The Feedback Loop

Here a t Floop , we’re all about creating effective feedback systems that mix different strategies to best meet your students’ needs. This post is part of a series sharing simple feedback strategies. When giving or receiving feedback, using a structured framework helps keep the feedback constructive and balanced. Here are three of my favorite feedback methods, all of which are general enough to be used for any situation. Plus (+) / Delta (Δ) Pluses are positive things to keep or repeat, while deltas (the Greek character often used to represent change) are changes to make in the future. To use the plus/delta framework, create a T-chart to log pluses and deltas. Here’s the key: deltas must be action-oriented, meaning they are positively framed actions versus negative complaints. A simple example is when giving feedback on student presentations, say “please speak louder” instead of “you’re mumbling.” Download the Plus/Delta feedback form, printed two to a page. I like…, I...

If you have 20 minutes in class, here’s a quick exercise to set expectations for student work. By showing student examples and facilitating a class discussion, I turned students' observations and feedback into their own list of expectations. In my class, students are working on documentation skills, but I can see this exercise for any repeated skill such as graphing in math, note taking in history, or writing lab reports in science. Image courtesy of justonly.com Early on, I stress the importance of thorough documentation in Engineering. Students do an activity where they build cardboard cars given instructions, but the instructions are so bad that the cars totally flop! From there, we have a discussion about what should be included in thorough documentation. When they revised and redesigned the cardboard cars, they documented their new process. I gave them very little instruction and just two general mantras: 1) “If your mind was wiped, would you be able to recreate your...

Here at Floop , we’re all about creating effective feedback systems that mix different strategies to best meet your students’ needs. This post is part of a series sharing simple feedback strategies. Any other teachers amazed at how motivated students are by stickers? Stickers are classic - I remember getting stickers in piano lessons every time I learned a new song - but they can get messy and hard to manage. Stamps are the cheaper and more sustainable form of stickers. I know many teachers who carry around rubber stamps and an ink pad. I started off with self-inking stamps myself, but as those got worn and lost, I bought these stamper markers as a cheap and versatile replacement. Note: I teach high school, grades 9-12. Stamps are still appropriate! The strategies I’m sharing today are what I use in my high school classroom. How I use stamps for in-class practice One way that I use them is for checking progress on in-class practice. On a practice worksheet, I stamp off e...