Teaching Tip: Use clear feedback, tools to strengthen learning process
February 17, 2015
Consider the importance of feedback as part of the formative assessment process. When
you walk the path between formative and summative assessment, ask your students to
join you and ensure they have the road map in hand. Provide a few low-stake graded
activities (or non-graded items) on the way to a high-stake assessment.
Formative assessments help you monitor how your student is progressing. Your personalized
feedback crafts, nudges and improves their learning experience. For example, you might
ask your students to turn in a research or project proposal for your review. The feedback
you provide allows a student to revise and refine their ideas; as a result, you get
a stronger paper or project to grade in the end.
Individualized feedback to the student is every bit as important to student success
in your course as your module objectives and student outcomes, as stated in your syllabus.
Your feedback shows the student where she is on the learning curve between not knowing
and being able to apply the materials being studied.
To benefit from your feedback, students must first know where to look. Read the full Teaching Tip on iTeachU for information about the feedback mechanism in Blackboard.
-- Teaching Tip by Janene McMahan, UAF eLearning instructional designer