What is Feedback for Learning? And how well do you give it to your students.
Ms. Elliston, do you like my drawing?
I hear this questions ALL the time in my Art Room. Students in my class are constantly asking for feedback and reassurance. Years ago, when I first started teaching I would answer the questions with an excited Yes! And follow up with all the reasons I thought their art was great.
But that really is taking the easy way out. Because honestly, there are a lot of pieces I don't like. And that is one of the great things about art, we don't have to like everything we see. So I started to direct the questions back to the students. I wanted their feedback and self reflection on their own work. I started hiding my own feedback in the form of questions that encouraged the students to critique themselves.
So when I am asked if I like a student's work of art, I ask them what they like about it. I ask about the details in their design, and the colors they chose. I ask about the time spent creating the piece and if they think they rushed it. I ask a lot of questions, and I comment on specific qualities I think each piece has, but my feedback never answers their number 1 question..."Ms. Elliston, do you like my drawing?"
I hope that hiding my feedback by making it their own helps my students learn that the only person they need to "like my drawing" is themselves.
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