The Secret of Effective Feedback

I stumbled upon an article today by Dylan Wiliam (2016) called “The Secret of Effective Feedback.” I’m familiar with Wiliam’s work from his seminal publication with Black in 1998, “Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment.” The “Secret of Effective Feedback” builds on this but focuses on the role students play in the feedback process.

Wiliam makes the point that in order for teachers’ feedback to be effective, students need to be open to it, take it in, and do something with it. This perspective is one that’s easily forgotten and often looked over in an effort to focus on teachers giving  good feedback. 

At Opportunity Education, we create tools that help teachers and students participate effectively in the feedback process. Students need to reflect, participate in conversations about their work and work products, think critically, and focus on skill development and improvement over grades on assignments. 

If you’re interested in talking more about how to engage students in the feedback process drop us an email at teach@opportunityeducation.org.