A teacher highly influences a student’s life. They perform a variety of tasks to assist students in achieving success, providing feedback is one of them. Being good at correctly providing feedback is very necessary and is a part of the qualities of a good teacher.
Providing feedback is necessary because it can provide a more detailed explanation of a student’s performance than simply a mark on a piece of paper. A teacher has a unique responsibility to support a student’s learning and provide feedback in such a way that the student does not feel defeated when they leave the classroom.
With technology changing the face of education today, a lot of learning has shifted to online mode. But, the necessity of feedback remains intact. However, the feedback provided should be in positive way because negative feedback discourages the students and affects their morale. It also will not be effective. Hence, a teacher should know the right way to provide feedback.
Here are some ways to provide feedback effectively:
1. Explaining and correcting
This method works and therefore, is the most common kind of feedback. It is unavoidable for students to make errors. It’s all part of the learning process. Instead of just marking their answers wrong and allotting them lesser marks and moving on to the next question, explain why they were wrong and guide their thought process in the proper direction.
For instance, if a student misses mentioning one step of the respiration process in human beings, instead of just reducing their marks, point it out to them. Explain what they missed and why it is important to mention it.
2. Give Feedback Timely
When feedback is offered soon after a student has demonstrated that he or she has learnt something, the student responds positively and recalls the experience with confidence. We lose the moment if we wait too long to give feedback, and the learner may not connect the feedback to the action.
3. Self-Feedback
Encourage students to examine their own work and provide comments to themselves, focusing on what they can do better next time. However, this is only appropriate for older students who are seasoned and have a critical eye for their own work.
Feedback is vital and can aid in the development of students. It improves their learning experience and prepares them to think critically in the future.
4. Organize A One-on-One Meeting
One of the most successful ways of offering feedback is to meet with a student one-on-one. The student will enjoy having your whole attention and will be able to ask any queries that arise. A one-on-one meeting should be upbeat in general to inspire the student to look forward to the next encounter. Also, they will be able to share their problems without any hesitation.
5. Observe The Students’ Thought Process
Many questions have a thought process attached to them, and students are encouraged to display their work so that others can see how they arrived at their responses. This permits the teacher to observe the student’s thought process. If an answer is incorrect, go over the steps again to see if you can figure out what went wrong.
It could be a simple error that has to be corrected and explained, but it could also require a more detailed explanation to help the student grasp the process, identify where they went wrong, and prepare for the next task.
Final Words
Feedback is a vital part of the learning process and hence, is important for teachers to learn how to provide feedback. A good teacher knows how to provide feedback in the right way. It, in fact, distinguishes them from others.
