Last Updated on October 4, 2023 by Editorial Team
It’s no secret that feedback is the lifeline of education. Students need it to grow and develop, teachers need it to be effective, and parents need it for their children’s sake. A kind word of guidance or motivation serves to develop an enthusiasm in the child and positive feedback often provides a way to plan further action.
Feedback offered can be positive or negative. However, both are crucial parts of any learning process. In education, it can play a vital role in helping students develop the skills they need to succeed. But what are some of the best ways to give feedback? Read on to find out!
Feedback in education: How significant?
Feedback is a vital part of the learning process. Hence, it has its own significance when it comes to enhancing and improving the performance of students in education. Here are some of the vitalities of feedback, especially when they are carried out for learners.
- In helping students improve, feedback is an effective tool used to improve teaching.
- Similarly, feedback can be motivating for students as well, as they can focus on what areas need more work.
- Through feedback, teachers can understand the problem areas where students need help and get ideas on how to improve their teaching.
- Feedback can also help in deciding whether their students are learning what they’re supposed to learn.
- Parents can utilize feedback reports to help students understand their children’s progress.
- Feedback is a way to improve student achievement. It helps students learn more and get better grades, especially at the grade level where they need it most.
- There is positive reinforcement for the child to maintain a good performance and aim higher or improve on the grades.
Studies[1] claim that effective feedback is one that is delivered in an appropriate setting, and focuses on performance and not the individual. It is specific and is based on direct observation It is delivered in a non-judgemental language and identifies actions or plans for improvement.
On the contrary, Negative feedback can create an emotional response in the learner, which may interfere with the effectiveness of the feedback.
Some feedback tools to enhance the ability and acknowledge results
Here are some feedback tools that are easy to use. The feedback system should be easy for teachers and administrators alike: if there are too many steps involved in making changes or adding new features, then fewer people will be willing or able to participate in creating these changes/features
1. Checklists
Checklists can be made for students that ensure that they achieve the given tasks as per the planning. The checklist can include:
- Quizzes: Quizzes are a great tool for getting feedback on the student’s understanding. They can be used to check for knowledge, memory, and retention.
- Surveys: Surveys and forms are a good way to get feedback. You can use surveys to gather data from teachers, students, or parents to see what they think about your school’s programs.
- Forms: These are another great way of getting feedback from people by asking them questions in an easy-to-read format that doesn’t require much thought.
- Rubrics: Rubrics are scoring guides that are used to help students understand what is expected of them. They can be used for grading, feedback, classwork, and projects.
2. Kaizena
Kaizena is a feedback tool that allows students to submit audio and video recordings of their work. Students can use Kaizena to get feedback on their work from teachers, peers, and other students.
Kaizen’s unique focus on helping educators provide constructive feedback has made it one of the most popular platforms for college students seeking academic guidance. Students can use Kaizen as part of coursework or project assignments without having access to an instructor or professor.
3. Flipgrid
Flipgrid is a free tool for teachers and students. It’s like an online forum, with the added bonus of being able to record audio or video responses to questions from your students. You can use Flipgrid as part of an online class or as an independent project for your own classes.
When setting up the Flipgrid website, there are several options:
- A basic version – This will give users access only to the most basic features such as creating their own questions/answers and posting them on a specific topic (e.g., Math).
- Premium version – This gives users access to advanced features like uploading files such as Powerpoint presentations (PPTs), PDFs, and images; sending messages between participants; sharing links between participants’ profiles so they can see each other’s work before joining discussions about specific topics
4. Screencastify
Screencastify is a free tool that lets you record and share screencasts. It’s easy to use, it’s compatible with most operating systems (including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux), and the interface is well-organized.
You can add annotations to your screencasts by drawing shapes on top of the video or adding text boxes around what you want to highlight. You can also record audio from your microphone or camera (or both) as well as add video from external sources like YouTube or Vimeo. Lastly, you can share your videos via email or social media sites like Facebook & Twitter.
5. Socrative
Socrative is a great tool for students. It’s a question-and-answer platform that gives you the opportunity to ask your teacher questions, get feedback from other students, and even chat with teachers directly!
- Ask questions: You can ask your teacher anything related to class or personal life. If they’re willing to answer them then it will be displayed on their profile page as well as on theirs!
- Get feedback from other students: When asking questions via Socrative’s platform, there are two options available; either receive answers from others who have already used the service (this option costs money) or leave comments for them (free). This helps give insight into what kind of material/topic is most relevant so that future sessions are more effective!
6. Talk and Comment
Talk and Comment is a Chrome extension. This is a great way to get feedback from your students. You can talk with them in the comments section of their assignments or post-tests, or you can post questions on the discussion board that they’ll answer as part of their assignment. They don’t even have to log into this system; all they have to do is click on an answer link when you ask them something.
The other great thing about this system is that it’s easy for you to keep track of who responded when they responded, and what they said. You can even see how long each person took on their assignment or test so you can grade accordingly.
Conclusion
To sum up, feedback is a powerful teaching tool and provides feedback on the learning process that has an immediate influence on the process of acquiring knowledge. Feedback in education is a major element of the system. Feedback helps students to understand the subject they are studying and gives them guidance on how to improve their learning process. Providing students with relevant feedback can help them develop confidence, self-awareness, and enthusiasm for what they’re being taught.
Reference
- Schartel, S. A. (2012). Giving feedback – An integral part of education. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology, 26(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpa.2012.02.003
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,