When “Good” is Bad: a model for masterful feedback

“When a teacher says I’ve done something perfectly, I get scared about what’ll happen if I don’t do it as well in the future, and it also lets me know that I can stop caring or worrying about it, because I’ve already learned it. “ -Ethan Jones a freshman at Mountain Heritage High School

In the classroom, the battle for deep, sustainable learning begins with how you teach and flows into how feedback is provided. John Hattie, author of Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning, identifies feedback as a classroom practice with one of the highest effect rates on student learning and achievement. It requires timely, actionable feedback, linked to a specific goal.

Students in Ms. Babb-Graham’s music classes at Mountain Heritage High School regularly experience masterful feedback.

“I want you to sing it as if you are telling a SUPER TOP SECRET during smart lunch.”
- Students sing.
“Now sing it like you are whispering a secret you don’t want me to hear.”
- Students sing.
“What did you notice?”
- Whole class discussion.

When asked about her feedback methods, Ms. Babb-Graham said, “I wanted them to sing more intensely and quietly. Rather than saying that specifically, I told them to sing it a couple of different ways. Then they NAILED it and they knew it.”

Good becomes bad when it stands alone as a form of feedback

Telling someone “Good” (or the like) isn’t feedback. Why? Because, it doesn’t provide specifics in relation to a goal or a target. It doesn’t help the learner improve his/her performance.

Mason Booth, a sophomore, at Mountain Heritage High School said, “If a teacher says “that’s right” or “perfect”, then I don’t believe them. I don’t think it’s even true. I feel like saying that they could be holding me back, because it gives me a mindset that I can’t do any better than I’m already doing. Conversely, if a teacher says “no” or “that’s wrong”, then I feel like they don’t see the potential in my work. Either way it doesn’t help me.”

Masterful feedback is constructive and points students to ways in which they can improve their learning and achievement. [Feedback is] … most effective when it is timely, perceived as relevant, meaningful …offers suggestions for improvement that are within the student’s grasp (Brown, Bull, & Pendlebury, 1997).

Help students make their own judgements

Facilitating feedback leads students to make their own decisions. It lets them wrestle with how well they are performing. Margret Stiles, Mathematics and STEM instructor at Haywood Early College approaches daily work (homework) in just this way.

“Okay, someone give me your answer.”
- Student answers.
“Now tell me your thinking behind that.”
- Student explains his thinking.
“Does anyone have something different?”
- A student raises her hand.
“What did you get?”
- Student answers.
“What were you thinking?”
“Any others?”
“Okay, so let’s think about the two answers we heard and the explanations. What do the rest of you think?”
- Class discusses and students settle on one answer.

Facilitated feedback complements the peer instructional model developed by Eric Mazur , Ph.D., Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics and Area Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard University. Dr. Mazur refrains from lecturing his 200 introductory physics students; instead, he gives them problems to think about individually and then discuss in small groups. He notes this system “provides frequent and continuous feedback (to both students and the instructor) about the level of understanding of the subject being discussed.” (E. Mazur January 2, 2009 Farewell, lecture? Science, 323, 50-51.)

Provide actionable feedback

Feedback from others is descriptive information that the learner needs to reach his/her goals. It is not advice, personal opinion or praise. Feedback helps the learner answer two questions:

Right now, where is my performance in relation to my goal?
What actions might I take to improve?

This definition necessitates that the goals/outcomes/objectives of the learning are clear and that the feedback is goal-referenced and actionable. “Good job!” “That was wrong” and C- are not feedback. They do not provide actionable information. Masterful feedback should easily translate to action and provide learners with something to think, do or change.

“When a teacher says ‘You’re wrong,’ I get very discouraged. Since I did my best and it still wasn’t enough, I lose energy and start to not care,” noted student Ethan Jones.

Manage in the moment

Masterful feedback is a seamless part of the learning process. The sooner the better. Technology has opened the door for more timely feedback. In his article Seven Keys to Effective Feedback, Grant Wiggins, reminds us “no time to give and use feedback actually means no time to cause learning.” (Educational Leadership, September 2012/Volume 7/Number 1/ Feedback for Learning pages 10-16). Many teachers use online systems like, memrise, quizlet, kahoot, and others to provide immediate feedback.

Timely data can provide continuous feedback. Ms. Baynard, science teacher, at R-S Central High School, often uses scantron forms to give students their tests. Within 5 minutes, students are looking at their scored exams and digging into what answers they have missed and why they missed them.

Mr. Trice, band teacher at East Surry High School records performances. As a group, students view the performances and individually record what they notice and what they want to change. The whole class then participates in creating improvement targets.

Many high school coaches use Hudl to provide feedback to their football or basketball teams. Coach Jones at R-S Central High School is exploring using a similar form of feedback for students in his weight lifting classes.

So what can you do to help students sustain their learning?