M2: Feedback and assessment

When assessing students with formative or summative assessments, we encourage you to provide feedback. The feedback you provide can be formal or informal. Formal feedback is usually planned and provided to all students in a consistent manner, whereas informal feedback tends to be more spontaneous and immediate. Feedback can also be formative or summative. Formative feedback provides students opportunities to reflect on and improve their learning, whereas summative feedback is provided with an overall assessment of the learning. 

What makes feedback effective

In education, feedback plays a critical role in student development, motivation, and satisfaction. However, not all feedback is effective to promote learning. When providing feedback, consider the following elements:

  • Content of feedback: Include explicit information about what aspects of students’ knowledge or performance did not meet the success criteria. Inform students how they can adjust their current knowledge or performance to reach the desired goal.
  • Amount of feedback: Avoid overwhelming students with too many comments. Prioritize feedback to reflect on important matters so students can understand where they should focus their future efforts.
  • Timing of feedback: Choose appropriate timing of feedback (how soon and how often; immediate vs. delayed) based on the learning goals, activity/assessment types and difficult levels, and learner needs. Feedback is most effective when delivered as quickly as possible.

Adapted from Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett & Normal, 2010 and Shute, 2008.

It may feel as if giving regular feedback will be a daunting task. There are ways to reduce the workload associated with regular feedback such as using tools that can provide automated feedback, engaging students in peer-feedback, and providing feedback to the entire class instead of to individual students.

Below are some ideas of how feedback (formal or informal) for different types of activities and assessments can be communicated to students asynchronously or synchronously:

Table: Forms of feedback and ideas for both asynchronous and synchronous modalities
Feedback Asynchronous options Synchronous options
Formal feedback on individual or group assignments For assignments submitted via the Canvas assignment tool, you can leave feedback in many different formats via SpeedGrader Links to an external site.. A rubric can also be added to a Canvas assignment tool and can be used in SpeedGrader. Synchronous options are more suitable for informal, in-person feedback on the progress of student work.

Non-graded or low-stake quizzes

 Consider providing automated feedback. Feedback can include details about answer choices and additional information about the topic assessed by the question. Use participation tools like hand-raising, chat functions, and polling deliberately to check students’ understanding and engagement during synchronous sessions and to provide immediate feedback.
Informal peer feedback

Create student groups and have students use group discussions. 

 Use Zoom for class feedback groups. Create rooms so students can enter as a moderator.
Formal peer feedback Use the Peer Review Links to an external site. option in Canvas Assignments.

Use the breakout room feature in Zoom.