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Giving oral feedback on student writing: What aspects should we pay attention to?

Giving oral feedback on student writing: What aspects should we pay attention to?. Dr Julia Chen English Language Centre The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Overview. Why oral feedback Problems with oral feedback Activity – pair and group work 2 cases

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Giving oral feedback on student writing: What aspects should we pay attention to?

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  1. Giving oral feedback on student writing: What aspects should we pay attention to? Dr Julia Chen English Language Centre The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  2. Overview • Why oral feedback • Problems with oral feedback • Activity – pair and group work • 2 cases • 4 important aspects of oral feedback

  3. Why oral feedback? • Written feedback problematic • Oral feedback face-to-face effective and practical (Murray, 1985) participatory (Harris, 1986) interactive (Sperling, 1990) dynamic (Arndt, 1993) immediate (Brender, 1998) mutual (Reesor, 2002)

  4. Problems identified • Focus On student? On teacher? On writing? • Verbal, e.g. asking questions Who? What? How many? • Verbal, e.g. teacher-student talk ratio • Non-verbal • Misunderstanding

  5. Workshop activity • Read your scenario (yellow: teacher; blue: student) • Prepare, as you might, for the oral feedback session that has been scheduled for 7 minutes • Pair up with someone with a different role • Prepare for 2 minutes

  6. For the ‘students’ In groups, write on the whiteboard: • Actions/words of the teacher that had a positive impact (e.g. on your learning and feeling) • Actions/words that had a negative impact (e.g. on your learning and feeling) • A list of good practices for teachers

  7. For the ‘teachers’ In groups, write on the whiteboard: • Actions/words of yours that seemed to have a positive impact on the ‘student’ • Actions/words that seemed to have a negative impact on the ‘student’ • A list of good practices for teachers

  8. Case 1 - Jane • Teacher Gave comments and suggestions on main points Talked fast and with a high pitch Asked lots of questions, one after another Put writing in front of T Always held a pencil; often wrote Behaved similarly with all students Spent 12 to 14 minutes @ • Students Seldom had the chance to talk Looked mostly at the writing Felt confused, frustrated One student gradually turned away Could not understand how to improve writing

  9. Case 2 - Fiona • Teacher Told students what to prepare for the session Waited for students to speak/ask questions Answered questions slowly Put writing in front of S or in between T & S Neither held a pen nor wrote Behaved similarly with all students Spent 7 to 14 minutes @ • Students Took the initiative to ask questions Listened and nodded Looked at the writing and at T Found the sessions helpful

  10. Important aspects • Pre-session preparation, esp. for students • Structured feedback process • Verbal and nonverbal communication • Reflection and action plan • developmental and constructive oral feedback

  11. 1. Pre-session preparation • Purpose • Context: writing type, writing stage, previous writing problems • Roles of T and S • Work to be done before session • Duration • Feedback focus: particular or general, higher or lower order • Follow-up sessions

  12. 2. Structured feedback process (I) • Where to meet • Where and how to sit • How to greet the student • What time to start/end the session • How many things to achieve, & what • How to express comments/suggestions • How to listen, be open and respect student • How to end with concrete action plans

  13. 2. Structured feedback process (II) “Degenerate” feedback (John Heron) • ONLY negative comments • ONLY positive comments • Uncritical feedback where any judgement is suspended

  14. 3.1 Verbal communication • What to say, how to say it • Prompt students to talk about their writing “What do you think about your text?” “What in your view is the strength of this piece of writing?” “Which parts do you believe need improvement?” “What might you do differently next time?” • Identify specific improvement areas and suggest strategies There is more than one best way to teach

  15. 3.2 Nonverbal communication • Message: 7% verbal, 38% vocal, 55% facial (Mehrabian, 1972) • 60-80% communication done nonverbally (Pease, 1997) • Contradiction of V and NV: NV taken as true (Malandro et al, 1988; Beebe et al, 2002; Trenholm and Jensen, 2004) • Deceptive NV -> deceptive V (Patterson, 1994) • S affected by T’s voice and body language (Chen, 2005) • T not aware of S’s body language (Chen, 2005)

  16. 4. Reflection and action plan • Reflection encouraged in - pre-session preparations - T-S interactions -> active participants - differences in T and S views => reflective learner => reflective teacher • Further actions planned - before the end of an oral feedback session - how, why, by when - any T-S follow-up

  17. Looking forward • Something I will try to do • Something I will try not to do • A question I have…

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