Importance of Feedback

At the August 2008 Faculty Day session one of the keynote presentations focused on the importance of feedback in facilitating student learning. This blog post will present summaries of some of the research shared in that presentation and we can reflect on the implications for using ePortfolio2.



First of all, formative assessment is any activity that provides sound feedback on student learning. In John Hattie's (1992) review of 8,000 studies, he concluded, "The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback." Feedback definitely deserves our attention.



Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik, and Morgan's (1991) review of more than 39 studies suggested that some types of feedback are more effective than others. The chart below summarizes their results.

Feedback Type/Effect Size

Right or Wrong /-.08

Provide correct answer/.22

Criteria understood vs not/.41

Explain/.53

Repeat until correct/.53



Fuchs and Fuchs (1989) did a review of 89 studies and made the same conclusion. Here is a table summarizing their results.

Feedback Type/Effect Size

Displaying results graphically/.70

Evaluation by rule/.91



Furthermore, Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik and Morgan (1991) in their review of 39 studies reported that frequency of feedback is another key factor. Their results for a 15 week term are summarized below in the table.

Number of Assessments/Effect Size

0/ 0

1 /.34

5 /.53

10 /.60

15 /.66

20 /.71

25 /.78

30 /.80

I think we can conclude that more frequent feedback (one or more times per week) will have beneficial results. Some of the feedback may be informal, coming from the instructor, peers, or even the candidate themselves if guided by a rubric. Instructors might encourage the writing process and check drafts at different points in the semester. Peer review and response might be done in class, through using the MyHeritage Forum, or through using the Share function in ePortfolio2.

Candidates might be helped to use Excel to record the scores they receive on the rubrics in order to produce graphs that will help them trace their progress. This has the added benefit of developing a technology skill that will be useful in managing the assessment data they eventually collect from their own students.

Instructors might have candidates complete entry tasks at the beginning of all or most class sessions. These may be brief (1 to 5 questions) and address global/central concepts of the course, basic facts or frameworks needed for higher level thinking, checks on reading assignments, etc. Repeatedly asking key questions while injecting a few new questions each sessions has worked for my candidates. These entry tasks may be graded or not. Candidates appreciate the quick feedback related to how well they are learning the key knowledge of the course. The entry task questions, along with candidate responses become study guides for later exams.

Perhaps one of the advantages to ePortfolio2 is that candidates will have ongoing access to the feedback on key assignments from a variety of instructors. The candidates may consult this collection of feedback from time to time to inform their reflection on their progress and the areas that still need to be developed.

Other ideas? Make a comment.

Organize Artifacts

Have you and your students discovered the benefits of storing and organizing work in Chalk and Wire’s Artifact Library?

In the three weeks leading up to the interviews for candidates applying to student teach, I often hear students lament that they can not find the papers they would like to use in their portfolio. Several circumstances may contribute to this state of near-hysteria. Perhaps the assignment was never returned to them by their instructor. Perhaps they lost their flash drive with all of their work. Perhaps they never developed a digital or paper filing system that would make it easier to find completed assignments. Perhaps they titled all of their instructional plans “Instructional Plan” with no indication of date or draft number. And pity the student who moved during their time in the program – they may not be able to find anything.

Prudent use of Chalk and Wire’s Artifact Library is the answer to the candidates’ dilemma. The Artifact Library allows one to add folders in which one may securely store artifacts. Faculty should encourage candidates to create folders and name them according to a helpful organizational scheme. For example, candidates might choose to create a folder for each course in their program. Any assignment created for a course could be stored in that course’s folder. In addition, if files are given descriptive names, it will be even easier to locate a particular product or trace the development of a type of product. For example, a file name such as Rousculp_Ed 315_UP_Salmon_F08 would help the student realize this is their unit plan about salmon prepared during Ed 315 in the fall semester of 2008.

Another organizational scheme that might be helpful would be to organize folders by student-teacher-interview required artifacts. For example, since the candidate knows from their first education course that they will be required to provide unit plans and instructional plans in their interview portfolio, they could create folders for each of these types of artifact required. The list might include educational philosophy, unit plans, instructional plans, classroom management plans, parent involvement plans, plans for demonstrating positive impact on student learning, and evaluations of teaching performance. With descriptive file names as explained above, the candidate would have a much easier time locating and selecting pieces for their student teaching interview portfolio.

The time and stress saved through advance organization could be better used in reflection on one’s development.

New Tools

New Tools for Helping Students Upload Assignments on Chalk and Wire

Several faculty members have reported that the printed instructions available on the Faculty Resource Manual site (http://www.heritageu.org/eportfolio.htm) have been very helpful in providing students with clear instruction for uploading an assignment and submitting the assignment for assessment.

Now, one of our HU Tri-Cities students, Josh Gourley, has developed an online video that walks students through the whole process right on their computer screen. The video tutorial is available here. Thanks, Josh.

Paul Dowdy, HU faculty member and Director of the Tri-Cities Regional Site, shared that he had excellent results when he provided students with the printed instructions and had them view the video tutorial in class.