Monday, April 5, 2010
Motivation
Respond to this scenario: You have completed a project for a teacher that has taken you almost a month to complete. It was handed in on time, and you have waited more than three weeks to receive a grade on it. You have inquired about the grade, but have not received a response. What role does feedback play in student motivation?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
If many students are like me they want feedback right away after turning in an assignment. I think the amount of feedback a student receives affects the amount of time and dedication the student will put into future assignments. If a student doesn't receive any feedback for their work and projects I think this will cause them to try less on future work. If I received no feedback for a paper then on the next paper I would think the teacher isn't going to read it and not try as hard. Feedback is more important then we all think. Feedback should also always be positive or if it is not all positive, at least include what needs to be fixed or have a fair share of positive and negative comments. Most students will just be happy the teacher has said something instead of nothing. I also think it is best for teachers to grade and respond as quick as they have the time to because I know many are anxious to see how they did on a project that took over a month. If I took a month to complete something I believe the teacher should put in the same effort when grading. The more feedback the more motivation the student will have in the future. The less feedback the less likely the student is to be motivated and try just as hard on assignments to come.
ReplyDeleteI understand that teachers have a lot of stuff on their plate. However, I think it does lower a student's motivation when they do not receive any feedback after three weeks when they have worked so hard on a project. I am a student who really wants to know how they did as soon as possible because it is always in the back of my mind and when I haven't heard back from my teacher after three weeks, I would get anxious. It's understandable that grading a classrooms worth of assignments would take a single teacher awhile to complete, especially when it took the students so long to complete, but I believe that they should try to finish the task as soon as they can and put as much effort into completing that task as the students put into completing the assignment. If a student inquires about a grade I think a teacher should at least send a response even if they have not completed grading the assignment. It's not helping the student if they are not receiving any feedback whatsoever. Feedback is very valuable to student success because it shows them what they are doing well at and what they need to improve on. It may be beneficial to the students to hear the feedback before they turn in another assignment so they know what they can improve on in the next assignment and hopefully get a better grade. If they don't hear back from their teacher then their motivation is going to decrease. They might get the midset that they are not going to work as hard if the teacher is not going to do the same. If it is important for the students to get their assignments handed in on time, it should be just as important for the teacher to get the grades out at a reasonable time as well.
ReplyDeleteAfter spending a month working on a single assignment it would be a concern if a student was not anxious to get their score back. When a person spends a lot of time and puts forth a great amount of effort , feedback is essential to having students continue to work hard, and get better. Depending on the type of project/assignment, as a teacher I would make it possible foy myself, the teacher, to give some immediate feedback. This does not have to be anything in depth, but a simple "this looks great" or "i'm excited to look further into the project" gives the students a feeling of accomplishment, could give some relief, and could get them "off your back" for a while before they start inquiring about the final grade. Although, it is your responsibility as a teacher to provide prompt feedback. In any type of assessment, feedback is essential. Not only does it provide information to students, but also to the teacher. Dragging out the grading hurts both parties. As a motivating factor, students want to know what they did well, and what they could work on in the future. If they get the idea that the teacher is slacking...then maybe they will start slacking. If it is taking awhile to complete the grading, communicate with your students explain to them why it is taking so long, but also offer some feedback like "I havent had a chance to grade all of the projects, but so far I am very impressed" or state some things that may be reappearing in different projects. If students do not see what they need to work on, then they will not work on it, this can be prevented by providing students with prompt feedback. It is our goal as teachers for students to work hard on everything we do in class and out, providing feedback is a tool that will help motivate to do so.
ReplyDeleteFeedback is very important to kids, it tells them what they are doing wrong and what they are doing right. Kids won't know what they are doing wrong if they don't get their feedback in time of the assessment or test. Kids need to understand what they are doing wrong and it all starts with getting their assignments back in time. Motivation comes from knowing that they are doing things right on their assignments, and if they aren't they can then correct it and feel good from learning form their mistakes, but this all isn't possible without speedy feedback from the teacher. It's always nice when the teacher says something positive about your work, it gives the student pleasure in knowing that they are doing something right, but you can't always just sugar coat it either, its nice to show kids what they are doing wrong so they can improve, and then when they do improve their motivation will grow even more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Rachel said about how we should include both negative and positive comments in feedback. I think it is best to start out with good comments, then go to bad comments, and then another layer of good comments, like a sandwich. I have heard of this many times and I think its a great idea to make sure you don't hurt the kids by just telling them what they did bad, because that can have a negative affect on them. Instead its nice to tell them things they did good, then something that was bad and make sure you emphasize that they can overcome it with practice on the next assignment. I also agree with that teachers need to get the grades back to the kids fast because most students will be anxious to see how they did, what they got right/wrong, and how they can fix it.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to note that when providing feedback what is given back to the students is specific and clear. Writing GOOD JOB! :)... is not great feedback. It would be more beneficial if the comment said exactly what was done well. Also, there is a lot of ways to gain feedback. It does not always have to come from the teacher. Other students, using peer feedback can be an essential tool in the classroom. I think students helping students is a very positive way to provide feedback. However, explain that comments should be specific not broad, that offer advice and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteMotivated Students are more likely to turn in the assignment on time next time and try hard if they see immediate positive feedback from other projects. I know it is hard to do another assignment that a teacher gives you if you haven't even seen how they grade your previous assignments. It is essential for a student to check that they are doing pleasing work for the teacher. Student motivation is also essential with how well the student pays attention in class and to what they are learning. A teacher needs to motivate a student so the student wants to learn. I agree with everyone when they said positive and negative feedback should be given. The student needs to see what they are doing right and wrong on their projects/assingments/tests. If a student is given all positive or all negative feedback they have no enthusiasm to improve what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteWhen H Buch writes, "if it is important for the students to get their assignments handed in on time, it should be just as important for the teachers to get grades out at a reasonable time as well". Feedback is a neccessary and effective strategy in developing a student's self confidence and overall desire to achieve and learn more in the classroom. Effective teachers provide immediate and productive feedback for students to help them realize their potential to succeed and foster their productivity and self-efficacy. Effective teachers foster a students confidence in their abilities by utilizing feedback to point out a student's strengths and working on improving their weaknesses. Effective feedback can help students develop higher self-efficacy, therefore learn and achieve more because they will be more comfortable to take on the challenging activities that will help them acquire and develop new skills and abilities.
ReplyDeleteSelf-efficacy is a perfect term to contribute to this subject and I am glad Stacy brought it up. Without feedback it is impossible for students to know where they are or how they previously did. If they believe and tell themselves they can do it then chances are they will. Feedback helps initiate that belief. Positive or negative. Feedback will improve student assignments and point out what needs to be worked on and what students are already doing well. It will give students confidence and a positive outlook.
ReplyDeleteFeedback is really important for student learning. Feedback lets students know where they stand; do they understand what they have learned? are improvements needed? Students need feedback as soon as possible, otherwise you take that risk of moving on in a topic and they may not understand the first concept enough to move on, so then they are further behind. Students gain some motivation through feedback. For example, if the student finds out that they failed an assignment after they thought that it was done correctly, they have just lost some motivation. Yes, you may have some students that will want to try harder next time, but most will want to give up because they think they wont ever understand the material, therefore you have a lack of motivation and confidence. If a student does really well, then they will gain motivation to keep doing well to maintain that.
ReplyDeleteWow. I can definatly relate this to my own personal life, as I am sure many can. But, this surely effects student's motivation for future projects, and towards future teachers.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are in a class, many are there to learn as much as they can from their instructor because they are wanting to become more educated about the subject of the class. Students look up to their teachers as very knowledgable, and more of an expert in their specific field of study. When students create a project, or carryout a presentation, they are doing these things to get feedback from their instructors on what they did well, and what they could work on. Students need that feedback, and they want that feedback. That is so important in my eyes, that when an instructor fails to follow through, that is hurting the student. They are searching for that affirmation on what they did well, but they are also needing to know what they need to improve on so that they can improve on their learning as a student.
I can relate this to maybe a basketball camp that is having a Pro basketball player there to motivate and encourage participants. These participants are dribbling, shooting, and working on their form to get advice and tips from the pro player because they want to be better. They want that advice, so that they can learn what they are doing wrong, and how they can do better in order to succeed. Same with teachers and students in the classroom.
As an instructor/teacher of students at any age level, I feel that it is part of your job to provide your students with feedback in a helpful way to show them where they can improve in order to gain better knowledge on the subject, and where they did well to help keep motivating them to succeed.
I feel that feedback is very important to student motivation. If a student knows that they can work hard to get a good grade then they will be more likely to work hard on the next assignment to get that same good grade. I also feel that written feedback is good as well. If a student can see what they are doing right and what they can improve on then they can better themselves next time.
ReplyDeleteProviding immediate feedback is essential in being a good teacher. It lets the students in your class know exactly where they stand. If I turn in an assinment and do not receive any feedback or constructive criticism shortly after turning it in, I will assume that I am doing fine and don't need to be making any changes. This means that I am not growing. The students will have no idea if their work is acceptable or not. This can also cause them to get behind in the class. If they are unaware of being behind they will not be working hard to catch up. This means that when the class is ready to move onto something else, they are already behind in the previous unit or section. Therefore they will be even more behind in the class. They will probably not have any motivation to do any better since they don't understand why they are behind in the first place, and they will feel as if there is nothing they can do to get better.
ReplyDeleteIf the student does get immediate feedback, they will know exactly where they stand and they are more likely to work on the things that the teacher commented on. They will not be behind and they will feel that they have something to work towards.