By Dustin VandeHoef, College of Education intern
PULLMAN, Wash. – The characteristics of effective feedback and how it can be used to empower students will be presented by educational consultant Susan Brookhart at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, in Goertzen 21, at Washington State University.
“Assessment and feedback have huge effects on how students learn,” said Chad Gotch, WSU assistant professor of educational psychology. Feedback taps into the motivation students have for learning, he said, adding that “anyone in a leadership or professional position can benefit from learning what makes feedback good.”
In “Feedback that Makes a Difference,” Brookhart will describe three “lenses” teachers can use to create beneficial feedback: the microscope view, the snapshot view and the telescope view.
Brookhart is known for her research into classroom assessment, Gotch said. She uses exams and classroom activities to open a window into how students are learning, and then uses those insights to help them understand the lessons even better.
“She has worked hard to bridge the small, everyday classroom activities with the large standardized tests,” he said.
Brookhart and Gotch are working on a standardized testing video for the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). The project intends to answer questions like, “Why do we have these tests?” “What are they used for?” and “Why are there so many different types?”
“It’s about increasing people’s understanding of assessments so they can advocate for better ones,” Gotch said. “Ultimately assessment decisions affect someone’s livelihood. So they need to be well designed.”