There is always a struggle on how time is prioritised for doing different tasks. Marking takes up a lot of time, especially so for our language teachers, as I do get this impression from the reflections shared.
What cannot be traded off is the quality and hence value of the feedback to our pupils. Because without quality feedback, pupils will have little clue on what are the 'next steps' for improvement. However, quality feedback takes time, and having many classes to teach makes the marking load tremendous. The variable here becomes the manner in which quality feedback is dispensed.
I am quite inspired to see how dictation software has evolved. And using dictation software (E.g. Dragon from Nuance) can have very time saving effects on providing feedback to pupils' work. With the accuracy of the most current dictation software coupled with a wireless headset, a lot more can be done with less time. Take a look at this video below.
An example. Comments after marking a particular essay or section of a coursework can come in 3 parts:
1. What are the strengths of the pupil in this piece of work?
2. What are the weaknesses of the pupil in this piece of work?
3. What he/she has to do to improve?
3 very simple but valuable feedback, customised to the context of each pupil, can be so easily and quickly done with speed with a dictation software.
When put to good use, the quality of feedback increases, the time to do it shortens and as the feedback is digitised, all previous comments for any particular pupil can also be easily tracked over time. This will be one example where the use of technology can have very tangible effects, very quickly.
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1 comment:
sounds great, the idea of quick detailed feedback that is capture using our natural actions, typing on keys and moving a rodent to control a pointer is not.
Is writing natural? Slower than speaking?
Feedback can be effective when a clear set of goals or outcomes or criteria & standards are established before the task. This set of performance indicators would also help learners take ownership of their achievement and progress.
In using a natural input device (voice-to-text, handwriting-to-text) to give feedback aligned to the learning outcomes and expectations, the essence is retained with greater accuracy and productivity.
Just need to be careful that too much feedback may result in pupils overloaded with corrections that are not focused on improving sub-skills gradually. A more effective feedback would be one in which a reasonable amount of work can be done by the pupil to improve that particular skill or subskill or content knowledge. So perhaps if a teacher finds writing the feedback too onerous, chances are it would also be too overwhelming for the learned. Focused feedback could be the solution in AfL.
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