Effective Feedback and Reflection in Mathematics

1. Effective Feedback and Reflection in Mathematics Teacher Inquiry Group 2014

2. Why are you here? Guiding Questions/Lines of Inquiry: The focus of this TIG will be on investigating how best to establish reflective practices, maximizing opportunities for effective student to teacher feedback, in an elementary mathematics classroom. • How can reflective practices best be embedded into the lesson structure? (ensuring that all students are given the opportunity to reflect on their learning) • How can student feedback be best captured and utilised as formative assessment? • What does effective feedback look like? • What questions/prompts elicit effective feedback? • What impact does the implementation of reflective practices have on student outcomes in mathematics? Description: “When teachers seek, or are at least open to, feedback from students as to what students know, what they understand, where they make errors, when they have misconceptions, when they are not engaged – then teaching and learning can be synchronized and powerful” Hattie (2009, p.173) John Hattie’s seminal text Visible Learning identifies feedback as one of the most ‘powerful influences on achievement’. Effective Feedback answers three questions – ‘Where am I going?’, ‘How am I going?’ and ‘Where to next?’ As noted above, however, these questions are often best answered by students themselves, a situation in stark contrast to many classrooms where feedback is primarily directed from teacher to student. Furthermore, Hattie found that both self-verbalizing and self-evaluation had a high effect on student achievement, further evidence for the merits of instituting reflective practices.

3. What is feedback?

4. What is feedback? • Look at the definitions you have been provided with. Rank them from best to worst. • Find a partner and compare and combine your rankings. • What do you like about the best definition? • What do you dislike about the worst? • Is there anything you would like to add to the definition?

5. Estimate a metre Use string/tape to estimate a metre.

6. Estimate a metre • How did you feedback make you feel? • Did it clarify whether you were successful on the task? • Did it help guide your future learning? • Think/Pair/Share

7. Types of Feedback Fleming & Levie, 1978

8. Say Something • Source: Visible Learning, John Hattie. Feedback, pp.173-178 • Select a partner. Each will independently read the text. At the points marked * STOP, stop and each ‘say something’. It might be something you found interesting, linked to experience or practice, surprised you, challenged you, etc.

9. Research Summary • The most effective forms of feedback provide cues or reinforcement to the learner, are in the form of video, audio or computer-assisted instruction feedback, or relate feedback to learning goals. • Programmed instruction, praise, punishment, and extrinsic rewards were the least effective forms of feedback for enhancing achievement. In fact, tangible rewards tend to have a substantially negative effect on intrinsic motivation. • Feedback should be in the form of a discourse with a focus on involving the student in a discussion on the task and its assessment criteria. • Feedback needs to be task related and should involve little threat to self. • Feedback should focus on the questions ‘Where am I going?’, ‘How am I going?’ and ‘Where to next?’ • There is no one-size-fits-all approach (further explored in the next session….)

10. Effect of Praise

11. I used to think, but now I think I used to think……, But now I think……

12. Implications for Teaching Maths What are the implications of these findings to the teaching of mathematics? Consider: • Task design • Lesson structure • Assessment

13. Moving Forward • Analysis of current practice • TIG Goals • Measures of success • Ways to capture feedback and reflection • Feedback models