Formative feedback on student work can come from the instructor, peers, or self. Some combination of all three supports oral communication learning.
Instructor
Instructors can provide formative feedback to students in different forms. They can provide brief written feedback on in-class work, out-of-class work, or drafts of assignments and projects. They can provide formative feedback during in-class discussions. They also can provide formative feedback either in writing or orally during one-on-one or small group (2-4 students) conferences with students to discuss drafts of assignments or projects.
Instructors often worry about the amount of time formative feedback takes. Feedback does take time, but it does not need to take a lot of time. Feedback can be brief or more substantial. It can be delivered in writing or orally. It can be in response to in-class discussion, small groups discussion, a short assignment of a few sentences, or a long assignment. It can require prep work or none. You can provide feedback in ways that work both for students and for you.
Here are some best practices for formative feedback from instructors.
- Provide select feedback throughout the semester but set reasonable goals and limits for yourself.
- Focus on big picture concerns (like development, organization, evidence, thesis, etc.) before turning to surface area concerns. Surface area concerns generally should be addressed at later stages of an assignment since much of the material will be reworked and revised. Additionally, students tend to have more surface errors when they are working on their ideas in early stages, and many of these errors are resolved on their own as students develop their work. If surface area concerns persist into later stages, consider adopting minimal marking, which takes a formative approach to surface area concerns (see next module for more information).
- Limit and prioritize feedback to major issues or concerns (2-3) to not overwhelm students and manage your time
- Provide descriptive, specific, and concrete feedback that students can act on.
- Ask probing questions that ask students to move beyond initial impressions or ideas.
- Address both strengths with weaknesses so students know what they are doing well and what they need to work on.
- Provide guidance on where to go next and what to focus on moving forward.
Peer
Instructors don’t need to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to formative feedback. Peers can and should provide feedback, but they need clear and specific instructions and activities from the instructor. They may even need to practice together as a class or in small groups before they do it on their own.
Here are some popular activities that facilitate peer formative feedback.
1. Peer Review
Peer review of works in progress can be performed in class or outside of class (Google docs works great). It also can take a few minutes or an entire class period. Here are different examples of what peer review may look like.
In 5-10 minutes, any of the following can be discussed in pairs:
- Topics
- Theses, claims, or hypotheses
- Audience, tone, or dissonance
- Citation errors
In 20 minutes, any of the following can be discussed in groups of three or four:
- Topics
- Theses, claims, or hypotheses
- Sequence of ideas
- Target audiences and rationales
- Supporting/countering arguments
In 20-40 minutes:
- Conducting a “read-around” on a part or entire short assignment
- In a read-aloud, students bring two copies of a section of a draft – a proposal, a lead, an annotated bibliography, etc.
- All sets of copies are places on a table so that participants can pick one up, write brief comments, return it to the table, and take another draft at their own pace.
In 50+ minutes (with out-of-class reading):
- Full essay peer-group conferences using guidelines
The instructor asks a question, and students write down their responses. Students are then placed in pairs to discuss their responses. Instructors move around the classroom and listen to various discussions to gain insight into levels of understanding.
3. Students Teaching Students
The instructors asks one student or a small group (2-4) to teach a lesson, concept, skill, reading, etc. to another student, a group of students, or the entire class. The other student(s) ask questions when they need clarification and provide feedback.
4. Group Problem Solving
Place students in small groups and give them a specific problem or issue to work on together.
5. Group Writing or Presentations
Place students in small groups (2-4) to compose documents or develop and present presentations. All students must contribute to the assignment, and they can provide feedback on their own and each person’s contributions. If you want to learn more about group communication assignments, check out this CxC Webinar: Designing Group Communication Assignments.
Self
In addition to receiving feedback from peers, students can and should learn to provide feedback on their own work and development. Self-feedback promotes metacognition and reflection, which research has shown positively contributes to learning and development. Just like with peer feedback, students need clear and specific instructions and activities from the instructor to provide self-feedback.
Here are some common examples of self-feedback.
- Reflection
Reflection can take many forms. They can be short in-class activities or longer assignments. They can be written or oral. Students can reflect on a reading, an experience, a text, an idea, an object, their learning, or their communication. Here is an example from a past W/O Academy participant. Regardless of what students reflect on, their reflection should be analytical and evidence-based. It is helpful to think of reflection as asking three question: What, so what, and now what? - Reflection Webinars
If you’re interested in learning more, the resource linked about will take you to two webinars CxC hosted on reflection. - Self-Evaluation
Students can be asked to evaluate their own work prior to submission, evaluating achievement against the criteria. performance after their submission prior to you returning their work. Self-evaluation can extend beyond assignments as students can be asked to evaluate their progress toward course objectives. Or students can set their own goals at the beginning of the semester and periodically check-in to evaluate their progress or revise their goals. - Review of Past Work
Students can be asked to systematically review one or more past examples of their work to determine where the work succeeds and where and how the work might be improved.