It is important to give timely feedback because students need to be told how they’re doing. Without feedback, you’re walking blind; the student may accidentally reach his goal or may wander aimlessly through the dark, never reaching the destination.
Effective and timely feedback is important to help students progress towards their goals, and their communication will improve. People need to know in a timely manner how they’re doing, what’s working, and what’s not. As quoted by Bill Gates: “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”
Setting expectations and goals before starting the course is most important to provide powerful feedback.
Students should get feedback about how they’re doing as timely as possible. If improvement needs to be made, the sooner they find out about it, the sooner they can correct the problem. If they show improvement, a positive feedback must be given which is the more rewarding.
The main objectives of feedback are to:
- Identify and reward specific qualities in student performance
- Guide students on what steps to take to improve
- Motivate them to act on the feedback
- Develop their capability to monitor, evaluate and regulate their own learning
Effective and Correct Feedback can benefit both, the student and the teacher. The benefits are as follows:
- Feedback if positive helps to improve student’s confidence. They will put in more effort to do better. When, we tell the students about their weak areas it will help them focus and improve in that area and eventually reach their Goal. Feedback encourages them to think critically about their performance and to reflect on what they need to do to improve
- Regular feedback on performance promote professional and personal growth, as well as, increase the student’s potential to learn more without difficulty. In today’s world, where spoken English is a necessity in all fields, it is very important to speak not just grammatically correct English but also effective English which would have a positive impact on the other person.
- Two of the benefits students find most valuable are development and career advancement. Effective feedback contributes to their development and potential advancement. They stay longer where there is opportunity and an investment in their success.
- Providing feedback in a timely and respectful manner with the intent of helping others improve and succeed sends a very strong message of support to our students. That support fosters loyalty and trust.
Feedback is valuable when it is received, understood and acted on. How students act on feedback is as important as the quality of the feedback.
Do share the quote by Jim Rohn with students: “Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”
- Attributed by Lalita Karthik