Feedback that Fuels Learning – Blog #16

Stage 1: Clarify Learning Targets and Success Criteria

Students can’t use feedback if they don’t know what success looks like. At this stage, teachers make learning targets visible and student-friendly, then break them down into success criteria.

• Simple: Students know what they’re aiming for.
• Digging Deeper: Students see the step-by-step progression of how to meet the goal.

Example (Science): Instead of posting “Understand the rock cycle,” the teacher breaks it into steps:

• I can name and categorize rocks.
• I can describe processes like melting and erosion.
• I can explain how these processes contribute to the rock cycle.

This clarity ensures students can track their own progress and better interpret feedback.

Stage 2: Written Activities Aligned to Success Criteria

Feedback is only as good as the evidence it’s based on. Activities must directly align with the success criteria so student work reveals what they know and where they need help.

• Simple: Teacher-driven tasks that connect clearly to the success criteria.
• Digging Deeper: Students feel safe making mistakes, while teachers anticipate misconceptions, plan scaffolds, and build guiding questions into activities.

Example (U.S. History): Instead of simply writing “causes of the Revolution,” students complete activities aligned to the SC:

• I can read primary sources and identify multiple causes of the Revolution.
• I can find and annotate evidence from primary sources.
• I can analyze which cause was most significant and explain why.
• I can write my justification into a three-paragraph essay.

This way, student work produces visible evidence of thinking that teachers (and later peers) can respond to with meaningful feedback.

Stage 3: Teacher Provides High-Quality Feedback

Here, feedback shifts from corrections to coaching. Teachers monitor, respond, and provide actionable steps that help students revise, refine, and reflect.

• Simple: Teachers provide feedback that is timely, specific, and actionable, tied to LT/SC, skills, and strategies.
• Digging Deeper: Feedback becomes focused and differentiated—2–3 high-leverage points, while students actively engage in clarifying, revising, and reflecting.

Example (ELA): Instead of circling every grammar error, the teacher says:

• “Focus on transitions between paragraphs. Try adding phrases like ‘In addition’ or ‘On the other hand’ to improve flow.”
• The teacher provides a model paragraph if needed and asks students to revise their own writing using it as an example.

This targeted approach keeps feedback manageable and teaches students how to apply strategies that build independence.

Stage 4: Peer Feedback

Once students understand feedback, they can begin to give it. This stage helps them internalize success criteria and develop self-assessment skills.

• Simple: Structured peer feedback with sentence frames, checklists, or rubrics provided by the teacher.
• Digging Deeper: Students take ownership, giving each other actionable next steps and using peer dialogue to refine their own work. Teachers step back into a facilitator role.

Example (Math):

• Student A: “You explained step 1, but I don’t see how you got to step 3. Can you show me?”
• Student B: Revises work based on the feedback, clarifying the missing step.
• Teacher: Circulates to highlight strong examples of peer dialogue and correct misconceptions when necessary.

Here, students aren’t just learning from the teacher—they’re learning from each other, which deepens understanding and builds confidence.

Teacher Reflection and Adjustment

At every stage, teachers gather and use feedback—not just from what they say to students, but from student work, peer comments, and classroom dialogue. Reflection questions include:

• What evidence of student strengths and needs emerged?
• Which misconceptions need reteaching?
• How will I adjust grouping, pacing, or scaffolds?
• How do I know students are benefiting from this stage?

This cycle ensures feedback isn’t a one-time act but a continuous driver of instruction.