversations with the writer is a good way to give feedback and set goals to improve their writing.

Sharing students' writing and celebrating is our focus now.