To learn, students need frequent feedback. An end-of-unit letter grade evaluates learning but does little to foster student engagement in the learning process. Today's more nuanced, authentic assessment approach requires robust types of feedback for students to stay on the path to mastery.
Using feedback for learning can help instill students with self-directed learning habits. Advances in educational technology empower teachers with tools for timely, specific and personalized feedback for students at scale.
The role of different types of feedback in how teachers assess learning
Educators measure learning formative and summative assessments. Whether an assessment to monitor or evaluate learning looks forward or backward, different types of feedback for students offer different benefits.
Formative assessment
Instructors utilize formative assessment for students throughout the learning process. These checkpoints act as a guide, or scaffold, for mastery. Examples of formative assessments include annotations, discussions, exit tickets, check-in quizzes and surveys.
Formative assessments nudge students on the path to proficiency. Instead of hinging an assessment on one letter grade, frequent informal feedback gives a more comprehensive view of student progress. Casual check-ins and feedback without the pressure of grading can build rapport between the student and teacher.
Summative assessment
Summative assessments occur at the end of lessons and units. They evaluate a student's proficiency in a subject or skill and are often formally graded. Examples of summative assessments include exams, essays, projects and presentations.
Graded assessments with clear rubric criteria offer deep insight into a student's progress and areas for improvement. With clear learning objectives, formal feedback helps teachers assess the progress of students against their peers and set benchmarks. Moreover, it ensures students are meeting state standards.
How feedback promotes self-directed learning and student engagement
Through constant feedback, students can become aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, so they can improve their learning. This sets the stage for self-directed learning. A teacher's goal for feedback should not only be comprehension but also independence. The gradual release of responsibility model of teaching fosters engagement by letting students own their learning process.
How technology can enhance different types of feedback for students
Even pre-pandemic, K-12 schools and higher education institutions were shifting their coursework to learning management systems. A central hub for teaching and learning—whether students are in-person or online—a learning management system expands opportunities for types of feedback that are timely, efficient and even automated.
Examples of technology tools for feedback include:
- Digital annotations
- Audio and video responses
- Screencasts
- Interactive presentations with built-in quizzes
- Real-time student response systems
- Live polling and surveys
- Collaborative editing
- Automated rubric grading
These technology solutions can enhance feedback by making it more:
- Timely: According to Digital Promise, the sooner a student receives feedback, the better. Technology can aid this immediacy. Digital annotations and automated responses provide just-in-time feedback to keep students on the path to learning.
- Efficient: Technology can enhance a teacher's ability to provide frequent, useful feedback at scale. Using video and audio technology, a teacher can reach more students with personalized feedback.
- Targeted: Rather than a blanket "great job" statement, technology-enhanced feedback mechanisms can give students specific areas for improvement.
- Adaptive: Many tech solutions can adjust learning paths based on a student's performance. This ensures students stay in the zone of proximal development, challenged enough to learn but not enough to be discouraged.
- Data-driven: When teachers have access to broad assessment data points, their feedback may become more specific and personalized. Live polling and surveys give teachers immediate data on student understanding and how to adjust lesson plans accordingly.
- Personalized: Using audio and video technologies for teacher feedback can be more personalized than written comments and can help minimize the risk of misinterpretation.
As more educators embrace project-based learning and authentic assessments, the need for personalized, immediate types of feedback for students has become even more critical. Educational technology tools enhance feedback mechanisms and augment a teacher's role as a learning guide.
Verizon can help you inspire great learning through technology solutions that address the holistic needs of students and teachers. Strengthen and modernize your infrastructure to provide new learning opportunities and achieve your vision of robust, engaging and effective learning experiences for all.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.