How can teachers communicate high expectations to students?
Detailed feedback can make all the difference. Here鈥檚 something I wrote about the topic for as a :
鈥淲hat do you mean by this phrase? It鈥檚 incorrect and adds nothing to the sentence. Omit.鈥�
Professor Jones鈥� hypercritical feedback on my paper stung when I first read it. I scanned his comments for a 鈥淕ood job!鈥� or 鈥淚 love this idea,鈥� but they were nowhere to be found.
Everyone likes warmth and encouragement, but purely positive affirmations don鈥檛 communicate what can be improved. I conducted in collaboration with and on finds that direct, informative feedback requiring students to revise their own work is more effective. The key is fixing it themselves: Feedback that does the work for a student鈥攃orrecting a misspelled word, rewriting a sentence鈥攃an signal a teacher鈥檚 low expectations.
When kids see targeted comments that suggest what needs to be changed, they come to realize they can do things on their own and become more independent learners. As a bonus, this kind of feedback lets students know that their teacher believes in them.
As for me, I owe Professor Jones a debt of gratitude. His pointed criticism let me know that he took me seriously, he was expecting me to do better, and the detailed comments scrawled on every page gave me the tools to improve. Teachers can (and should!) add affirmations to their feedback as long as it鈥檚 not the only thing they鈥檙e doing. For the professor, this looked like a note at the end of another paper: 鈥淚鈥檓 sure things will improve as the term and year wear on.鈥�
顿辞苍鈥檛 confuse warmth with promoting a growth mindset. Being nice isn鈥檛 the same as showing someone you believe they can improve.
Do give detailed feedback that sets young people up to take charge of their own learning. For example, instead of rewriting a sentence, say: 鈥淭his is a run-on sentence. Try reading it out loud and add punctuation in places where you naturally take a breath.鈥� Ask probing questions that prompt students to think about their approach, then let them revise on their own. When it comes to writing, the easiest path isn鈥檛 always the best one.
