F.A.S.T.—Frequent, Accurate, Specific, and Timely 

Why is FAST feedback so important for students and teachers?... Here is a excerpt from the article by Edutopia. To view the full article

...Feedback makes learning an active thing that happens in the moment, rather than a more passive experience. It makes students think hard about what they are doing as they are doing it, which makes for much faster and more effective learning than having their mistakes pointed out after the fact.

It also allows students to direct their own learning. With fast feedback, they can alter their decisions as they work. This is much more empowering than getting a completed piece of work returned days later with their mistakes marked out. “Here’s what you are doing well, and here’s where you are going wrong” is better than “Here’s what you did well, and here’s where you went wrong”.

A completed piece of work is ‘dead’. It is static, and cannot be altered. Sure, it can be redone - and that definitely has some value - but it doesn’t have the same impact as learning how to overcome your mistakes in the moment. Providing feedback while the work is still ‘alive’ has a much more empowering and effective impact on learning...

Math Process Feedback Rubric: Post these in your classroom, and use them to help students focus on the trait's of a good problem-solver and looking at the types of mathematical errors.  

• Sticky Notes: have sticky notes handy at all times to give to students with a specific message for praise, or to point our a specific area for improvement. Student to Student feedback with Sticky Notes

"Effective teaching revolves around the practices of setting learning outcomes, choosing and enacting instructional activities, and assessment. While much focus has been placed on what and how we teach, assessment has been diminished to the annoying but necessary task of grading and recording scores. But what if we are wrong about this? Could assessment mean something different altogether?

When first responders are called to an emergency, they are trained to first assess the scene and ensure it is safe. In a short amount of time, they need to determine if there are unseen risks, identify any potential hazards, and then make appropriate decisions about how to respond."   To learn more about why this difference matters, and get some ideas, check out the blog by Sarah Stecher with Calc Medic