When completing projects and assignment, students need our "Help!" Providing quality feedback is one of the most impactful things that teachers can do to improve student learning (Hattie, 2009). However, not all feedback is impactful, as seen in the hilarious video below. On this page we will first discuss what makes feedback good and how video feedback can "Help!"

In the last couple of years, I've heard teachers use the term "feedforward" to emphasize that the feedback we provide students should be used as they move forward in the course. While I'm going to use the term feedback on this page, I do like that idea that feedback should be used moving forward. So how do we ensure that our feedback is good enough for students to actually use?

I'm shocked at how little research has been done on feedback considering how much time teachers spend providing it. Michael Eraut (2006) said it best, “We need more feedback on feedback” (p. 118).

In my search of the research I was able to identify the following three qualities of effective feedback:

The "Feedback Burger" is a good pattern that teachers can follow to ensure that your feedback is specific and friendly.

• The Bun (Relationship Building) You should remember to greet the student by name and a little small talk can be helpful to make them feel at ease. It's a small thing but it can have a big impact on how students interpret and use your feedback.

  • EXAMPLE: "Hi Susan, I hope that you're having a good Monday and that you're enjoying this weather. I just got done looking at your project and wanted to give you some feedback."

• The Cheese (Specific Praise) Next you should give specific praise that's focused on their project.

  • EXAMPLE: "You did a great job on your video presentation. I could tell that you were prepared. I particularly liked how you focused on how teachers need to do a better job of facilitating student collaboration. I also liked how you emphasized the importance of play. Using Finland as a case study really strengthened your claim."

• The Meat (Needed Corrections) Next you should provide specific corrections.

  • EXAMPLE: "I did see a couple areas that could be improved. First, you make a strong claim that collaboration is important but provide little supporting evidence. Do you have examples of schools that have been successful using a collaborative model? You may also want to bring in a quote or two from authority figures on the subject. Second, I liked your background music and I felt that it added to the feel that you were going for. However, there were times when it made it difficult to hear what you were saying and should be playing more softly in the background."

• The Lettuce (General Praise) You don't want to end with corrections so it's good to follow up with some general praise.

  • EXAMPLE: "Those were the only two suggestions that I have. Again, you really did a nice job this video. I could see the hard work that you put into your video and I enjoyed watching it."

• The Bun (Support) You then want to end with offering support to the student.

  • EXAMPLE: "Please let me know if you have any questions or would like some help to revise your video. Have a good week! Dr. Borup"

We also added steam to the "feedback burger" to emphasize that your feedback should be provided in a timely manner. We can't emphasize this enough. Just as you would likely not eat a cold, soggy hamburger, your students are not likely to make full use of feedback that's provided weeks after it was submitted.

As the son of a high school English teacher and a former history teacher, I know how time-consuming grading and providing feedback can be. At times it feels like feedback can be either specific or timely but not both. Teachers already use strategies to make their feedback specific such as rubrics and feedback templates that they modify for each student. However, both of those strategies can still feel a little generic or impersonal to students. Video feedback shouldn't replace these other strategies for all assignments but can be an additional tool in your feedback tool box.

Perhaps the best way to learn the advantages of video feedback is to actually see some examples. Both of the following examples are from Chrissy McLaughlin, a teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools. Let's start with a simple example. Chrissy's students were participating in a math vocabulary FlipGrid. It was going great but she realized that students were mispronouncing "finite." It's a simple correction but watch how she does it in a way that actually strengthens her relationships with students.

The next example required more detailed feedback. Students had created their own websites. It's a complicated project that requires detailed feedback. In the example above, Chrissy could just provide feedback using her webcam but this project was different. She needed to use a screencast to highlight specific portions of the students' website. She also showed herself in the video to make the feedback more friendly. Also, notice how she follows the "feedback burger."