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TeacherMade Autograding: Avoid Burnout and Give Meaningful Feedback

by Laura Bresko May 10, 2023

written by Laura Bresko

We all know that teacher burnout is one of the major factors amplifying teacher shortages. And teacher burnout is on the rise. In 2021, 39% reported working more hours than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Imagine what that number is today, as we work to combat the devastating learning loss our students have suffered. Can technology features like autograding help?

What is teacher burnout?

The answer to the question “what is teacher burnout” seems obvious because we know burnout when we see it. But how do you define it and even rate yourself? Using the Leichtman Scale is one helpful method.

The Leichtman Scale has four levels of associated symptoms that we all recognize in ourselves and our colleagues, excerpted here:

LEVEL 1: PASSIONATE BUT OVERWHELMED

Low feelings of self-efficacy (I’m not good enough)
Negative coping strategies (addictions, unhealthy habits)
Limited pursuit of passions or hobbies outside of work

LEVEL 2: OVERWHELMED AND BECOMING CYNICAL

High levels of stress
Quick to become irritated (at work and home)
Bringing work home and not completing it
Feeling like there is never time for friends or family
Guilt from not doing enough for students

LEVEL 3: CYNICAL AND APPROACHING EXHAUSTION

Isolation (in and out of work)
Feelings of paranoia (every school policy, program, etc., is out to get you and make your teaching day harder)
A constant feeling that school goals and your goals will not be met
A refusal to engage in professional development

LEVEL 4: COMPLETE EXHAUSTION AND BREAKDOWN

Feelings of exhaustion every day (including holidays and summer)
Drastic increase in sick days/mental health days
Lack of optimism for career and personal life
Unusually frequent physical symptoms (cold/flu, stress-related illnesses, hospitalizations)

Where are you on the Leichtman Scale? If you’ve been sharing with others that you feel burned out, you’ve likely been advised by them to take some time off, make more time for enjoyable activities, spend more time with your family… do you see a common theme here? TIME!

How can teachers win back time?

Educators need time away from their job to recharge and start each day fresh. But teachers often bring their workload home because there isn’t enough time in their day to complete all of the tasks their job demands. So what’s a solution? How would your level of burnout change if you didn’t have to grade the mountain of student work on your desk? And would your level of burnout subside?

Here’s a letter TeacherMade recently received from Sandra M., a 5th grade teacher:

“I just wanted to tell you that because of TeacherMade, I have my weekends back. I have spent many hours over the past year making activities for my students, and it is finally paying off. I get much more grading done during the week, and I don’t have much to grade on the weekends. If I do grade on the weekends, I spend between 30 minutes and an hour. This is a huge change from the 10-12 hours I would spend every weekend before I began using TeacherMade.”

Sandra has found that using the platform has given her back her weekends. That’s a huge start for combating burnout. How did she do it? She made an investment of time to convert her paper-based materials to digital interactives in TeacherMade. Let’s explore how it’s done.

Five Big Wins with TeacherMade Autograding

1. Quickly and easily upload your assignment files for autograding.

You may have experimented with Google Forms in the past. It was easy enough to type up your multiple-choice assignment and send it to your students via Google Classroom. But then you realized that you would have to do that for every assignment if you wanted to go fully digital.

TeacherMade solves that. “Once you have your PDF, Google Doc, Word Doc, or even a scanned document on your computer, you can easily upload it to TeacherMade and make it digital for your students to use,” explains 8th grade ELA teacher Melissa P. You can quickly add multiple question types to the online assignments. It’s similar to how you add an element to a PowerPoint slide.

Upload of Create a New Augograded Activity — Upload or create a new autograded activity. TeacherMade supports a variety of file types.

Example of an Autograded Assignment TeacherMade — Example of an autograded assignment in TeacherMade.

2. Load in an answer key to autograde some or all of an assignment.

Are you loading up your giant teacher bag on Friday afternoon, dreading your weekend of grading? Stop doing this, and, if you’re an instructional technology coordinator, stop letting your teachers do this to themselves. You can be a successful educator while enjoying restful weekends. Here’s how:

When you make online assignments the norm in your classroom, you will quickly gain back your nights and weekends because of autograding. As you create activities and questions, you just set your answer key and let the platform do the work for you.

With TeacherMade’s autograding, you have flexibility with grading and assessments:

Grade some or all of an assignment with autograding
Utilize over 20+ different question types (all STAAR 2.0 types available)
Leave personalized comments in areas that need them most
Change or edit the answer key before, during, or after the assignment and all student grades will automatically be updated

Image of TeacherMade Autograded Example Activity — TeacherMade autograded example activity, showing correct and incorrect answers.

Example of the “Teacher View” showing scores, submission dates, and status for the assignment.

See how our autograding works with this quick video demonstration.

3. Focus personalized comments on areas that matter most.

Here’s how middle school teacher Mariana D. handles autograding and personalized comments in her classroom:

“After your students complete the assignment on TeacherMade, you can give them immediate feedback, which is truly effortless. You won’t need to private comment in Google Classroom anymore! Commenting on Google DOCS and Slides would take me hours to do.

I’d then need to return the work, which would confuse the students. They could view their grade and work on what they did wrong with little to no redirections. Since I spent so much time grading and giving feedback on Google Classroom, I didn’t have the time for a small group to reteach. Instead, everyone would need to stop, putting us further behind.

Now with TeacherMade, I can tailor my lessons and worksheets to students’ individual needs with time to spare. The self-grading component is a game changer. It allows me to utilize the time in the classroom like never before. Students who are ready to move on can do so while I sit with the ones who need a little bit more to succeed.”

4. Increase student accountability.

When students get instant feedback and know that work will get graded, they put in more effort. This leads to:

Better parent engagement: Parents see grades show up instantly with autograding and LMS integration.
Increased personal responsibility: When students get instant feedback, they remember working through questions, and they ask more questions about what they missed.
More meaningful reteaching: Students take a more active role in reteaching when the assignment results are fresh.

Example “Student View” of progress as they work.

Example “Student View” of their score after submission.

5. Take back your nights and weekends.

Transform your teaching materials and PDFs and reduce your workload.

Easily use what you already have. Transform your existing Google Slides, Docs, and other PDFs into interactive activities in minutes. Or construct digital activities from scratch. The choice is yours.
Prevent teacher burnout with autograding. Regain your nights and weekends. 20+ question types are autograded for you. Scores flow straight into your online grade book! Even student-constructed responses are graded more easily in TeacherMade.
Measure and track what your students know. Students engage more deeply with the curriculum when they get instant feedback via the ‘Check My Answers’ button. Turn learning loss into gains.

It works. And we are anxious to help you and your team get started. There are many strategies and best practices for going digital using TeacherMade. Contact us (or any TeacherMader you may know) and we’ll show you how to add more time back into their lives, your life! Let’s combat teacher burnout together.

Get a Quote or Start a FREE Trial Today!

May 10, 2023 0 comment

Leadership Professional Learning

Five Tips for Giving Constructive Feedback

by Emily Horn March 2, 2023

written by Emily Horn

Feedback is essential for improvement, regardless of age, profession, or skill level. But many in leadership avoid giving constructive feedback or simply focus on the positive. Why is that? There’s no doubt that giving feedback can sometimes make for a difficult or uncomfortable conversation, depending on what needs to be addressed. But as a leader, if you’ve built relationships with staff based on trust, respect, and empathy, there is nothing to fear in giving or receiving constructive criticism or feedback, as long as it’s truly constructive; but this means everyone on the team must be on the same page with the definition and purpose of feedback and learn how to both give and receive it.

Feedback helps individuals and the organization as a whole improve and grow. In fact, in my opinion, one of the most caring things that can be done by a leader or peer is to offer honest, constructive feedback! When an organization’s culture promotes telling the truth with kindness, everyone can assume good intentions. However, the method of delivery and the content of the feedback is still important to ensure the message is well-received.

What Is Constructive Feedback?

Feedback isn’t the same thing as praise or criticism, and there are many ways in which feedback has been categorized and defined. As far as constructive feedback goes, this is a conversation during which work-related weaknesses or behaviors are discussed with a peer or employee for the purpose of growth, improvement, and positive change. Constructive feedback can be given between peers, from an employee to a supervisor, or from a supervisor to an employee. But how in the world do you deliver constructive feedback in a positive, helpful way? Let’s take a look at a few tips.

1. Schedule a face-to-face conversation.

So many things can be misconstrued in writing! We can’t see facial expressions, hear a tone of voice, or read body language through written text. Phone calls offer us verbal expression and tone of voice, but they still leave out facial expression and body language. This means written and phone feedback can potentially come across differently than intended. Plan to deliver and discuss constructive feedback in person rather than sending an email, written message, text message, or calling on the phone. This will ensure you’re intent is clear, and you also have the opportunity to correct any misunderstanding in real-time.

2. Be clear, specific, and compassionate.

Harvard Business School Online‘s Business Insights suggests the following:

Be direct and speak to the issue you want to coach them on.

Identify a specific behavior, rather than speak in generalities.

State the impact of that problematic behavior and connect it to the consequences.

Share specifics around who was affected and the impact the recipient’s actions had not just on the organization but on their own career.

“The more clear and specific you are, the less room there is for the feedback recipient to misinterpret your advice,” they shared. And showing compassion for the person you’re speaking to, as well as to those who may have been affected or impacted, is crucial. This will take some intentional planning prior to the meeting. As a school leader, before I’d meet with teachers for constructive feedback, I would create a short outline, type out what I wanted to say for each point, and read over it a few times. This helped prepare me for the conversation and, sometimes, calmed my nerves!

3. Ask questions and listen carefully.

Speaking of two-way conversations, it’s important for constructive feedback conversations to be collaborative and include the recipient. No one likes a lecture! Try not to make assumptions about employees’ behaviors or why they are doing something. Ask them questions and assume good intentions. Then, the conversation becomes a dialogue where they share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings, and you can add to them or redirect accordingly.

The reasons behind certain behaviors might just surprise you, and their answers might lead to something (or someone) else that needs to be addressed. It also might reveal that the employee needs support in some way. Not making assumptions and asking questions to dig deeper into the ”why” leaves room for the individual to actually share what’s going on. Then you can ask, “What are some potential solutions?” etc. Now you’re collaborating with the individual in their own constructive feedback by encouraging their self-awareness, ownership, and involvement.

4. Discuss next steps.

Once you’ve discussed the constructive feedback and brainstormed ways to improve, talk about the plan for how to get from point A to point B. Identifying and addressing what isn’t working or what needs to change and discussing potential solutions is necessary. But it’s also essential to lay out a plan of action for implementing the solution, define roles in the process, and clarify the expected outcome. How exactly will the improvement be observed or measured? Will the employee be doing check-ins with you on this? Will they be working with a coach for a period of time? When the meeting is over, what’s next for you, and what’s next for the employee?

5. Express confidence in the recipient.

This is so important. Reiterating your belief in the capabilities of and the ability of the employee to improve is vital and can go a long way. This encouragement and confidence can truly lift an individual up. Leaving with your constructive feedback, support, and faith in their ability to improve and grow is powerful. What can this look like?

One Brief Example

Person #1: “I’ve noticed that you’ve frequently been late to your recess duties, and several of your colleagues have had to stay late and miss part of their break to cover until you arrive. I really want you to have great relationships with colleagues and for your students to get their much-needed recess time. What’s going on?”

Person #2: “Well, I’ve been struggling with restroom times before recess, and it’s making us late. It’s been difficult to get the students in and out in a timely manner, and lining up has been a challenge. I know I’ve been late, and I feel really bad about it!”

Person #1: “I understand, and thank you for letting me know what’s happening in the restrooms. Do you have any ideas for how things could run smoother?”

[Discuss ideas, brainstorm, and outline a potential solution together]

Person #1: “Great! Ok, so it seems you have some new restroom protocols that could work. Do you want to give them a try starting next Monday, and we can check in on Friday to see how it’s going?”

Person #2: “Yes, that sounds good!”

Person #1: “Ok, let’s plan on that. I’ve seen you make really positive changes to how you’re managing student behavior in your reading small groups with classroom procedures and protocols. You’ve really done a great job with that. I am confident that you’ll implement a workable solution for restroom time, and I appreciate your coming to meet with me about it. I’m here to support you, so if you need anything next week while you’re starting to implement the new restroom protocols, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll set up a follow-up meeting for next Friday.”

This is just one scenario, but you can see how the person in the supervisory role was direct with the problem, the impact of the problem, and what they would like to see happening. They asked the employee a question to give the opportunity to offer insight and explain their perspective, experience, and situation. Then, both people involved discussed solutions together. The “supervisor” outlined specific next steps, expressed confidence by giving a specific example, and offered support in the process.

Initially, as a school leader having these types of conversations put a knot in my stomach! But over time and with practice, giving and receiving constructive feedback became easier. And seeing the positive outcomes and growth, both in myself and in others, made these discussions invaluable. For everyone in a school or organization to improve and grow, addressing areas for growth and improvement directly with kindness and clarity is an absolute necessity.

March 2, 2023 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

How to Give Instant Feedback with Google Forms

by Mesha Daniel December 8, 2022

written by Mesha Daniel

Feedback. We all want it and need it in order to better our craft and refine our skills. Sometimes, as teachers, we lose sight of the importance of instant feedback for our students, which dilutes the relevancy of some of their learning opportunities.

The Timing of Feedback Matters

Think about your life as a teacher. Go back to a time when your classroom door opened, and an administrator walked in, pen and pad in hand. You were having a walkthrough, or maybe even an evaluation. You were nervous. Well, everyone gets nervous when the boss is watching, right? You completed your lesson, and you felt pretty good about what you’d done. But when you turn around, the administrator had already walked out. There was no note, no smile, not even a goodbye.

The nerves return as your mind begins to create stories in your head of what your administrator might be thinking. “Did I do ok? Did I say the right thing?” You second-guess yourself and wonder when you will know exactly how you did. You check your email every hour for the rest of the day and the day after that. By the third day, you have completely forgotten that you even had a walkthrough, and direct your focus only on your class. A couple of days later, an email comes in, stating you have a new walkthrough to view. “Oh yeah,” you tell yourself, “I forgot about that walkthrough.” You open up the email to discover you did just fine, and you close the email and get back to work. Did you even look at the notes that the admin wrote about your walkthrough? Probably not, because it was a while ago now, and it doesn’t matter that much anymore.

Do you think our students go through the same type of scenario? Do you think they are interested to see how they did on a quiz or an assignment? The answer to both is yes. Study after study has found that any type of instant feedback is much more powerful than awesome, excellent, delayed feedback. The power of instant feedback can turn a student’s trajectory 180 degrees with just a few simple words.

Google Forms and Instant Feedback

Now, instant feedback is not giving back a quiz or assignment on Monday that was turned in Friday afternoon. There were probably over 100 events that happened to that student on Saturday, and the same for Sunday. When Monday rolls around, they receive their work back with all of your wonderful comments on it, and those comments mean hardly anything to them because it was so long ago. We need to give instant feedback, and Google Forms can help us. Take a look at an example quiz, and let’s go through the steps for creating your own.

***Check out an example Google Form with instant feedback!***

1. Open your Google Drive and create a Google Form.

First of all, you need to have a new Google Form opened up and ready to go. So, how do you start your day? You drive to work. Open up your Google Drive, click “New” in the top left, and scroll down to choose “Google Forms” from the list.

2. Name your form and make it a quiz.

Now, you have a brand new Google Form open, and you’re ready to make something awesome! After you name your form, go up to the “Settings” tab.

You are going to want to make this Google Form a quiz, so turn on the setting, “Make this a quiz.”

3. Add questions to your quiz.

Let’s add the questions to our quiz, and determine what type of feedback we will provide for the answers the students choose. First, click on the “Questions” tab.

Now, we will start with the first question. I recommend that questions 1 and 2 ask for the first name and last name of your students. Notice that Google automatically chooses the short answer question type, but you will need to click on the “Answer key” to make a couple of changes.

Change the point value to zero on both of the name questions. You don’t want these marked incorrect!

Now you’re ready to add your questions. Remember, to add a new question, just click the plus sign in the floating menu on the right.

4. Mark the correct answer and add point values for each question.

After you’ve added all your question and answer choices, you’re ready to choose the correct answer for each question and add point values. To choose the correct answer, click on “Answer key” in the bottom left of the question box.

Add your point value, and choose the correct answer.

5. Add feedback for incorrect and correct answers.

Once you’ve selected the correct answer and added the points value, click the “Add answer feedback” button in the lower left corner. A pop-up window will appear, asking for you to add feedback for incorrect answers, correct answers, or both. You can type whatever you would like in the feedback window.

6. Add resources to your feedback!

But, did you notice? You can also add links and videos to your feedback as well! Maybe you would like students to review a video on your concept since they missed the question, or you want to give kudos when students get questions correct. The choice is yours! Plus, you can add as many links or videos as you like. Feedback is powerful, so use it wisely with your students!

Giving Feedback Through Branching Answers

Another great way you can add feedback is by branching answers. This means that in Google Forms, you can set up sections with feedback for each question and send students to a specific section based on their answers.

Let’s look at the question from earlier. If I click on the three dots in the lower right corner of the question, there is an option to “Go to section based on answer.”

In order to use this feature, you’ll need to add sections to your quiz – a correct answer section and an incorrect section for each question.

To add sections to your form, in the form menu on the right side of the page, click on the icon that looks like an equal sign.

I named the section “Correct Answer,” and right below, I can add my feedback to students. I click the equal sign again, and name that new section “Incorrect Answer.” And I can add links. Amazing!

Now that I have two sections in my Google Form with my feedback added based on the correct or incorrect answer to the question, I can go back to my question and map it. Click on the 3 dots in the lower right corner of the question, and choose “Go to section based on answer.”

Click on the disclosure arrow to the right of “Continue to next section” to choose where the student will go next based on the answer choice.

If the student got the answer correct, you will send them to the “Correct Answer” section. If they got the answer incorrect, you would send them to the “Incorrect Answer” section for feedback.

Google Forms is so much more than just a way to make a survey. Take advantage of all of the wonderful tools that Google Forms has to offer you and your students – like giving immediate feedback to impact learning. Do you have any special ways you’re currently using Google Forms? Leave a comment to tell us about it.

Mesha is a TCEA 2023 presenter! If you’re into all things Google, check out her sessions to get even more great information. Pricing goes up on January 10, so register soon to get the discount!

REGISTER FOR TCEA23!

December 8, 2022 0 comment

Educational Research Educational Trends Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Good Teaching

Shifting from Deficit Thinking to Asset-Based Feedback

by Connie Hamilton November 17, 2022

written by Connie Hamilton

What is asset-based feedback and why does it matter? Our brains are inclined to notice deficiencies, negativity, or areas that need improvement before strengths, positivity, or success. This means that your encouraging feedback might be based on where students are unsuccessful; this is linked to deficit thinking. Let’s dig into how we can shift our feedback from focusing on what students “can’t” do yet to leveraging what they “can” do, through asset-based thinking.

What Is Negativity Bias?

Our brains are designed to notice negative information more quickly and intensely than positive information. Scientists connect this favor for negativity all the way back to cave-dwelling days. You have probably heard of the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response that instinctively kicks in when danger is sensed. These involuntary reactions to fear present in the form of physiological changes your brain triggers before you can even process what is happening.

In today’s day, we don’t encounter sabertooth tigers, but any type of threat, even social and emotional ones, can trigger these responses. So, by design, we’re wired to prioritize negative situations over positive ones. Overall, this is very helpful to our survival. Imagine if our ancestors were distracted by a beautiful sunset when faced with a predator. The precious time redirecting attention to the danger, then determining what to do, could be fatal.

This basic structure of how our bodies work carries over into much less threatening circumstances. The term used to describe our attention to “what’s wrong?” is called negativity bias.

What Is Deficit Thinking?

When problems consistently hone in on barriers and challenges students face, we call this deficit thinking. Surface-level understanding of powerful efforts such as using a growth mindset is revealed when the encouragement we offer students is rooted in their deficits.

In terms of the classroom, negativity bias might be noticed in the form of paying more attention to students who are off task, looking for errors in student work, and focusing exclusively on what students need. Certainly, these things should not be ignored – and neither should students who are focused, successful in student work, and possess unique gifts, talents, and experiences.

The existential philosopher and poet Criss Jami, said, “One who enjoys finding errors will then start creating errors to find.” Naming disadvantages or areas of weakness emphasizes them. Let’s harness our ability to notice by turning our attention to what students can do as the foundation for feedback.

Think about how many structures exist in education that call our attention to deficits. Needs assessments, intervention systems, and the like have the specific purpose of finding, analyzing, and fixing what students can’t do yet. Please do not overgeneralize formative assessments and structures that provide support for student success as negative. They aren’t.

Let me be clear, it is necessary to define problems in order to solve them. Eliminating needs assessments or intervention systems would not only go against oodles of research, but it would only make educators’ jobs more challenging.

What Is Asset-Based Feedback?

We can think of asset-based thinking as a member of the positive thinking family. However, it’s not a foolishly optimistic take on anything and everything. It is a conscious effort to seek knowledge or experiences that students have to tap into to get a running start on learning. It requires an awareness of what knowledge or understanding students need to have while simultaneously connecting those needs with an asset or strength the student already has. It’s the explicit connection between the asset and the need that makes asset-based feedback different from a feedback sandwich.

A feedback sandwich starts with a compliment, then highlights an area in need of improvement, then closes with another compliment. While it feels nice to hear two praise statements, if the compliment isn’t directly related to the need, it’s not much good for the learner in regard to using strengths as assets.

How Do We Shift to Asset-Based Feedback?

That said, we have a superpower we can include in efforts to boost student learning. It includes the assets students have to make connections and build on success. We can make more progress if we begin with strengths rather than fill in the holes of failure.

In the book, “Amply Learner Voice,” coming this winter, a side-by-side comparison of two versions of similar feedback is offered in the table below. Column one lists feedback a teacher might use to encourage their students, but through deficit thinking. The same message, simply shifted to focusing on students’ assets is offered in the corresponding row in column two.

Chart with examples of moving from deficit thinking to asset-based feedback.

Start Student Learning “Above Ground”

It feels very different when learning begins in the hole, in other words, a deficit, versus setting the starting point above ground by highlighting what the student can already do that will be helpful in their current learning situation. Encouraging students to activate their strengths will not only empower them to support their own learning, but when students see that you recognize their strong points, they will know they are seen and honored by their teacher.

Want to learn more from Connie? Don’t miss her sessions at TCEA 2023! She’ll be discussing how anxiety impacts learning and how love languages can impact communication. Interested? Sign up before January 10 for discounted pricing!

November 17, 2022 0 comment

Infographic of the 9 tips for giving great feedback from the article.

Communication CTO/CIO Instructional Coaching Leadership

Nine Tips for Giving Great Feedback to Employees

by Dr. Bruce Ellis October 20, 2022

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

There are several ways to give great feedback to your employees, and the right kind can go a long way toward boosting morale. It’s true that morale is a key component of employee engagement, as it reflects a person’s overall attitude towards work, including their level of satisfaction and confidence in their work environment. Good morale is also associated with high productivity, as employees are motivated to do their best. Employees will be more productive and efficient if they feel valued and respected, and these feelings can come if employees are given good feedback often. Let’s look at some helpful tips for giving feedback– both positive and constructive– that will boost morale.

1. Give positive feedback frequently.

This helps to ensure there’s no recency bias. According to a recent study, 82% of employees who receive weekly one-on-ones feel they get the support they need while 66% of employees who receive less frequent meetings report feeling supported. To make the most of this type of feedback, managers must frequently communicate with their direct reports and teams.

2. Relate it to the specific tasks and behavior.

Don’t give feedback that repeats common knowledge. Relate it directly to the observable work and performance of the employee. Accompany it with concrete examples of the behavior that you want to see from the employee, and give constructive feedback with empathy. Similarly, being specific and giving examples with your positive feedback shows you value employees and pay attention.

3. Keep constructive feedback short and targeted.

If it is too long, vague, or ambiguous, employees may not understand it. Feedback should be straightforward and targeted to specific goals. Provide information on what you’ve observed, and write down examples to help employees understand your feedback and give examples of your own success with a particular task, project, or initiative.

4. Give feedback soon after observing.

Employees need to know what they did and how it relates to the expectation in order to prevent any future incidents (if constructive) or to continue with a behavior (if positive). When giving constructive feedback, don’t wait for weeks. Instead, provide feedback right away. This will help reduce the likelihood of any future problems.

5. Focus on the present and the future.

For example, if an employee consistently misses deadlines, you must determine why and how to prevent missed deadlines in the future. Perhaps you can delegate tasks or break down milestones into smaller steps. Generating a plan of action in collaboration with the employee can help set them up for success and ensure they feel supported along the way.

6. Convey your support and enthusiasm for continued development.

Whether you’re providing positive or constructive feedback, make sure to focus on specifically what you would like to address. Then, reiterate your support and desire for your employee’s success. If they’ve grown, show that you’ve taken notice of the growth and highlight it. If there’s an area of growth being addressed, express your confidence in their growth.

7. Balance the positive and the negative.

Before giving feedback to employees, it is necessary to identify the performance areas and balance positive and constructive feedback. Make notes on the order of your feedback so that you will have an easy time structuring it or use an employee evaluation form to keep it focused.

8. Be genuine and sincere.

When giving great feedback to your employees, make it genuine and be empathetic. It’s important to avoid over-praising because it sounds hollow and lacks constructive value. Avoid giving praise for everyday activities. Save such praise for real victories. This way, they’ll feel seen and it will act as reinforcement for successful behaviors.

9. Build a culture of feedback.

In order to build a culture of giving great feedback to your employees, you must give your staff ample opportunities to give and receive it. These conversations are essential for fostering open communication and a culture of openness. Employees need to feel comfortable sharing ideas and opinions, and they need to feel appreciated for doing so. Although giving feedback is not always easy, it will go a long way in promoting an open atmosphere.

To create a culture of feedback, ensure that everyone is aware of the importance of the practice. Employee engagement is an important component of organizational success, and an engaged workforce is more efficient and loyal. According to McKinsey Global Institute, employees who are engaged in their work are between 15 and 20% more productive than those who are disengaged. In fact, teams that are highly engaged in their work are 21% more productive.

It is also important to ensure that the process of giving feedback is seamless for all employees. Employees should feel comfortable giving and receiving it, and this process should be seamless and easy for them to follow. It also helps to have a feedback checkpoint to ensure that the process is followed correctly. By establishing these guidelines, you will be able to create a culture of giving great feedback to employees that is both fair and effective.

Have you experienced a time when you received feedback from a supervisor that was helpful and positive? What did the supervisor do to make it such? Drop a line in the comments to let us know.

October 20, 2022 0 comment

Educational Research Good Teaching

Peer Feedback: An Essential Skill to Teach

by Dr. Bruce Ellis September 13, 2021

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

It is important for students to receive valuable feedback on their work. Typically as educators, we assume full responsibility for this and become the sole distributor of feedback in our classrooms. But developing students’ ability to give peer feedback is a much-needed skill. Even though we may have modeled how to provide good feedback, that doesn’t necessarily translate to students having the skills to give that same quality feedback to their peers.

I found this out the hard way when I was a classroom teacher. I asked my students to get with a partner and share feedback on a writing prompt assignment. Consequently, I almost needed to call in the counselor to do therapy for my students because their partners were brutally honest, sharing that this was the worst writing they’ve ever seen. That day I was reminded that even third graders can give honest but cruel feedback unless taught how to say it constructively.

One of my favorite videos that deals with feedback is Austin’s Butterfly. It’s a true story told by Ron Berger. In this story, first graders learn to give constructive and helpful feedback to each other as they work on an art project that they want to submit to their state for a postcard. NOTE: These are typical first graders. They’re not descendants or protégées of van Gogh, Monet, Kahlo, or Cezanne. As you watch the video, think of how the same process could be tweaked and used with your students. Also, it might be helpful for you to show the video as you start talking with your students about giving quality feedback.

Feedback: What It Is and Isn’t

If we’re not careful, we can assume that everybody has a shared understanding of the definition of feedback. Marzano noted in his research that knowing the critical attributes of something is essential to understand the topic, concept, or skill better. Dictionary.com defines feedback as “a reaction or response to a particular process or activity.” Dr. Valerie Shute brings the definition more into focus by noting that feedback is the “information communicated to the learner that is intended to modify his or her thinking or behavior for the purpose of improving learning.” Wow! That’s exactly what we want when we give feedback: to cause a change in students’ thinking or behavior so that they improve their mastery of the skill or concept we are teaching.

So, for our purposes, feedback isn’t sharing our opinion about their work. Feedback is not saying something like “Good job!” or “Great work!” These types of statements don’t strengthen any particular skill, nor do they offer corrective insight to consider.

Here are a few ideas to help you and your students develop the skill of giving quality feedback. And, as with any skill, we want to consider going from concrete to abstract in our scaffolding. For most, if not all, of your students, this will be a skill they have not been taught before. We will be using the example of giving peer feedback on a piece of writing. But you may find it helpful to tweak these activities for providing feedback on student products, presentations, or other assignments.

Activity #1: Identifying Helpful and Unhelpful Feedback

In this first activity, you will begin by working with your students in a whole group setting. Start by asking students what “feedback” means to them. What is it? What is it not? Ask students to share a time when they received helpful or meaningful feedback. What was the feedback and how did it help them? Ask for non-examples where they received “feedback” that was confusing, didn’t help them, or wasn’t specific. Following this, share Dr. Shute’s definition of feedback above.

Ask students to work with a partner to translate Dr. Shute’s definition into what could be used in your grade level. Then, they will draw a picture of what feedback is and isn’t. Refer to the image to the right as an example layout.

For the next part of this activity, you will need a sample text for which students will provide feedback. I recommend that you write it yourself. You will need to make sure there are some errors for students to catch so that they can practice crafting feedback to share with the class. If you need help priming the pump for sample documents to use, consider choosing one from these:

Once you have given them the document to read and review, give them a few minutes to discuss the writing with their partner or table group. If the piece of writing comes with a rubric, then create some example feedback cards in advance based on the rubric. If not, create your own feedback cards to use as examples. Depending on how many cards you have, you can call on a group, a partner team, or an individual.

Some sample cards might say something like:

I can’t follow the writer’s thinking.
Good use of adjectives when describing the animals
The handwriting is terrible!
Each sentence should begin with a capital letter and end with punctuation.
Be careful not to start multiple sentences in a row with filler words such as “and” or “then.”

If needed, you can download the Sample Feedback Cards document and edit the cards. There should be some examples of valuable feedback and examples of unhelpful feedback in the mix.

Randomly select one of the example cards and call on a group, team, or individual. Then, read the card aloud and ask if it is quality feedback or not. If it is not quality, ask students for suggestions on making it more meaningful and focused.

If you would like to learn how the feedback you the teacher provide to students can be improved, check out our online, self-paced course Assessment-Based Feedback Tools. You’ll get more practice in providing effective feedback and learn some new ways to use technology in the process.

Activity #2: Practicing Peer Feedback Together

For this activity, you will need a rubric and a piece of writing for the students to evaluate. If you want them to evaluate a product, such as a diorama, a model, etc., then have a sample for them to review. If you want them to give feedback on a presentation, see if you can find a video on YouTube or Twitter for the review. Here is a sample of a student rapping her presentation. Here is another example of a young student giving a speech on why kids should have an hour for recess. For variety, here is a group presentation on a fictional company they are marketing.

After reading the writing, looking at the product, or watching the presentation, ask students to give feedback based on the rubric. In this activity, they can only give feedback based on the criteria identified in the rubric. When a student gives feedback, ask for a show of hands for who agrees and disagrees with the feedback. Ask them to justify their agreement or disagreement. After discussion and practice, ask the students to use the rubric to score the document. Scoring might be easier if done in pairs or small groups. Once finished, ask each pair or group to share a piece of feedback that is not included in the rubric, but would be helpful to the author to make their work better.

Activity #3: Practicing Peer Feedback Independently

comment message when video moderation is enabled — Screenshot by author

This is where the rubber meets the road and students start giving real feedback to each other. We want to ensure that students understand how to give quality feedback, but in order to do so, they need actual practice. This activity gives them the opportunity. You will use Flipgrid to set up a Topic in which students record their work. If it is a writing assignment, have students do a screencast to record themselves reading their writing aloud. Because this isn’t a reading fluency test, allow students to ask others to read their work as a “guest narrator.” Feedback isn’t to be given on the reading of the piece, but only on the writing, and I suggest providing a rubric for the students to use to keep them on track.

After recording or uploading their videos, ask students to choose three peers to whom they will provide feedback. Subsequently, they will respond via video based on the rubric. For this, make sure that you turn on moderation of videos and comments. This allows you to approve responses before students hear them, just in case someone provides hurtful or unhelpful feedback. If a student offers feedback that isn’t helpful, you can use it as a teachable moment. Help them think of how they can say their comment (assuming it is a good comment but poorly expressed) so that the author has a clear understanding of how to improve their writing. It may be helpful to post the THINK poster (download as PDF or PNG file) around your room or in the recording area to remind students of best practices when giving feedback.

Once you have reviewed and moderated the comments, bring the lesson back to the whole class and identify a few students who did well at giving feedback. Ask the receiver of the feedback how it made them feel.

You may have to do these exercises a few times for the concept to sink in with your students. Encourage them to look for other times to practice giving feedback to others. It could be at the grocery store, at the restaurant, or even in the lunchroom. Generally, we all want to benefit from constructive and helpful feedback.

If you want to learn more about feedback, check out these other TCEA blogs on the topic. Then share with us in the comments how you help your students grow in giving feedback to others. And, if you have a humorous story about feedback, we are always up for a good chuckle.

September 13, 2021 0 comment

CTO/CIO Leadership

Feedback Is Dead; Long Live Feedforward!

by Dr. Bruce Ellis March 4, 2021

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Regardless of the time of year, your staff will benefit from positive, relevant input to help them be more successful. One way of doing that is by adding the use of feedforward to your managerial strategies. Providing feedforward can be especially helpful if you have staff that need more confidence, haven’t shown great improvement with current feedback, or may associate their understanding of feedback more with criticism. Let’s first review good feedback before touching on feedforward so you can more easily see the difference.

Effective Feedback

Feedback focuses on the outcome of past performance. There are eight factors that go in to making feedback effective for employee growth and satisfaction. Though you don’t have to include all eight in each feedback you give, the more you include will enhance the ability of the receiver to accept the feedback and implement the recommendations. Below is a chart showing the factor along with a brief description. One silly sentence to help you remember these eight factors is by using the mnemonic device: Tigers Create Schedules After Donkeys Give Ticklish Unicorns.

Timely	Feedback is most effective when it happens soonest to the event that it is related to.
Constructive	Feedback is most effective when it is couched in a constructive and positive tone.
Sensitive to the Receiver	Feedback is most effective when it takes into account characteristics of the person receiving the feedback.
Actionable	Feedback is most effective when it includes a clear call to action that the receiver can act upon.
Descriptive	Feedback is most effective when it includes enough details so that the receiver understands what is (and isn’t) the area of focus.
Goal-oriented	Feedback is most effective when there is a targeted goal in which the receiver can align his/her efforts to to help self evaluate once he/she starts taking action.
Tangible	Feedback is most effective when the information is clear and understandable. Avoid being conceptual, illusive, or evasive in your message to the receiver.
User-friendly	Feedback is most effective when it is in a form that is easily understandable and, preferably, also in written form so that the user can review it later.

What Is Feedforward?

Unlock employee potential by providing feedforward.

Unlike feedback, which focuses on past outcomes, feedforward focuses on future inputs. The concept of feedforward, developed by executive coaching guru Marshall Goldsmith, seeks to help managers and the like overcome limiting beliefs and behaviors to achieve greater success. The feedforward strategy is helpful for just-in-time moments as well as for performance reviews. The three basics of feedforward include the following:

Reinforce what is working. Start the feedforward session highlighting what is working well. Identify and share about an area of the employee’s work that is achieving, if not surpassing, expectations. Sometimes these areas may not receive any attention and the employee may question if these successful areas are even noticed or appreciated.

Coach to the future (don’t criticize the past). Like a great sports coach, be solution oriented. Share and brainstorm solutions of how to get to the desired goals. Of course, this assumes the employee understands the goal(s) whether they are provided for him or whether he has identified them for himself. If the goal you are coaching for is unclear, you may need to highlight the goal and have a side conversation with the employee so he not only understands it, but why the goal is important (and achievable).

Be task focused. When the information is task focused, employees are more likely to feel they have control. Many times employees have received feedback that is not task oriented but more about personality or the person. You may have experienced that yourself and felt more attacked than supported.

Additional Resources

Here are some additional resources that cover a variety of areas, not just ones for education. Reviewing these resources will help round out your understanding of feedforward well beyond what this post has provided. You will find that this topic is actually very rich with information and relevant to your area of work whether you are a CEO, the head of a curriculum department, manage the business department, or the principal on a campus.

If you aren’t sure how to jump in to providing feedforward, then refer to the PDF (linked above). Use the partner activity to allow your staff to give feedforward to each other. This can be helpful for them to hear from each other (assuming they understand the other person’s role) and allow them to experience it in a non-threatening way prior to you giving feedforward from a supervisor role.

So, if you find yourself fed up with feedback, then try providing feedforward for the win. I think your staff and you will find it a refreshing difference. And it might just be the difference that helps your team get to the next level of performance, the level you want, but they don’t believe is possible. Who knows, you might be the boss whose feedforward turns your so-so employees into stellar employees!

March 4, 2021 0 comment

Educational Research Web 2.0 Tool

Assessment-Based Feedback Tool: Blooket

by Miguel Guhlin February 15, 2021

written by Miguel Guhlin

By now, most of you have tried Kahoot!, Quizlet, Quizziz, and many others. These tools work as game-based student response systems that provide you with formative assessment options. The teacher creates a free account and then can design quizzes with embedded images and video or use one of the many pre-created assessments. Students rely on an internet-connected device to respond, earning points as they score.

All of these assessment tools and many others such as Knowt offer teachers and students a way to engage in practice testing. They also provide pre-assessment and post-assessment data for instructional coaching. In this blog entry, I’ll introduce you to yet another formative assessment tool you may be unaware of.

First, though, let’s review some of the scientifically-based research around two key concepts: practice testing and assessment-based feedback.

Digging into the Research

As you already know, “formative assessment [serves] as a way to improve the caliber of still-underway instructional activities.” Contrast formative assessment with summative assessment. The latter is “a way to determine the effectiveness of already-completed instructional activities” (source: ASCD). A deeper definition of formative assessment appears below:

Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.

Formative assessment has distinguishing features that include it being:

A process rather than a single event
A tool useful to both teachers and students
A source of assessment-based feedback to both teachers and students

As you may already know from TCEA TechNotes blog entries on feedback (d=0.64), assessment-based feedback must do the following:

Focus on the task or product, identifying whether it is correct/incorrect or provide suggestions for improvement
Provide information about processes students go through to perform a task or develop a product
Give insight into students’ ability to self-monitor and direct their learning through goal setting, self-assessments, and identifying next steps

What are some digital tools that can provide feedback insights to task or product? In addition to formative assessments, what are some ways student learning can be improved? Practice testing (d=0.46) is one approach. Practice testing is also known as retrieval practice or test-enhanced learning.

That video will give you an overview of practice testing and Knowt. Allow me to introduce you to a new tool you can use for retrieval practice.

Introducing Blooket

Another exciting digital tool, Blooket, supports teacher and student accounts. With a free account, teachers can use Blooket to host a question set with a specific game mode. This game is displayed via screen/projector, then students compete on their own devices. Blooket tracks student progress, keeping a record of student responses. In turn, students are able to track their statistics via global a leaderboard ranking. They can also buy and sell “blooks” and avail themselves of community-wide events.

Here are some observations from teachers:

“In Blooket, you’re given 8+ different possible game modes that use the same question set. Kids can gain points in different ways in each game mode. Blooket enjoys a ‘classic’ mode that is like regular Kahoot. Kids love it because they can play a different game mode to keep it interesting.”
“Many of the games are fun and encourage classroom engagement.”
“You can play it live or assign it as homework. It has made this year so much more fun for my classes since it works with distance, hybrid, and in person students.”

As you might imagine, Blooket’s game modes offer variety. “It offers power ups and random sabotage things you can do to other players,” says another teacher. You can follow these steps to get started:

Start with a question set. You can make your own, import one, or find one.
Decide on a game mode. There are several game mode choices. Find one you like.
Host a game and allow students to play. Students use a game identification number to join the game.
Play the game. As students play the game, they answer questions that target content that has been taught in class.
Review results. Students and teachers can review the performance data to identify areas of growth.

Don’t let the blocks turn you off from using Blooket with secondary students. One high school Spanish teacher (@SenoraCMT) raves about her use of Blooket in this way:

We were reading a chapter in Kristy Placido’s Noche de oro eBook and I wanted to pre-teach some of the vocabulary. Not pre-teach… more like pre-expose! So I made a Blooket.

After playing our first Blooket, I wanted to add one for ALLLLLL the things my students were studying so I made one for my book Bianca Nieves from Fluency Matters, I made one for my Huellas 1 Future and Conditional level 3-AP unit Atrévete, and Kristy Placido made one for my Huellas 1 ART based level 3-AP unit Bajo la mesa! When my Spanish 4 group finishes reading, I’ll make one for our next Huellas 2 unit, Orangután en mi habitación. (Find out more about the Huellas Curriculum here.)

Now that we know how it works, let’s take a look at some of the available features.

A Few of Blooket’s More Recent Features

Blooket has an amazing amount of features that enhance game mode learning. Some new free features include the following:

Extend/Reopen Homework
Discover Tab Filters
Automated Group Subscriptions
Button to Set Time Limit for All Questions
Remove Students from Homework

More features are available at a cost. Those include:

Removing the 60-player limit (+ Only)
Merging Question Sets (+ Only)

Curious about what Blooket looks like? Let’s take a look at pricing before I turn you loose to watch a few videos.

Blooket’s Cost

“I do pay for Blooket premium because it allows me to duplicate sets and have more in-depth reports,” reports one teacher. Wondering how much Blooket costs? Remember, you get free access to many features such as creating and hosting question sets in a variety of game modes. The free version also comes with unlimited question sets and the ability to edit those. In the table below, you will see what else you can get if you decide to pay for it:

Look Before Leaping

Ready to see what Blooket looks like in action? Here is a quick two-minute video you can watch to get an overview. Below this video, you will find even more walkthrough videos you can take advantage of. Check out this fantastic video from Master Heebs:

Some additional videos you can look at before leaping into Blooket:

Please let me know what you think about it in the comments.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author.

February 15, 2021 5 comments

Good Teaching Google Tips and Tricks

Crafting Powerful Spoken Feedback in Google Workspace for Education

by Miguel Guhlin May 6, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

“I have been able to give personal feedback on all 85 of my kids’ work today in under 90 minutes,” says Karen Ervin. “They can hear the tone of my voice!”

“Feedback is the most powerful single modification that enhances achievement. The simplest prescription for improving education must be dollops of feedback,” says John Hattie

Our feedback efforts have relied on face-to-face instruction. What happens in remote teaching and learning situations? The inability to emote while giving feedback is frustrating. In this blog entry, we’ll discuss a new solution for voice feedback in G Suite EDU’s products. Those products include Google Docs, Google Classroom, Slides, and Sheets.

spoken feedback As you may know, John Hattie has something to say about the power of feedback.

Feedback’s effect size ranges from 0.62 in the most up-to-date meta-analyses at Visible Learning Meta X to 0.72 as shown in John Hattie’s 2009 book, Visible Learning. Of course, anything greater than 0.40 accelerates student growth in one school year.

Before we jump into digital tools, let’s pause and ask an important question: How do we ensure learners receive the feedback necessary to grow?

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Defining Feedback

Feedback in the classroom can be defined as “information allowing a learner to reduce the gap between what is evident currently and what could or should be the case.” How does YOUR feedback assist learners in getting from one level of learning to the next?

Feedback strategies are critical to learn. We have to know how to offer feedback for two main reasons:

Accelerate student learning
Encourage student ownership of their learning

There is ample research to support Hattie’s assertions regarding feedback. Let’s review some of it.

What the Research Says

Feedback does affect students’ perceptions, speed, and motivation of learning. For example:

Feedback can have a significant impact on learning, but this impact can be positive or negative depending on the type, delivery, and timing of the feedback. (Hattie and Timperley, 2007)
Effective feedback doubles the speed of learning. (Dylan William)
Feedback affects students’ motivation to learn and their perceptions about their intelligence and their ability to learn. (Black and Wiliam 1998, Butler, 1988)
Descriptive feedback is the most powerful tool for improving student learning. (John Hattie)

There is feedback that does not work. Failed feedback is evaluative (e.g. percentage marks, letter grades). It also fails when it is too frequent. It is ineffective when it focuses on the learner (including praise) rather than on the learner’s work. We know that most teacher feedback is presented to groups. Students think that such group feedback is seldom about them as an individual. Thus, their perception is that they get little feedback from their teacher.

If your feedback for students has been about praise or student focused, how do you shift to more effective feedback?

Power of Feedback: Rays of Sunshine
Words cannot express the appreciation that I have in all you have given to each parent. I am greatly appreciative of your effortless support, constant feedback, communication and making remote learning fun for [student name] and his classmates. He misses you and sends many hugs and kisses. You made his days rays of sunshine with your positive comments on all of his assignments. (Source: Note to teacher from parent during remote learning (April, 2020))

What Feedback Is

“What’s the most effective thing that comes out of my mouth that can help a student get from one level to the next and be successful?” Use that question as a guide to craft effective feedback. A teacher providing feedback is effective when two conditions are met:

When the teacher shares specific learning goals
When the teacher discusses success criteria with students

Feedback works when:

Students learn and their work improves.
Students become more motivated. They believe they can learn, they want to learn, and they take more control over their own learning.
Your classroom becomes a safe space where feedback is valued and productive.

We can provide feedback about the goals, progress, and next steps in student learning. Goals focus on the target learning objectives, include success criteria, and start where students are. Progress is made relevant to a standard, prior performance, or success/failure on a specific part of a task. Next steps center around enhanced challenges and improve self-regulation over the learning process. And next steps focus on different strategies and processes to address the task. The goal is to achieve a deeper conceptual understanding.

“Teachers, being nice people, have a lot of praise for kids who struggle. The problem with praise is that it has zero-to-negative impact on improving the task or the work. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t praise kids, because that’s the essence of a lot of relationships. But you should separate it, so when you are talking about the work, you should be talking about the work, not the person.” -John Hattie

You may find this chart useful in differentiating types of feedback. Remember, focus on task, process, and self-regulation. Use praise where it’s most effective to build relationships with students, not spur their work.

spoken feedback

Adapted from David Perkins (2003) The Ladder of Feedback and John Hattie (2014) The Power of Feedback. You can also:
Get Your Own Copy in Google Slides format

How to Structure Feedback

Wondering how to structure your feedback? Follow these guidelines:

Make sure the feedback is factual, objective, and safe.
Prioritize feedback to address the most important needs first.
Limit the feedback to two to three specific recommendations linked to the learning goal(s).
Ask a student to tell you what he thinks you are trying to say to him.
Provide elaborated feedback (describing the what, how, why) in manageable units (don’t overload).
“In light of what I have provided you, what would you best do next?”

Now that we’ve revisited key concepts of feedback, what digital tool could we use to provide it?

Note: Here are some specific links you may want to review to learn more about feedback.

Digital Audio/Annotation Tools for Spoken Feedback

One of the specific challenges we face during remote teaching is providing spoken feedback to students. We are able to record videos of student work and post them in Google Drive. This can become cumbersome for the teacher with 85 students. Tools like Microsoft OneNote and Seesaw allow for easy audio recordings so that teachers are able to leave their feedback. But how can we do the same in Google Workspace for Education?

Some digital tools you may be using now include the ones shown below. If you are not familiar with these, here’s a quick overview of each:

Kaizena: Makes it easy to save voice comments, embed explainer videos, track skills, and auto-complete rubrics.
Talk and Comment – Voice Notes anywhere:

spoken feedback

Time to welcome a newcomer to the spoken feedback scene.

Meet Mote for Voices Notes

A newcomer is the mote Chrome extension. It tries to make it easy for you to add voice note feedback for students. With mote, you can give spoken feedback within Google Docs, Google Classroom, Slides, and Sheets.

Mote describes its benefits in this way:

Create a voice note – click the mote icon in any Comment box
Edit your voice note transcript – click ‘Edit’ on any voice note card
View web page previews within Comment fields – just paste your URL
Easily add an emoji to your comments. For example, to give a thumbs up, just type :+1 (Source: Email, Will Jackson, mote)

This animated gif of mote’s new user tutorial provides a speedy summary of how to use it:

spoken feedback

Using mote is easy. Below, you’ll see what it looks like. The steps involve highlighting text, clicking the Add Comment button, then using mote to record your spoken feedback.

spoken feedback

Learning how to give feedback remains of paramount importance. Affect, as much as the content of your feedback, communicates emotion in many ways. Mote makes that easy.

May 6, 2020 5 comments

Educational Trends Good Teaching

Generating Useful Feedback with Digital Survey Tools

by Andrew Roush June 3, 2019

written by Andrew Roush

Polls and surveys are useful methods for gathering information about your students, tracking progress, and using that feedback to form lesson plans and assessments. With the latest digital survey tools, you can gather that information more accurately and more quickly. It might even be fun, if you pick the right tool. Happily, there are many to choose from.

As Bryn Mawr College puts it:

Gone are the days of raising hands, putting thumbs up or down, or holding up a number of fingers to get an idea as to what a collective group of people is thinking. With the emergence of new polling tools, hands and fingers have been replaced with smartphones and tablets.

Let’s explore five tech tools to take your polling, surveys, presentations, and assessments to a new level.

Polling and Survey Tools

Plickers: Combining cards and technology, Plickers is an app and set of cards students can hold up to respond to prompts while the teacher scans the cards, like a QR code, generating real-time responses. Students can keep their personal devices stowed, since the app scans their card. Imagine it as a cross between a paper placard and the traditional “clicker.” Or better yet, check out this inventive system in the video below from ed tech YouTuber Tech in 2.

AnswerGarden: Calling itself a “minimalistic feedback tool,” AnswerGarden allows users to simply create a question, share it, and views the results as a word cloud. The simplicity and free-form answers make it an easy-to-use, highly flexible survey tool. It even got a shout-out from the New Learning Times, a publication of the EdLab at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Crowdsignal: More than just surveys, Crowdsignal includes the ability to create custom-designed polls, ratings, and quizzes, too. Paid plans offer even more features (education and nonprofit organizations can get 10% off plan pricing), but free accounts also provide a powerful way to interact and garner feedback from students, in and out of the classroom.

Micropoll: Another straightforward, customizable, and free tool, Micropoll makes it easy to create shared polls, as well as watch response trends over time, share and syndicate your polls, and even track responses geographically.

Mentimeter: Designed to help create top-notch presentations, Mentimeter is a BYOD solution that allows your audience (or students) to give real-time feedback from their devices. There’s a free version, and Mentimeter even showcases a variety of different quiz, poll, and word cloud templates.

Poll Maker: No signing up, no pricing plans, and an easy and intuitive interface make Poll Maker an obvious choice. Easily customize themes, preview your questions, and share for real-time feedback, or long-term response gathering.

Engaged Learning and Informed Assessments

Polls aren’t the only way to create formative assessments, but they are a method worth considering, especially if real-time, in-class feedback is important to you and your students. After all, generating feedback and creating quality assessments shouldn’t rely on just one tool.

When it comes to polls and surveys, there are more options than we’ve outlined above, so it’s certain that there’s a tool for you. Got one we missed? Let us know in the comments!

Want to learn more? Check out our previous posts about survey tools here.

Photo by Adeolu Eletu

June 3, 2019 0 comment

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