Looking at Feedback Practices in Science and Mathematics Classrooms: Lesson Learned

• In Event: Examining Feedback Practices in Multiple Settings With Multiple Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose
Research on feedback is near unanimous on its positive effect on student learning (e.g., Hattie &Timperley, 2007). As it has been noted before (Ruiz-Primo & Li, 2013), despite these overwhelmingly positive results, we do not know much about the feedback practices that are implemented in the classroom (with few exceptions). The literature is full of recommendations, vignettes of good feedback, and general descriptions of observed feedback; yet, we know little about the feedback practices in real classrooms with real instructional tasks rather than artificial tasks as being done in many studies. In this study we focus on the feedback practices observed in 14 classrooms during the implementation of one instructional unit, either science or mathematics. Two questions guided the study: What is the range of feedback practices observed in science and mathematics classrooms? Are certain feedback practices linked to certain instructional tasks (e.g., reviewing students work vs. covering content)?

Theoretical Framework
Feedback in the classroom context is far more complex than it seems when one reads studies, synthesis, or meta-analysis. In this paper we consider feedback as part of any teacher’s response that indicates the teacher is acting upon or using the information collected from students. We approach the study of feedback considering two dimensions: statements provided by teachers (in the traditional sense of feedback), and instructional moves (specific actions taken by teachers, such as re-teaching or assisting the students with follow-up questions).

Methods
The data presented is part of a larger project focusing on the development of measures of formative assessment practices (Ruiz-Primo & Sands, 2009). In the parent project 14 teachers were observed and videotaped for the duration of a full instructional unit. The videotapes collected are used as the main source of information in this study. We track teachers’ feedback strategies within the context of different instructional tasks (e.g., warm-up, covering content, reviewing). A total of 285 videos (~326 hours) have been pre-coded by task and are being coded for feedback.

Preliminary Results
Here we present information about the analyzed videotapes of two teachers teaching the same unit. Teacher A (26.59 hours of video) and Teacher B (15.29 hours of video) gave similar feedback for some types, for example, both teachers used evaluative feedback most frequently (e.g., “yes,” “no, not really”). Teacher A gave more general feedback (e.g., “your math is wrong”), while Teacher B gave more potentially formative feedback (e.g., challenged students’ thinking or told student what they should do next). Information about the complete sample will be provided in the paper.

Importance to the Field
The relevance of this study lies in advancing our knowledge and understanding about: (1) the feedback practices in classrooms; (2) potential differences in feedback practices according to the instructional tasks at hand; (3) potential differences in feedback practices across science and mathematics teachers; and (4) patterns of feedback practices across teachers of differential levels of expertise on formative assessment practices.

Authors

• Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo, University of Colorado - Denver

• Heidi Kroog, University of Colorado - Denver

• Deanna J. Sands, Seattle University