Are my students on the right track? What do they need to do to improve? How does this affect my teaching?
Good formative feedback dramatically improves student results. It should:
- Indicate where a student is at and recommend where they should be
- Offer suggestions for improvement
- Provide clear, specific, actionable and user-friendly comments
- Be frequent and allow time for students to act on the feedback
- Influence the teaching program
It is not sustainable for a teacher to offer one-on-one feedback for every piece of student work throughout the year. That is why thinkdrive offers resources and advice on alternative, powerful and time-saving feedback strategies, including:
- Teacher-feedback strategies
- Student self-assessment strategies
- Student peer-feedback strategies
Selecting Student Feedback Tools for Maximum Effectiveness
For teachers, student feedback tools form an essential part of an educational strategy intended to develop core skills and reinforce critical thinking. Students should feel engaged and inspired by their learning opportunities, rather than bogged down in difficulty. With the appropriate tools and strategies for providing positive feedback, teachers encourage their students to reach for the right answers on their own. Formative feedback strategies can help students assess their understanding of the task at hand early on in the assessment process. thinkdrive is an innovative tool that is both highly useful for students to navigate their assessment and a hub for effective student feedback strategies that can be implemented by teachers. Why is your input on a student’s assignment so important in the early stages, and how do we supply our educators with the tools they require?
The Importance of Formative Feedback thinkdrive
What exactly is formative feedback, and why does it matter so much to encouraging educational gains? Formative refers to the early stage in the learning process at which this feedback occurs. Feedback given when students are just beginning to assess what is being asked of them and to gather their thoughts and information can be more effective at improving learning outcomes than feedback given at the conclusion of the assessment. This is due to several reasons:
- Early feedback provides students with the chance to correct errors and guide themselves onto the right path for making smart choices. The formative stage often quickly reveals any shortcomings or missed opportunities, towards which a savvy teacher can guide their students.
- These feedback opportunities are a good chance to give students a morale boost. When they do things correctly, and demonstrate their understanding, reinforcing their grasp of the concepts with positive feedback is just as valuable.
- Feedback opportunities also provide you, the teacher, with the chance to gauge the student’s progress and development in the subject matter over time.
With the useful and innovative visualisation tools and formative feedback strategies built into itc thinkdrive, educators will find ample opportunities for constructive feedback.
What Sets itc thinkdrive Apart Regarding Feedback Tools for Teachers?
How do we create those opportunities? What makes thinkdrive a unique solution to the challenges of meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum? Designed for educators and students alike from the ground up, our product stands out in several ways:
- The user interface is extremely streamlined and easy to use. Students and teachers alike will find that thinkdrive produces relevant tools as soon as you click on your chosen field. No need to spend an entire day’s lessons just learning the software.
- We’ve packed thinkdrive full of resources for teachers that come in easy-to-edit formats, from PDF to Google Docs and Microsoft word - whatever suits your technological preferences. Save time with strategies, lesson starts, and more.
- We follow all guidelines and requirements established by the QCAA so educators can trust that they’re staying on-plan when guiding their students towards tailored learning outcomes. With a strong reputation in the educational field, itc continues to deliver excellent resources.
From its streamlined and easy to understand user interface to our comprehensive look at all the major cognitive verbs, thinkdrive delivers exceptional value for everyone in education along with many good opportunities for student formative feedback.
About itc thinkdrive
Created by itc publications, thinkdrive is an online solution that provides clear, concise definitions of cognitive verbs paired with tools and resources for gathering and visualising information. Completely aligned with QCAA requirements, thinkdrive can be a valuable asset for individual students, for teachers in need of resources, and for entire schools to use as a core component of their assignment work. To learn more, view answers to our frequently asked questions or get in touch today for friendly assistance from our customer service team.