Early feedback

Enhance students' success by providing an early opportunity to adjust and develop new skills

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Giving students early feedback on their learning is a high-impact educational practice and is soon to become a requirement for all courses, following a vote of the Academic Assembly.

 

Why provide early feedback to students?

The research on student learning in higher education recommends that faculty provide students early feedback through low-stakes assignments (e.g., Lovett, et al., 2023). If early assignments are not possible in your course, then you can still provide students early feedback on their engagement with the course and class material so far.

Early feedback:

  • Allows faculty to inform students about what they need to do to succeed in the course.
  • Allows students to recalibrate their level of effort without greatly affecting their final grade.
  • Builds a sense of self-efficacy for students who are already succeeding
  • Enables faculty to connect students to campus support services that they might not seek out for themselves.
  • Enables the university to offer a whole-person support structure to enhance students’ learning experience and wellbeing.

Workshop

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Tue, Feb 25 | 11:00AM–12:30PM | In person | LOYA 201, OR
Wed, Feb 26 | 12:30–2PM | Via Zoom (Link for follow upon registration) 

Facilitated by Katherine Raichle and Andrea Verdan  

Are you overwhelmed by course content and grading? Are your students emphasizing grades over learning? Research shows that students take deeper approaches to learning when they don’t feel overloaded with course content or with a barrage of assignments in a course. With the right design, low-stakes*, minimally graded assignments can lead to a richer learning experience for your students and less grading for you.   

By “low-stakes,” we mean assignments that: 

  • are worth only a few percentage points of the final grade (e.g., maximum 10%), or  
  • don’t receive a grade in themselves but receive formative feedback. 

As a follow-up to our fall quarter session, this workshop will delve into the process of creating minimally graded assignments that prioritize formative feedback starting early in the quarter. Such feedback can  

  • reduce student anxiety,  
  • provide meaningful growth-related insights, and  
  • create more supportive learning environments.  

Moreover, we know that administering such assignments early in the quarter can set students up for success through the duration of your course.    

Giving students early feedback on their learning is a high-impact educational practice and is soon to become a requirement for all courses, following a vote of the Academic Assembly. This workshop helps you get your course in good shape before that policy is implemented. 

Choose a current or upcoming course you are teaching and bring an assignment that you assign within the first three weeks of the quarter. If you don’t currently have an early assignment, bring the earliest one in your course with a view to breaking it down into “scaffolded” assignments. You will leave the workshop with your own strategies to provide formative feedback and enhance student success.

» Register

Modality: EITHER Tuesday in-person OR Wednesday online

For: All faculty (full-time and part-time)

Example feedback statements - Academic performance concerns

The statements below provide examples that you can adapt for your own courses, organized based on the headings from the university's early feedback system. This is very much a work-in-progress, so if you have suggestions for wording, please email us with them.

GREEN
  • I appreciate all your contributions in class, [student name]. 
  • I appreciate all your contributions in class, [student name]. The next step for you here is to think about helping to bring more students’ voices into the conversation and to connecting your ideas with others’ comments to boost the dialogue.
  • While you’re typically quiet in whole-group discussions, [student name], I’ve noticed you’re actively participating in small-group discussions, which is great. I’m now inviting you to step outside your comfort zone a little and share ideas from your groups with the rest of class from time to time.
  • [Student], you’ve been a consistently dedicated and engaged student throughout the course. Your regular participation in class discussions has significantly contributed to a positive learning environment. Keep that level of engagement coming!
YELLOW
  • I’ve noticed that you’ve already missed a few classes, [student name]. Missing more classes is likely to affect your grades.
  • You’re mostly present in class, [student name], and often listening. I’d really like to see you participating actively so that you get more out of the experience.
RED
  • I’m really concerned that you’ve missed a lot of classes already, [student name]. Class absences quickly start to affect grades because you don’t have a full grasp of the course material. I’m available to meet with you to discuss how you can get yourself back on track.
  • You appear to be falling asleep in class, [student name] – even when the rest of the class is deep in whole-group discussion. Please come and visit me in office hours and we can talk through what’s going on. Missing out on important class discussion, where everyone is processing the material together, is likely to affect your grade, so let’s come up with a strategy to help you boost your focus and alertness.
GREEN
  • You’re getting your message across well, [student name], and I’d like you to keep working at that level and beyond! 
  • You’re getting your message across well, [student name], and I’d like you to keep working at that level and beyond! If you want to take your writing to the next level, try working on [editing your text to get more message across more swiftly/simplifying your sentence structures to ease the reader’s experience/using more of the disciplinary vocabulary you’ve been learning/using more of the everyday language that meets the needs of the target audience for each task]
  • [Student name], I am very happy to see that your performance in the course is  improving now that you’re working more closely with your ELLC tutor on course vocabulary and understanding assignment instructions. You’ve also become more engaged in the class. You can definitely pass the class if you keep this up, complete all the assignments, and continue to improve.
YELLOW
  • You have some good ideas, [student name], but your academic English skills/writing skills are making it difficult for you to put those ideas across. I’d like to see you working on your English/writing and suggest you visit our campus colleagues in [ELLC/Writing Center/Tutoring]
  • [Student name], I am very happy to see that your performance in the course is beginning to improve now that you’re working more closely with your ELLC tutor on course vocabulary and understanding assignment instructions. It’s essential now that you keep going with this effort so that you can end the quarter with a stronger performance.
  • Your performance in the course is just about ok, [student name], and I strongly encourage you to start working with an ELLC tutor on course vocabulary and understanding assignment instructions so that you can speed up your progress and do well.
RED
  • At the moment, [student name], your academic English skills/writing skills are really getting in the way of your message. It’s making it very difficult for me to understand your ideas. For you to succeed in the course, I strongly recommend you work on your English/writing and visit our campus colleagues in [ELLC/Writing Center/Tutoring].
  • [Student name], I’m having real trouble understanding some of your assignments, so I’m concerned for your success. You would really benefit from working with an ELLC tutor on course vocabulary and understanding assignment instructions, as well as on a few repeated grammatical errors that make your assignments confusing for the reader.
GREEN
  • You’ve done a great job of keeping up with your assignments. You’re on track for the course – well done!
  • You’re keeping on top of your assignments, [student name]; if you’d like to improve your skills yet further in this area, you could look into resources around note-taking/ time-management, either with campus colleagues like LAP or via reliable online resources.
YELLOW
  • So far, you have completed most assignments on time but occasionally you have missed deadlines or had trouble fully completing an assignment. I’d like to see you work on successfully completing all assignments and suggest you meet with folks in LAP to work specifically on organization and how to manage your time. 
  • You’re a valuable addition in class, [student name], and I now need focus on adhering to assignment deadlines so that you can maximize your grades. 
    You’ve missed a number of deadlines, [student name], and these will quickly make it difficult for you to succeed. I’d like to see you focus on getting future assignments in on time. We can discuss strategies in office hours and you can also talk with LAP about building organizational skills to do well.
  • The work you’ve handed in has been good, [student name]. My concern is that you have missed a couple of assignments without communicating with me about them. As you know, I have a policy around late work in my syllabus and so want to remind you that the key is to be communicating with me in advance if things are getting in the way. Please get in touch so we can devise a workable plan for you to recover some lost ground and end the quarter on a positive. 
  • So far, you’ve been good at completing the graded work, but I’ve noticed that you’re not necessarily doing the “scaffolding tasks” that are ungraded but useful; these help you build up the skills needed to complete the graded work to the best of your ability. I’d really like to see you put more effort into those – you’ll see the benefits in later graded work!
  • [Student Name], you are wonderful to have in class during our discussions.  My concern is that you’re not completing homework and other out-of-class tasks. You don't want these to pile up to the point where trying to complete them at the end of the term proves impossible. I’m keen to see the grades that you’re earning match your in-class engagement, so please come to office hours to discuss and meet with the folks in LAP to work on your time management and general organizational skills.
  • You started the course well, [student name], and now that there’s more reading involved, you appear not to be on top of the work, which makes it look like you’ve decided to let this course slide. However you choose to engage with the course, you’ll always have to take responsibility for any consequences. Having seen your capabilities earlier, I’d really like to see you pick things back up to the level we saw in the first few sessions of the course.
  • [Student name], you may benefit from a consultation with LAP to check that your study practices afford you sufficient opportunity to check your understanding of the concepts we’re exploring in the course. Office hours and tutoring are also good venues for this (but not sufficient on their own).
RED
  • Currently, you have missed homework deadline(s) or only partially completed assignments. If you continue at this rate, you may be at risk of failing the class.  Please consider seeking assistance from the folks at LAP/Writing Center/ELLC/Tutoring so that you can successfully navigate this course.  
  • [Student name], you would definitely benefit from a consultation with LAP to figure out what study practices will afford you sufficient opportunity to check your conceptual understanding. Office hours and tutoring are also good venues for this, but, for this course, definitely not sufficient on their own.

 

GREEN
  • You have successfully demonstrated a solid understanding of key concepts on exams so far. Keep up the good work!
  • You’re doing well overall, [student name], and to keep that going, I suggest you focus your attention on [close readings of texts/better note-taking/time management/etc]. These will help you prepare better for tests or exams.
YELLOW
  • I have noticed that on exams you have demonstrated only a partial understanding of key concepts; some of your errors indicate gaps in knowledge or application. You are certainly capable of succeeding in this course. Please consider seeking help from either me or LAP/Writing Center/ELLC/Tutoring to be sure that you are on track. 
  • [Student name] you would benefit from more out-of-class opportunities to resolve content confusions and test your conceptual understanding. Tutoring, study groups, and office hours can all be useful venues for this. I’m happy to talk this through with you if that would help.
RED
  • I have noticed that you have struggled with key concepts in the course, as reflected in your exam scores. I am concerned that you are at risk of not doing well in the course. But you have demonstrated in class that you are capable and can successfully meet the demands of this course  with some help.  Please consider seeking help from LAP/Writing Center/ELLC/Tutoring or contact to me directly.  We’re here to help you!
  • You struggled on our recent [exams/tests/quizzes], [student name], so I’m concerned for your success in the course. Moving forward, you will need to [read task prompts more carefully/build up some new exam preparation skills] to pass the class. I’m recommending colleagues on campus (LAP/Writing Center/ELLC/Tutoring) who can help you with these skills, and I’m happy to discuss them with you, too. 
  • [Student name], your recent exam score suggests that you will need to improve your work significantly moving forward to succeed in the class. You make insightful contributions to our class discussion, so I know you are capable. Remember to speak up frequently in future discussions as well and let me know if you have any questions.

 

GREEN
  • You have consistently and successfully organized your work and met deadlines.  This is impressive during the fast pace of the quarter system. Well done!
  • You have consistently organized your coursework to meet deadlines and effectively managed working under the pace of the quarter system. Well done!
YELLOW
  • You are generally able to prioritize your work and meet deadlines, but I’ve noticed that you may struggle at other times to meet the demands of the fast-paced quarter system. Feel free to reach out to LAP/Writing Center/ELLC/Tutoring for further assistance or see me for additional help with how to manage the workload. If assignments or overall workload are making you anxious, I’d suggest you also have a conversation with colleagues in CAPS.
  • I’ve noticed that you have sometimes been able to prioritize your work for this course and meet deadlines but at other times you appear to struggle during high-pressure periods. Feel free to reach out to LAP/Writing Center/ELLC/Tutoring for further assistance or see me for additional help with how to manage the workload. And if assignments or overall workload are making you anxious, I’d suggest you also have a conversation with colleagues in CAPS.
RED
  • I notice that you’ve had difficulty prioritizing your work for this course and meeting deadlines as the demands of the course increase. I’m concerned that this could impact your successful completion of this course.  Please consider seeking additional help with organization or time-management from LAP, or, if your overall workload is making you anxious, then please schedule a conversation with a colleague in CAPS.

 

GREEN
  • You’re doing exceptionally well in the course so far, and your grades are in the Excellent/Superior range. Kudos to you – and keep that level of performance coming!
  • You’re doing well in the course so far, with a solid performance in the B range for assignments. This is good work! Keep it coming – and see if you can move it up a notch as the course continues. We can also talk through how to do this during office hours.
YELLOW
  • You’re currently performing in the C range in assignments, and I’d like to see you boost that a little. I’d love to see you attending office hours so we can focus on the topics that are tripping you up.
  • You’re getting all the work in on time, [student name], but your grades so far are quite low. I suggest you take up at least two of these options: (a) using the study resources such as completing recommended study guide questions on a regular/daily basis; (b) attending facilitated study groups/setting up your own study group to work on end-of-chapter problems; (c) signing up for a tutor or attending drop-in tutor sessions at LAP for targeted and personal feedback on topics; and (d) visiting during office hours with questions regarding homework, practice, and/or in-class activities.
RED
  • The work that is coming in, [student name], isn’t yet at the level it needs to be for you to succeed, which is a concern. I suggest you take up at least THREE of these options to turn your performance around and pass the course: (a) using the study resources such as completing recommended study guide questions on a regular/daily basis; (b) attending facilitated study groups/setting up your own study group to work on end-of-chapter problems; (c) signing up for a tutor or attending drop-in tutor sessions at LAP for targeted and personal feedback on topics; and (d) visiting during office hours with questions regarding homework, practice, and/or in-class activities.