Effective Feedback

Craft

I. Getting Started/Warm-Up Activity:

*Good morning class! As you come in, please get out a piece of paper and respond to the case study on the board. Take a few minutes to really get a feel for what is happening, and then respond to how you would feel if someone said that about your writing. What would you have said differently? How could David have said what he did in a better way? Will Lisa be able to revise her paper effectively using David’s feedback? Why or Why not?

(5 min. think about case study)

II. Review (from previous day)

*Now yesterday, you finished your first narrative for your portfolio, and I said that tomorrow you would be switching papers with a partner and reading each others paper and giving “effective responses.” So, today we’re going to do just that.

III. Introduction (for today’s lesson)

*Before we get started, who can tell me what effective feedback is? If you think you know, come and get a piece of chalk and write briefly on the board what you think it means to give an effective response. (Using their ideas and mine, come up with a working definition of constructive feedback)

*A hypothetical definition might be: an effective response is communicating with someone about their writing in a way that helps them improve their writing

(5 min. definition brainstorm)

IV. Points/Objectives of lesson (NCSCS-1.02-the learner will explore expressive materials that are read, heard, or viewed by generating a journal. 1.03-Interact in a group settings by giving appropriate reasons that support opinions. NSELA-11: students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities)

*Help students understand the meaning of constructive feedback, and what it is.

*Allow students to begin to breakdown the meaning of words.

*Make students aware and more conscious of good communication skills.

*Show students how to be an effective resource to their peers.

V. Materials:

*Case Study

*Handout

VI. Guided Practice (teacher/student)

*Okay, now that we have a definition of “effective response,” lets take a look back at the scenario on the board- as a class, explore these questions about the scenario:

- Was this an effective response, or just criticism? (Criticism)

- How should this person have responded vs. the way they did respond? (They should have been kinder instead of rude. David should have given Lisa ways to improve her writing. He should not have put down her writing, but rather given her helpful suggestions in a positive way.)

- Will these comments help the write, or hurt the writer? (Hurt the writer)

- What are some things the reader could have said to help the writer? (They could have been more encouraging and positive. David could have encouraged her by reading through her paper with her, and point out ways that she could make it more fun or interesting to engage the reader.)

*Now, lets add to our definition of effective feedback by deciding what constructive feedback is and what it is not. So, I’m going to ask you some questions, and based on these questions, we will decide as a class what constructive feedback is.

1. When constructive feedback is given, should the reader tell the writer how horrible the piece is, and that it is the worst paper they’ve ever read? (No, they should give feedback in a kind way)

2. Should an effective response be helpful and encouraging? (Yes)

3. When reading a paper that has lots of errors and mistakes, should the reader smile and say “wow! That’s the best paper I have ever read!” (No, that would be dishonest, and a lie).

*So, based on these questions, what are some adjectives that we could use to say what effective response is? (encouraging, supportive, honest, focused on the text, and specific)

(10 min. discussion of feedback)

VII. Independent Practice (student)

*Okay, now that you have a feel for what effective response is, I am going to pass out a handout that has a few steps for giving feedback. I want you to read this, and then get with a partner and begin reading each other’s papers and giving effective responses. (10 min.)

VIII. Closure/Expectations (for tomorrow’s class)

*Journal- since you have learned what an effective response is, write a few sentences about what effective response is not. (For example: Constructive feedback is not about being rude and telling the person what you think of them.) (5 min. journal reflection)

***Additional sources to help with this lesson in the future:

-http://www.otago.ac.nz/quality/feedback/key.html

-Nancy Atwell’s In the Middle text.