Principles and Methods

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of how feedback can be done, rather it is a declaration of the principles that must underpin feedback and some exemplification of what these might look like in practice.

These are exemplified in greater detail in the EEF (2021) report. These principles are the result of the bringing together of the best practice from the research and sector representatives and they seamlessly align with the Windsor Academy Trust vision for Increasing Teacher and Learner Effectiveness. The first two principles should result from the model for Teaching and Learning including the Learning Cycle. The third principle is one of the six Learner Skills within our ASPIRE framework and it is clear that feedback can play a significant role in developing our students’ self-regulation which is so crucial to developing successful learners.

Principle 1

Lay the foundations for effective feedback Deliver appropriately timed feedback that focuses on moving learning forward

Plan for how pupils receive and use feedback

Principle 2 Principle 3

Principle 1:

Lay the foundations for effective feedback

Exemplification • Before providing feedback, teachers should provide high quality instruction, including the use of formative assessment strategies.

• High quality initial instruction will reduce the work that feedback needs to do; formative assessment strategies are required to set learning intentions (which feedback will aim towards) and to assess learning gaps (which feedback will address).

What this looks like at Windsor Academy Trust

• Threshold and Examinations Curriculum deliver a carefully-sequenced curriculum which teach essential concepts, knowledge and skills

• Retrieval practice built into the curriculum

• Learning cycle, which emphasises the importance of modelling, explaining and whole-class learning checks

• High Challenge for All framework to support scaffolding and high expectations for all

• Evaluating ‘What a Good One Looks Like’.

Principle 2:

Deliver appropriately timed feedback that focuses on moving learning forward

‘Feedback interventions delivered immediately after learning, delivered up to a week after, and delivered during learning are all associated with…positive effects on attainment’ (EEF, 2021, p. 19)

Exemplification • There is not one clear answer for when feedback should be provided. Rather, teachers should judge whether more immediate or delayed feedback is required, considering the characteristics of the tasks set, the individual pupil, and the collective understanding of the class.

• Feedback should focus on moving learning forward, targeting the specific learning gaps that pupils exhibit. Specifically, high quality feedback may focus on the task, subject and self-regulation strategies.

• Feedback that focuses on a learner’s personal characteristics, for feedback that offers only general and vague remarks, is less likely to be effective.

What this looks like at Windsor Academy Trust Task

• Some tasks do not need feedback because misconceptions can become self-evident in lessons.

• Some tasks are designed to give immediate feedback, e.g. electronic quiz or where answers are provided and methods are sought from students, or the use of multiple-choice questions where misconceptions can be addressed quickly if the questions are designed well with the right distractors.

Student

• Teachers monitor which students might need feedback live in the lesson (e.g. walking the room, learning checks). Some students might be distracted or not sufficiently challenged if feedback is given too soon: ‘varying the amount of feedback depending on the pupil to ensure that they are not given the full answer but given enough guidance to usefully progress’ (EEF, 2021, p. 20)

Class

• Teachers aim to assess learning in lessons through whole-class learning checks or ‘walking the room’. If misconceptions affect a large proportion, teachers will provide whole-class feedback or re-teach the content.

For Key Assessment Tasks, feedback (in whatever form) is given at the earliest opportunity following the assessment. This is sometimes in the same lesson or sometimes up to a week later.

Principle 3:

Plan for how pupils receive and use feedback

Exemplification • Careful thought should be given to how pupils receive feedback. Pupil motivation, self-confidence, their trust in the teacher, and their capacity to receive information can impact feedback’s effectiveness. Teachers should, therefore, implement strategies that encourage learners to welcome feedback, and should monitor whether pupils are using it.

• Teachers should also provide opportunities for pupils to use feedback.

Only then will the feedback loop be closed so that pupil learning can progress.

What this looks like at Windsor Academy Trust

These ideas are taken from the EEF’s 2021 report with the aim of preparing pupils for receiving feedback:

• Discuss the purpose of feedback (to emphasise that it is not critical but because there are high expectations the student can meet).

• Model the use of feedback (e.g. whole-class discussion on a student who has improved as a result of feedback and celebrating the use of effective feedback in the classroom).

• Provide clear, concise and focused feedback (less is more, so as not to overload).

• Ensure students understand the feedback given (considering carefully the language, handwriting etc to allow clear comprehension).

Providing time is essential to allowing students to use the feedback which makes it useful. Time is made for this in lessons but also each cycle has a two-week ‘Review and Re-do’ phase following summative assessment during which feedback can be given and students can act on it in order to close gaps in their learning before moving on.