You Need An Effective Feedback Policy
I’m going to give you my version of an effective feedback policy.
I haven’t just made it up. And it is going to reduce your workload.
I’ve based this on the EEF evidence, and how I see this being applied effectively.
I’ve tried to make this both as simple and as clear as possible.
There are too many ‘I’s so far! Obviously, you want to check this against the EEF, don’t you? So, after my policy, I’m giving you one written by NotebookLM from 14 EEF reports.
And, in case you want to dive deeper, I’m also giving you the links to all of those.
Dominic’s Feedback Policy
“Above all else - no feedback is effective until students have tried to improve their work. The measure of the quality of your feedback is not the feedback itself, but what students do with it.”
For feedback to be effective, it needs to lead to students improving what they know and what they can do.
What Students Know
We can describe what students know as the factual knowledge they have about the subject content. They can receive daily, weekly and monthly feedback on this through:
Retrieval questioning at the beginning of each lesson.
Monthly knowledge quizzes which sample the retrieval questions asked in lessons.
End of term assessments which sample the knowledge of that and previous terms.
Students should be encouraged to keep a personal score to monitor how their retrievals in class build long term memories for the monthly knowledge quiz, and the end of term knowledge quiz.
Teachers should keep a record of scores in order to give explicit feedback on how students are improving their long term memory.
Where possible, these should be correlated with attendance so students can see the link between attending school and improved scores and long term memory.
Where possible, these should be correlated with homework completion so students see the link between effort and progress.
What Students Can Do
We can describe what students can do as the skills of the subject, and the ability to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
In books we would expect this to be meaningful writing tasks.
A meaningful task is one which reflects the skills we value in the subject because they are authentic to that subject, and we would teach them even if GCSEs did not exist. (This also applies to practical subjects).
Schemes of work should specify which of these tasks, and how many should be in each unit.
Students should learn from models of good writing, or good practical work, so that this can feed forward to their own work.
Students and teachers should compare student work to these models for feedback on specific areas to improve (generally no more than 3 key criteria). There may be more criteria, but cognitive load tells us that we should limit which ones students pay attention to at any one time.
Students and teachers should compare student work to this criteria in order to choose and explain areas to improve.
Termly assessments should include examples of these authentic writing or practical tasks.
Teacher Feedback
There are no prescribed forms of feedback. Above all, teachers should monitor the impact of different forms of feedback in order to identify the most effective in improving progress.
That said, the EEF states that oral feedback leads to 7+ months extra progress, while written feedback is slightly less effective, at 5+ months.
The lowest cost in teacher time is to use the visualiser to give feedback during lessons, showing students how to match students’ work to criteria and/or to model answers.
The most useful feedback for the teacher is using assessment to work out how to change the teaching of that topic or the content of that topic, so that these and next year’s students improve.
If you read to the end of this post, I’ll give you the single sentence which is the most effective feedback ever given.
Evidence Based Feedback Policy
(From Notebook LM)
Secondary School Feedback Policy Based Entirely on EEF Publications*
The purpose of this feedback policy is to clarify how feedback should be used to enhance the learning and progress of students.
Principles
The most important aspect of feedback is that it moves student learning forward. [1-5]
This means that all feedback should be focused and actionable, targeting specific learning gaps. [2, 6]
Feedback should not be used to simply please senior leaders, parents, or inspectors. [7, 8]
While feedback is important, teachers should also be mindful of the amount of time they are dedicating to marking, and explore time-efficient methods where possible. [1, 3, 8-10]
Foundations of Learning
All feedback should be rooted in the following: [1, 11]
Clear learning intentions that students understand
Formative assessment strategies that allow the teacher to assess learning gaps (e.g. effective questioning)
Timing of Feedback
The timing of feedback should be decided by teachers, based on their professional judgment of what is most appropriate for the task and the individual students. [1, 5, 12, 13]
The sources suggest that there is no single "correct" time to give feedback. Immediate, delayed, and feedback given during learning can all be effective. [1, 13]
Content of Feedback
Feedback should focus on the following: [2, 6, 14, 15]
The task: For example, telling a student that their answer to a math problem is incorrect and suggesting they try a different strategy. [14]
The subject: For example, explaining to a history student how to use evidence more effectively in their writing. [14]
Self-regulation strategies: For example, reminding a student to plan their work carefully before starting, or to check their work for errors. [14, 16]
Feedback should not focus on personal characteristics (e.g., "You are a natural at math.") or be vague and general. [2, 6, 14]
While the sources note that effort, praise, and grades can be motivating, they should always be linked to concrete advice about the task, subject, or self-regulation. [16]
How Students Receive Feedback
Teachers should consider the following when giving feedback: [2, 6]
Pupil motivation and desire for feedback: Some students may require encouragement or different approaches to motivate them to use feedback. [17]
Self-confidence and self-concept: Feedback should be delivered in a way that is constructive and encouraging, and does not damage student confidence. [2, 17, 18]
Trust in the teacher: Feedback is more likely to be effective if students have a trusting relationship with their teacher. [2, 6, 17, 19]
Working memory: Students with limited working memory may need feedback to be broken down into smaller chunks or provided in different formats. [2, 6, 17, 19]
The sources highlight the importance of considering the individual needs of students when providing feedback. [2, 6, 19] They also suggest using strategies to help students welcome and act upon feedback. [2, 20] These could include:
Discussing the purpose of feedback: Emphasising that feedback is designed to help students improve, not to criticise them. [20, 21]
Modelling the use of feedback: Showing students how to effectively respond to feedback using examples from their peers. [20, 21]
Providing clear, concise, and focused feedback: This can help prevent students from feeling overwhelmed. [20, 22]
Ensuring students understand the feedback given: Using language that is appropriate for their age and ability level and confirming that they understand what is being said. [20, 22]
Providing Opportunities for Students to Use Feedback
Teachers should provide opportunities for students to act on the feedback they receive. [2, 23-25]
The sources recommend a variety of strategies, such as: [24, 26]
Detective activities: Encouraging students to find and correct errors in their work. [26]
Redrafting: Giving students time to revise and improve their work based on the feedback received. [27]
Whole-class feedback: Discussing common errors and how to correct them. [28]
Peer assessment: Allowing students to give each other feedback. [29-32]
Self-assessment: Encouraging students to reflect on their own work. [29-32]
Methods of Feedback
This policy encourages a variety of feedback methods, including written and verbal feedback.
Written Feedback: While written feedback can be effective [23, 25, 33], it is important to be mindful of teacher workload and to prioritise quality over quantity. [34, 35]
The following strategies can be used to make written feedback more manageable and effective: [36, 37]
Live marking: Providing feedback to students during the lesson, either individually or to the whole class using a visualiser. [28, 37, 38]
Coded marking: Using a set of codes to provide feedback, which can save time and help students focus on specific areas for improvement. [12, 28, 37]
"Thinking like the teacher": Encouraging students to find and correct errors in their work before handing it in. [12, 37]
Verbal Feedback: The sources highlight verbal feedback as a valuable and often more time-efficient method. [34, 39, 40] The conversational nature of verbal feedback can also help students to better understand the feedback and to ask questions. [40]
The following strategies can be used to make verbal feedback more effective: [41]
"Action points": Encouraging students to write down or record the key points from the feedback conversation. [41]
Verbal feedback using a visualiser: Providing verbal feedback while showing examples of student work or model answers. [41]
Using Visualisers, Worked Examples, and Model Answers
This policy encourages the use of visualisers, worked examples, and model answers as part of the feedback process. [37, 41]
Teachers can use these tools to:
Model effective learning and problem-solving strategies
Illustrate common errors and how to correct them
Provide students with concrete examples of what success looks like
Monitoring Feedback
The primary purpose of monitoring feedback is to ensure that it is effective in improving student learning. [8] Monitoring should not be used to make judgments about teacher performance or to satisfy external pressures. [8, 42]
Feedback can be monitored in a variety of ways, such as: [43-46]
Work scrutiny: Reviewing student work to see if feedback is being provided and acted upon. [45]
Learning walks: Observing lessons to see how feedback is being given. [47]
Student voice: Asking students about their experiences of feedback. [48]
It is important that monitoring is conducted in a way that is supportive and non-judgmental. [46, 47] Teachers should feel trusted to exercise their professional judgment when giving feedback. [49, 50]
This feedback policy provides a framework for how feedback should be used in this school. The policy should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it remains relevant and effective.
Types of Feedback Which Might be Less Effective
Feedback that focuses on personal characteristics, is vague, or does not target learning gaps
The sources consistently highlight the importance of feedback that targets the task, the subject, and self-regulation strategies to move learning forward [1-4]. This suggests that other forms of feedback are less likely to be as effective.
Feedback that focuses on a learner's personal characteristics (e.g., "You're a natural at math") or offers only general and vague remarks is less likely to be effective [1, 5]. For example, comments like, "Try harder next time," "Try and improve," or just "very good" may not provide students with enough specific information to make progress [6].
Praise, while potentially motivating, is less likely to be effective if it is not linked to specific learning goals [1, 7].
One study found that providing enhanced formative feedback for a year while removing marks and grades did not improve results, likely because the feedback provided lacked specific information about how to improve [6, 8].
Written feedback that is not purposeful or manageable
The sources acknowledge that written feedback can be effective [2] but emphasise the importance of using it purposefully and efficiently to avoid excessive workload [9-11].
Some schools have attempted to reduce teacher workload by moving away from extensive written feedback in favor of live marking, spoken feedback, and whole-class feedback lessons [11, 12]. This suggests that some forms of written feedback may not be worth the time investment.
Teachers need to be mindful of the potential for written feedback to become a burden and to prioritise quality over quantity [11, 13].
Feedback that does not consider how students receive it
The sources stress the importance of considering how pupils receive feedback, taking into account factors like motivation, self-confidence, trust in the teacher, and working memory [1, 5].
If these factors are not considered, feedback may be less effective or even detrimental to student progress. For example, students who lack motivation may ignore feedback, and those who are disheartened by feedback may see their self-confidence suffer [14, 15].
*Sources from the EEF
EEF Feedback in Action: A review of practice in English schools: This report is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Evaluation/EEF_Feedback_Practice_Review.pdf1 The full report includes a reference list with links to other research and resources, such as:
Teachers’ Standards Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies (Department for Education, 2011): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665520/Teachers__Standards.pdf2
Teacher Workload Survey 2016 Research report (Higton et al., 2017): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/592499/TWS_2016_FINAL_Research_report_Feb_2017.pdf3
The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 Research report (Jerrim & Sims, 2019): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/809737/TALIS_2018_research.pdf4
Marking and other myths (Ofsted, 2016): https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2016/11/28/marking-and-other-myths/5
Teacher workload survey 2019 Research report (Walker, Worth & Van den Brande, 2019): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/855933/teacher_workload_survey_2019_main_report_amended.pdf6
A Marked Improvement? A Review of the Evidence on Written Marking
EEF Systematic Review of Feedback: This review protocol is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Feedback/EEF_Systematic_Review_of_Feedback._M_Newman._Dec_2020b._Protocol.pdf8
EEF Guidance Report Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning: This report is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Feedback/Teacher_Feedback_to_Improve_Pupil_Learning.pdf13
EEF Embedding formative assessment: Evaluation report: This report is available at: https://d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/documents/projects/EFA_evaluation_report.pdf?v=163092572314
Anglican schools partnership: Effective feedback: This report is available at: https://bit.ly/3faV0a415
The impact of feedback on student attainment: A systematic review: This report by Newman et al (2021) is available from the EEF.15
Embedding formative assessment: Evaluation report and executive summary: This report by Speckesser et al (2018) is available from the EEF.16
EEF Evidence Database Protocol and Analysis Plan: This document is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Toolkit/EEF_Evidence_Database_Protocol_and_Analysis_Plan_June2019.pdf17
Who said this?
“Above all else - no feedback is effective until students have tried to improve their work. The measure of the quality of your feedback is not the feedback itself, but what students do with it.”
It was me.
The most effective feedback ever given is quoted in The Culture Code, By Daniel Coyle.
“I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.”
