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Feedback for Refinement and Reinforcement
In a typical math class students who do their
homework practice the skill to be learned and if they check the back of the
book, they may get feedback on the correctness of their solution. Without
further intervention, however, they will not receive the kind of feedback that
makes a significant difference. I choose to implement learning logs and
white board use in order that my students may receive feedback that informs and
refines their learning. The students also find these completed learning
logs with my refining comments as helpful study aides.
The authors of Classroom Instruction That
Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement tell us
that their research shows that the feedback that produces large effects must be
“corrective” in nature. “This means that it provides students with an
explanation of what they are doing that is correct and what it is that they are
doing that is not correct.” ( 96)
They further suggest that “When homework is
assigned for the purpose of practice, it should be structured around content
with which students have a high degree of familiarity. ...Practicing a skill
with which a student is unfamiliar is not only inefficient, but might also serve
to habituate errors or misconceptions.” (63) Guided practice using white
boards provides the familiarity to them before they leave and the learning log
“Before you leave…” query makes certain that the students leave with minimal
errors or misconceptions.
Johnson suggests another advantage of the
strategy: “increased
student responsibility because all students are obligated to participate.”
“As a result, attentiveness also increases; everyone is busy thinking because
the question has been directed to all students. The slower students have a
chance to participate because they have time to think. Also, it becomes
safe for a student to make a mistake. (15) Students who might be reticent
to participate out loud have a vehicle with which to check their understanding
and refine any errors.
Further research by Eric Jenson focuses on the
effect of enriching environments on the brain.
“Endless experiments have been done on both
animals and humans to determine what conditions predictably and precisely build
a better brain. William Greenough, who has studied the effects of
enriching environments for over 20 years, says two things are particularly
important in growing a better brain. The critical ingredients in any
purposeful program to enrich the learner’s brain are that first the learning is
challenging, with new information or experiences. Often novelty will do
it, but it must be challenging. Second, there must be some way to learn
from the experience through interactive feedback. … [M]aximize learner feedback.
Because feedback reduces uncertainty, it increases coping abilities while
lowering the pituitary-adrenal stress responses.”
Several conditions make feedback more
effective. The reaction must be specific, not general. … Feedback is
ordinarily most useful for learners when it’s immediate.
Both strategies incorporate feedback for the
student that is immediate and interactive.
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