Black and Wiliam, in their research, found that some kinds of feedback were far more effective than others.
You may have experienced at school the following kind of feedback on a piece of work:
A - ‘Good work’ or C - ‘Needs more effort’.
The difficulty with this kind of feedback is that the student has a grade but no idea what they have done well or how to improve.
An excellent technique for constructive feedback is ‘medals and missions’ – statements of what a learner has done well (medals) then specific actions for improvement (missions).
The aim is to leave students feeling good, unpatronised and with a way forward in their learning.
Example Medals and Missions feedback
Massage Course
Medals
Your routine is now at professional level.
Very good client care – you regularly checked the pressure of your hands with the client.
Missions
Now work on your towel management to ensure client modesty.
Try it yourself
Consider a learning activity in your subject. Then think about what sort of medals and missions feedback you might give a learner.
Write two 'medals' and one 'mission'.
Now consider how you might feel if you were the student. Would you feel OK about what you had done, but with an idea about your next challenge?