Teacher feedback in SBA: A motivating force

1. Teacher feedback in SBA: A motivating force May 11, 2009 Rona Li

2. An overview Literature background Methodology The findings Implications drawn

3. School-based assessment • Starting from 2007, the SBA component was introduced into HKCEE English Language • Up till 2007, 12 out of 24 subjects in HKALE and 14 out of 39 subjects in HKCEE have had an SBA component incorporated into the public examination • English Language: assessment of students’ speaking skills in terms of pronunciation and delivery, communication strategies, vocabulary and language patterns, ideas and organization

4. SBA component and the Speaking PaperBoth the SBA component and the Speaking paper focus on the speaking competence of students, but …

5. Figure 1 Assessment in the teaching/learning cycle SBA as a platform for feedback-giving • Teachers should use the assessment activities not only to make judgments about student standards (a snapshot of students’ achievement to date), but also to give feedback to students about specific aspects of their oral language skills so that they can improve for the next assessment (HKEAA, 2006, p.10). • In the SBA component, the teaching/learning and assessment aspects are very closely linked (SBA Consultancy Team, 2006, p.12).

6. Teacher feedback in SBA • ‘When anyone is trying to learn, feedback about the effort has three elements: recognition of the desired goal, evidence about present position, and some understanding of a way to close the gap between the two.’ (Black & Wiliam, 1998, p.141) • ‘students should receive constructive feedback and have opportunities to ask questions about specific aspects of their progress after each planned SBA assessment activity.’ (HKEAA, 2006, 9) • ‘Feedback should be constructive and specific, i.e. related to the assessment criteria. It is better to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the performances first, and the ways to improve, before giving the marks.’ (The SBA Consultancy Team, 2006, p.21)

7. Defining ‘effective/ constructive’teacher feedback - two-way - fast - feed-forward - verbal/ written (use of feedback sheet) - stick with the assessment criteria - share with learners the success criteria ahead of the assessment - guidance given on top of the correct answers - positive/ negative - rewarding/ punishing - approving/ disapproving - praise/ criticism - informational - suggestive - cause thinking - corrective - with/ without giving a grade/ mark - help students develop appropriate strategies to make improvement - help students recognize next steps - inform students how they can improve ……

8. Motivation to learn • Assessment should take account of the importance of learner motivation. Assessment that encourages learning fosters motivation by emphasizing progress and achievement rather than failure. Comparison with others who have been more successful is unlikely to motivate learners … … Motivation can be preserved and enhanced by assessment methods which protect the learner’s autonomy, provide some choice and constructive feedback, and create opportunity for self-direction (Assessment Reform Group, 2002, p.3).

9. The literature framework – Motivation to learn • The motivation • components • 1. Effort • 2. Goal orientation • 3. Locus of control • 4. Self efficacy • 5. Sense of self as • Learner • 6. Self esteem • 7. Self regulation • 8. interest Components of motivation (Assessment Reform Group, 2002)

10. Motivation to learn • Some students may be motivated and sustained through their self-efficacy beliefs, whereas others are motivated to try hard, persist, and achieve because of their goals, their personal interests, their value beliefs, or contextual factors that motivate, support, and direct their behavior… … it seems more productive to attempt to understand these multiple pathways through research that examines how different personal and contextual factors interact to generate different patterns of motivated behavior. (Pintrich 2003,671) • To look into motivation to learn through  a psychological perspective  a contextual perspective  a cultural perspective

12. Human perfectibility and educability curriculum Praise and criticism self esteem pedagogy Effort v.s. ability learning environment sense of self as learner self regulation MOTIVATION TO LEARN self efficacy interest Significant others (peer influence, teacher influence) home support, parent influence locus of control effort goal orientation Teachers’ status assessment practice Filial piety Psychological development of motivation inside an individual learner Contextual factors affecting students’ motivation to learn Cultural beliefs affecting students’ motivation to learn The working framework

13. The research questions • To what extent do students find teacher feedback in SBA motivating? • What roles do students themselves play in making feedback motivating? • How can teachers adapt or modify their feedback to make it more motivating for students?

14. Methodology • Case study • The role of teacher feedback in enhancing student motivation in English school-based assessment • Data collection  Research Grants Council (RGC)  Two teacher-researchers conducted an action research  Action research done in Sept 2006 - Aug 2008  Research focus: - teachers’ feedback on students’ performance - How effective is my feedback and what can I do to improve it?

15. The case study - setting • Government secondary school • Low banding • CMI • 40 years’ of history • Co-educational school • Eleven English teachers in the school

16. Background of informants

17. Means of data collection • Teacher Interviews • Students Interviews • Questionnaires • Teachers’ reflection • Record of students’ performance • Record of teachers’ feedback-giving episodes

18. The case study – what teachers thought they used to do in feedback-giving I found it (feedback-giving) quite tedious because I repeat almost the same thing. I don’t know what to say actually. Other than the normal marking of worksheets and writing tasks I designed for the grammar lessons, which are very traditional, verbal feedback is usually the praise and discipline in routine teaching.

19. The study • Each teacher had two groups of students (a total of 16) • Each group had 4 students • Teachers did the oral practice and gave immediate feedback to students in two rounds • A total of 8 feedback-giving episodes were captured • The feedback-giving practice:

20. Teachers’ reflection I concentrate a lot on questioning and advising and I think it’s so dragging you know, time consuming. I think I should make it short. In the second time perhaps I was more factual but I mean looking at myself in the tape is a bit different from my self perception because as I went along in the feedback progress I was actually not happy with my performance in giving feedback. I was talking too much. Well, I forgot I mean I ought to be more interactive but I … forgot in the second time. It went on and on and it became one way. I’m not exactly proud of that and to be honest, I mean how much can they retain and they might be attentive up to a certain point.

21. Students’ comments I think she’s doing “describing” most of the time, like… it takes up a big portion, a big portion of her comment. 我覺得佢好似大部份都系describing，即系comment裏面占左多數都系describing囉。 I think ‘advising’ should be more important; she can use less ‘describing’. 我覺得advising應該重要D囉，可以講少D囉describing。 What is the teacher feedback you receive about? 老師給你的回饋是關於什麼？ • Highest rank 1. tells me the mistakes I have made 讓我知道我犯的錯誤 2. describes my performance 描述我的表現 • Lowest rank 1. asks me questions about my performance 問我關於自己的表現問題 2. compares me and my classmates 將我和其他同學作出比較

22. Some comparisons Teacher said: Students thought: I will say I do evaluating most, advising second, describing sometimes, and questioning never. I think she’s doing “describing” most of the time, like… it takes up a big portion, a big portion of her comment. 我覺得佢好似大部份都系describing，即系comment裏面占左多數都系describing囉。 A comparison between what teachers said they had done and what students thought teachers had done

23. Some comparisons Teacher said: Students thought: T: They try to treat me as a friend I: and they trusted you T: but I always treat them as students. She sees all the students as friends and talk… yea. 即係佢覺得，唔係佢會當我地所有學生係朋友咁傾… 即係同我地…係嘞。 A comparison between how teachers and students perceive their relationship

24. Human perfectibility and educability curriculum Praise and criticism self esteem pedagogy Effort v.s. ability learning environment sense of self as learner self regulation MOTIVATION TO LEARN self efficacy interest Significant others (peer influence, teacher influence) home support, parent influence locus of control effort goal orientation Teachers’ status assessment practice Filial piety Psychological development of motivation inside an individual learner Contextual factors affecting students’ motivation to learn Cultural beliefs affecting students’ motivation to learn

25. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components If the teacher said she expected me to get an “A”, then perhaps I will work harder; but then if the teacher said she expected me to get a bare pass, then I’ll just get a pass… I have such feeling.. 咁如果嗰Miss話，吖！我睇好你有A呀！咁樣，跟住就會話，呀咁可能跟住我就更加會努力啲啦！但係如果嗰個人話，矣！我諗你都係啱啱合格架啦咁，咁咪啱啱合格咪算呀咁囉！係呀。有呢啲咁嘅感覺囉。 Effort in relation to students’ effort expenditure and expectation

26. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components I: Are all the things stopped as the exam is finished? 咁依家係唔係停咗啦各樣野都，會唔會呀考完試? S: Yes. I haven’t studied English that much. I would like to take it up again. eh，都算架都。無咩溫英文啦而家。我想再溫番架。 I: It’s related to the exam then. As it is over … 唓，咁其實係唔係同考試有關呀? 考完就停… S: Yes, I work hard for the exam. 無錯，為咗考試會努力。 S: Yes, as the exam is over, it’s over. 無錯，考完就完架啦。 Students having a performance goal instead of a mastery goal

27. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components I: Are there any ways … you mentioned about passivity and you speak little. Can you suggest some ways to shift the locus of control to the students and make them more active? 咁覺唔覺得有啲咩方法呢可以，即係頭先都講過，被動啦，少出聲啦，有咩方法可以令到嗰個控制或者嗰個主動呢可以落番去同學嗰方面呀？ S: Use Chinese. 用番中文囉。 S: Or ask you more questions and let you answer, such as the teacher asks about your performance just then. Then you can answer and talk about it. 又或者多啲問你問題等你答番佢。即係佢問你覺得頭先自己表現點，你可以咪答番佢囉，即係再講番囉。 S: And use simple English. 同埋用啲淺啲嘅英文囉。 How to retain locus of control

28. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components Learning v.s Examination I feel that learning seems to be more important. Only concerned about the exam seems very snobbish because it makes exam the only reason for learning. 我覺得好似學習比較重要啲。考試好似講到好似好勢利咁樣，淨係因為考試，所以先至去學咁樣。 S: Yes… praise… you’ll know if it is worth praising. Somehow you may not know it if you perform well. When you are praised, then you’ll realize you really have done it well. It’s a good thing, but in the first place, you need to be capable of it. 係啦，你讚到就…啫其實你讚到就自己…自己知既，我覺得。做得好…有時反而其實係…做得好未必知架，佢要讚咗你呢，你先… 咦，係喎，我真係咁做喎。原來係ok架喎，係囉。好事黎架，但係都要自己做到先… Self-efficacy and ability

29. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components how peers can influence a student’s self esteem Will leave you room from being humiliated. If you’re being blamed/ humiliated in front of many other people, your self esteem will be really, really hurt. 唔會令你難落台囉，當住好多人個面狂踩狂踩狂踩你，咁咪好傷真係好傷自尊咁樣囉。 No, we are males, and we have the thought that we can’t be losers. 唔係，我地男仔都係抱住個心態唔輸嘛… self esteem and gender difference

30. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components Maybe the teacher only points out the problem but seldom talks about the solution. For example, if the teacher says that the pronunciation is not accurate. Then after saying this, she jumps to another part and doesn’t tell how to correct the pronunciation. This may be the problem. 可能有陣時個Miss淨係指出嗰個問題，但係就好少講個解決方法俾佢知。就好似話，如果佢話，話佢個發音唔準嘅話，咁可能淨係咁講完之後就跳咗去第二part，咁樣又冇叫佢要點樣去改正咁，呢一個嘅問題囉。 How can teacher feedback help students to self regulate

31. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components S: I always listen to songs, English songs. But I don’t quite understand when I listen to those songs. Therefore, I would like to learn. 咁…嗱你睇吓好似我成日聽歌啦係咪，咁都係英文歌嚟嘅係囉，同埋嗰啲英文我又聽得唔係好明吖嘛係咪，我成日呢聽歌又唔知佢講乜嘢喎，咁咪想學埋佢囉！ I: Do you love songs? 哦你本身係咪鐘意聽歌先？ S: Yes. 係呀。 I: You find something you like, which is associated with English. What else? 哦！即係你揾到啲自己本身鐘意嘅嘢，又有啲英文嘅嘢咁。仲有呢？ S: There are many others actually e.g. books, fictions, of English. 同埋有好多嘅其實，例如話書囉，啲小說呀英文嗰啲呢！ Finding out students’ interest

32. Psychological perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components Quantitative data gathered from the questionnaire: Highest rank: 1. Teacher feedback encourages me to keep trying. (effort) 老師的回饋鼓勵我繼續嘗試。 2. Teacher feedback makes me feel that I am directed by others. (locus of control) 老師的回饋令我感到別人在引導我。 Lowest rank: 1. Teacher feedback makes me feel that I am a failure. (self-efficacy) 老師的回饋令我感到挫敗。 2. Teacher feedback makes me feel proud of myself. (self-esteem) 老師的回饋令我為自己感到驕傲。

33. Human perfectibility and educability curriculum Praise and criticism self esteem pedagogy Effort v.s. ability learning environment sense of self as learner self regulation MOTIVATION TO LEARN self efficacy interest Significant others (peer influence, teacher influence) home support, parent influence locus of control effort goal orientation Teachers’ status assessment practice Filial piety Psychological development of motivation inside an individual learner Contextual factors affecting students’ motivation to learn Cultural beliefs affecting students’ motivation to learn

34. Contextual perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components … as long as it’s suggestions for me from her, I’ll listen. It’s because I am quite bad in several areas. 我…如果只要係佢…即係俾我既意見我都會聽既，因為我好多方面都好差。 Teacher influence: trust S: The corridor outside the staff room; that corridor is packed with students standing there looking for teachers to talk to. 教員室出面嗰條走廊囉，成條走廊都係學生揾嗰啲Miss傾偈嗰啲，企晒喺度囉！ I: Do you mean during lunch time or recess? 係牙？嗄！你意思係譬如lunch time小息咁牙？ S: Yes, and those (students) who have questions to ask 係呀，問嘢嗰啲(學生)都會。 School culture – teacher-student informal interaction

35. Contextual perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components I feel that she knows how to communicate with people very well. Once in the School Sports Day, I was a helper, to be paired up with her. She kept chatting with me, having a very good relationship with students. S: 我都覺得佢好…好溝通囉，好識同人。因為我果陣時，係囉，我做d工作人員呢，果d…啫陸運會果d呢，然之後咁啱我又同佢一齊喎，跟住然之後佢又係咁係度同我傾計喎，好似…啫同d學生好好關係咁囉。 Teacher influence: teachers’ communication skills

36. Contextual perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components It is more pressurized if it is one-to-one…When you are asked [a question], the others will help you answer if it is a group. But if it’s one to one, you must (answer) on your own. 唔係。一對一壓力大啲嘛！即係問到你嘅，如果一組嘅話，可能其他人會幫你答吖嘛，但係一對一你一定要吖嘛！ Peer influence: students feel at ease Besides giving feedback to me, (teachers will) also give feedback to other students… so I can learn from it too… 咁除咗會俾D feedback我，咁俾D…另外又會俾D feedback 其他同學架嘛，咁我亦都會…從中亦都會…吸收架嘛… Peer influence: learning opportunity

37. Contextual perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components When it’s hit (weakness pointed out by the teacher), you’ll be upset… when it’s brought up… the problem is, sometimes she talked about it in front of the whole class…or some …Yes, some students take it very seriously because they feel they lose faces. 你中咗，你唔好…會唔開心…啫一講就會…個問題係，有時會o係一個成班人面前講…或者有D…係啦，有D…有D…有D同學會好care，覺得無面吖嘛。 Peer influence: face problem

38. Human perfectibility and educability curriculum Praise and criticism self esteem pedagogy Effort v.s. ability learning environment sense of self as learner self regulation MOTIVATION TO LEARN self efficacy interest Significant others (peer influence, teacher influence) home support, parent influence locus of control effort goal orientation Teachers’ status assessment practice Filial piety Psychological development of motivation inside an individual learner Contextual factors affecting students’ motivation to learn Cultural beliefs affecting students’ motivation to learn

39. Cultural perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components For those teachers that you dislike, it’s criticism; and for those teachers that you like, it’s advice. 唔鍾意o個D(老師)叫批評囉，鍾意o個D咪建議囉。啫老師… Students’ perception on praise and criticism I think both praises and negative comments are necessary because this makes me improve and praises will make you happy. 其實我覺得有彈有讚係好應該嘅，係囉因為會有改善架嘛，係囉同埋有讚梗係開心啲架啦！

40. Cultural perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components I think low achievers prefer praises. The high achievers would like to have more criticism so that they can move up, so it’s the quick way to success. Teachers’ perception on praise and criticism I think this praise-criticism principle is too carrot and stick. It’s not that cut and dry. Students are not donkey. I mean if you … a carrot in front of them we can’t expect them to rise up and to speak right away and then start to work. It’s not always work like that. Sometimes you praise them. They are too fed up with it and they are not interested. They don’t value your praise.

41. Cultural perspective to understanding motivation to learn: Students’ understanding of the motivation components Yes, a younger sister and a younger brother. And yes, I agree that I have been working hard for them. 有，有個妹同埋我細佬囉，Er…都有為左佢地努力咁樣囉 Filial piety Them? Well… being promoted to F.6 is for myself… then I’ll be able to support myself… as for parents… I’ll take care of them in addition to taking care of myself. I do have such expectation. 哦！佢哋呀，咁升到中六都係為自己。咁養得起自己咁…咁父母咁…養得起自己再養埋佢哋囉！都有呢個希望過嘅。 Taking care of them is for sure, as they’ve raised me.I need to repay them even just a little bit. 養佢地就一定要架啦，因為咁佢養到我咁大。咁都要有番少少既回報俾番佢地既。

42. Implications - Roles played by students Audience 聆聽者 Passive 被動 Outsider 旁觀者 But actually it is feedback (from the teacher). I mean they would give us feedback. We don’t need to talk so much. We have spoken already (in the speaking task). 咁但係其實呢度都係feedback啦，即係都係佢比意見我地囉，我地都唔使講咁多啦，我地之前都講左啦。 • From audience to speaker • From passive to active • From outsider to insider

43. Implications – How can teachers adapt or modify their feedback to make it more motivating for students? Teachers may: • take into consideration the components of motivation • praise students, giving reasons • criticize students, but not too strongly in front of peers • make good use of the informal school contexts • involvepeers in the feedback-giving sessions • be more aware of the questioning techniques • point out students’ weaknesses, but provide ways for improvement • encourage peer assessment/ self assessment • do follow-up work with students • view feedback-giving episodes with other fellow teachers and discuss how to improve own practices

44. Some interesting findings – pictures drawn by students

45. Thank you very much! Questions?