Importance and Ways of Imparting Effective Feedback

A teacher’s role is crucially important in a student’s life. A teacher not only imparts education but also teaches his/ her students the way of life. A teacher is like a candle that burns itself to give life to her students. Equally important is a teacher’s valuable feedback. Qualifying various exams is not the only purpose of education. The purpose of education is to imbibe knowledge and that knowledge comes from the valuable feedback that our teachers give us whenever we make a mistake. This feedback is not limited to the examination copies that the teachers check but also to day to day school activities. Some of the best ways to provide feedback to the students are as follows:

(i) Educative feedback: A teacher’s feedback should majorly focus on those things that the student is doing correctly along with those things that the student is doing incorrectly. This way the student is able to understand those areas in which he/ she needs to work hard.

(ii) Timely feedback: It is of utmost importance for the teacher to provide the feedback at the right time. A delayed feedback loses its important.

(iii) Emotional Value: The feedback should be given keeping in mind each type of student. Some students get hurt on receiving negative feedback. It is the teacher’s job to make sure that he / she doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Lack of emotional value in the feedback may sometimes discourage the students resulting in loss of focus.

(iv) Answer the 4 questions: It is very important for the student to understand his/ her true potential. It is very important for the teacher to answer these 4 questions in their feedback:

    What can the student do?

    What can’t the student do?

    How does the student’s work compare with that of others?

    How can the student do better?

(v) Referencing in feedback: It is immensely important for the feedback to be in reference with some specific knowledge or a skill.

(vi) Targeted feedback: The feedback should be such which effectively targets a student’s achievement or failure. A vague feedback may make the student directionless.

(vii) One on one feedback: Feedback may be given in different ways but one of the best ways of imparting feedback is face to face. When a teacher communicates his feedback face to face, the student understands it in a much better way.

(viii) Verbal, no verbal and written feedback: The feedback may be of any of the three kinds.

(ix) Educate students on ways of imparting feedback: Sometimes a student who is good at one subject can provide valuable feedback to another student who may be weak in that area. Teachers must teach the students the appropriate way to provide feedback.

(x) Taking notes of the feedback: The teacher must explain the importance of jotting down the feedback to his/ her students. In case of verbal feedback by the teacher, it is useful for the student to note down the feedback key points.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-ways-to-provide-effective-feedback-for-learning/