How to Administer Constructive and Effective Feedback to Online Students

Denielle R. Vazquez, M.S.Ed – vazquezd@franklin.edu

2014 Teaching and Learning Conference

Franklin University

June 13, 2014

Teaching & Learning Success Strategies

Constructive and Effective feedback is directly related to:

Faculty Development – ImprovementLibrary & Technology – Integration Student Experience – Positive vs. NegativeStudent Success = RETENTION!!

What does it mean to be…

Constructive: Promoting improvement or

development.

Effective: Producing a result that is wanted.

Quality: How good or bad something is. A high level of value or excellence.

BRAINSTORM & DISCUSS: What constitutes Constructive & Effective grading feedback?

Constructive & Effective Feedback is…

• Consistent – Every assignment. Every Class.

• Timely – University Rule. Your own rule.

• Accurate – Guide with Knowledge • Supportive of the Learning Process – Acknowledge

the effort. Be positive from beginning to end.

• Meaningful – Use your words wisely!

Be detailed. Be specific. Be resourceful.• Enforced – Hold students to a higher

standard.

Use Your Words Wisely Be Clear. Be Specific. Be Positive!

Ineffective

(A) Good Job, Kate!

(B) # 1 and 5 are incorrect.

(C) Nancy, the font you used is incorrect.

(D) Missing peer responses.

Effective

(A) Kate, you did a really great job on this assignment, especially part 2. All of your answers are correct. Keep up the good work.

(B) Sam, #1 and 5 are incorrect. Please go back and review... Pay special attention to…. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

(C) Nancy, according to APA rules the only fonts that are acceptable to use are New Times Roman, a Serif font and/or Ariel in 12 point. Please see page 43 in Franklin’s APA manual for more formatting details and make the proper corrections for paper #2.

(D) Carlos, thank you for posting an initial response to the weekly discussion question. POSITIVE COMMENT. You lost points because you did not contribute at least 2 in-depth peer responses. It’s very important to discuss and debate the topics of the course with your peers so that we may build a strong sense of community in the course room. Going forward, please be sure to complete this action item.

Use Your Words Wisely. Be Clear. Be Specific. Be Positive!

Ineffective

(E) 100/100 points

(F) Missing assignment

(G) 30/60 only half of your answers are correct.

Effective

(E) Brian, you did a FANTASTIC job on this paper! It is well-written, informative, follows the assignment’s guidelines and you used APA correctly!! There are no spelling or grammatical errors. What I am trying to say is….it’s perfect! Thank you so much for your effort!

(F) Missy, I see that you did not participate in class discussion last week. Is everything okay? Please contact me via email letting me know how I can help you re-engaged in the course. I look forward to hearing from you.

(G) Luke, you had a good start on this assignment, but you seem to be having trouble grasping the concepts of the course. Therefore, I am going to give you an opportunity to review and revise your answers. Please review the…… Pay special attention to…. Please email your revision to me no later than Friday (6/13), 5pm. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance.

RETHINK & PERFECT: Write down a grading comment that you use often? Now, Rethink it & Perfect it.

Throughout the Course, the Feedback You Give Must…

BRAINSTORM & DISCUSS: What modes can be used to administer Constructive

& Effective feedback to online students?

How to Administer Feedback• Track Changes• Grade Book• Grading Rubrics• Resources• Revisions• Email Updates• Create Grading

Templates

Track Changes

Post in the Grade Book

Rubrics, Resources & Revisions

Use the course room for support, language!• Grading Rubrics• Assignment guidelines – Action Items

Resources• SLC – Workshops = EXTRA CREDIT!• Writing Center • Library• Inside & Outside Resources• Franklin Live!• Samples & Templates

RevisionsOne time onlySet a deadline

Send an Email Update

(A) Paper:Hello Class, I posted grades for Research Paper #1 today. For extensive feedback on your paper, please see the grade book and the Drop box. Please make the proper corrections for Research Paper #2 (due Sunday). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your hard work, Denielle

(B) Assignment:Hello Class, I posted your grades for Week 1 today. I must say, I am very impressed with your work. You are grasping the concepts of the course very well. Please visit the grade book for feedback on your assignments. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.Have a great day!Denielle

Grading Template

• SHOULD BE CITED:

According to who? This is a fact that should be cited. Any time you present information that is not common knowledge (statistics, historical dates, facts), then you must give credit to your sources. Even when you paraphrase, you must cite. Here is a good rule of thumb: if you found this info….then tell me where you found it Please refer to pages 9-11 in Franklin’s APA manual for more details. Please apply this rule to other areas in your paper.

• YEAR OF PUBLICATION:

There should be a year of publication included in this in-text citation. For example, (Smith, 2011). If the year of publication is not given, then your citation should follow this format (Smith, “n.d”). Please see page 19 in Franklin’s APA manual for more details. Please apply this rule to other in-text citations throughout your paper.

• A PERFECT PAPER:

NAME, you did a FANTASTIC job on this paper! It is well-written, informative, follows the assignment’s guidelines and you used APA correctly!! There are no spelling or grammatical errors. What I am trying to say is….it’s perfect! Thank you for your effort and hard work on this assignment!

• MAKE ADJUSTMENTS:

NAME, you did a really nice job on this paper. It is well written, informative and follows the assignment’s guidelines. There were no spelling or grammatical errors. There are some APA adjustments that you need to make for your next paper, but that can easily be done. Please make sure that you review my comments above and go back to all of the APA documents that I sent for assistance. Overall, Good work!

PRACTICE & DISCUSS: Transform the following feedback. Make it

Constructive & Effective…

(A) What’s wrong? (B) Make it constructive!

1) I found your response to the discussion question vague.

2) You did not follow the assignment’s guidelines.

3) You clearly do not understand the difference between APA and MLA.

4) Just okay! 5/10 of your answers are incorrect.

5) Excellent work!

Let’s Discuss

How have your views of offering Constructive & Effective feedback changed since the

beginning of this discussion?

BEST PRACTICESSet the expectation, early!

Be Proactive

Be Timely

Be Consistent

Be Resourceful

Be Positive

Treat as an Assessment - Evaluate

Enforce policies

Make students accountable

Offer the chance to revise

Modify feedback as course progresses

TOOLBOX

• Track Changes• Grade Book• Library – SLC – Writing Center• Email• Templates• Grading Rubrics & Action Items• Revisions

• ME!!!!! vazquezd@franklin.edu

Through Feedback...Inspire Excellence!