From the Deputy Principal

Feedback makes us better

Late last week I joined a webinar presented by Professor Dylan Wiliam, emeritus professor of educational assessment at University College London. Wiliam was sharing ideas about the importance of feedback for learners and of course, this is a big part of what teachers do.  But it is also about what we all do, all the time, and how it makes a difference, which, after all, is the point of feedback.   

It is common to define feedback as any action taken by an external agent to provide individuals with information regarding some aspect of their performance. Wiliam reminded us ensuring that feedback provides advice that moves learners forward.  This is easier said than done.  If we are doing the same task over and over: for example, hitting a forehand shot in tennis, the feedback is focused on a relatively narrow set of parameters. It is clear that the purpose of the feedback is to help the player improve on the skill they have been performing.  

In general, however (and this is what makes feedback so challenging), the main purpose of feedback is to improve the student's ability to perform tasks which have not yet been attempted.  If an English teacher advises the student that his story would be improved by swapping around the third and fourth paragraphs, the student can do this, but he will learn little. The intellectual heavy lifting has been done by the teacher, not the student. Similarly, if a Maths teacher corrects a student's arithmetic errors, if we are not careful, there is nothing left for the student to do but note how many of her calculations were incorrect. 

It is important to remember that the focus for feedback is not only on the work which has already been done, but also for what it can tell us about students—what they can do now, what they might be able to do in the future, or what they need to do next. This helps students understand that effort creates ability.  Wiliam advocates for providing feedback that moves learners forward.

But of course it is not just teachers that give feedback to learners, it is all of us, almost all the time.  We give feedback to our children (of course!) and our partners.  We give feedback to restaurants, businesses, retail assistants and accommodation providers. And why?  So they can focus not only on what they are doing now, but what they can do in the future, what they need to do next. Here at GSG we know the power of good feedback for our students and we know your feedback helps us, as a school, understand what we can do now, what we can do in the future and what we need to do next. Please keep the feedback coming! 

Mrs Emma Franklin | Deputy Principal - Head of Teaching and Learning