Good feedback goes beyond task criteria. One person reads another’s work and responds to what they said. ‘I try to comment on the content, or what they wrote, and not only task-specific criteria.‘
Practice
- Comment on the ideas, not only on the rubric.
- Aim for the writer to feel read (you rarely know whether it landed).
- Her model feedback had three parts: a response to the content, offers of contacts or further reading, and handwritten notes on the text.
- Reflection prompts: What feedback have you received recently? What made it memorable? What kind works for you?
Limits
Single anecdote; not about post-observation feedback.
Apply in my context (Claude)
- For IELTS Task 2 marking, add one sentence responding to the argument before the band-descriptor comments. It costs 20 seconds and changes how learners read the rest. It also fits Butler’s comments-over-grades finding (The case against grades).
Connections
Observation for development - describe before you interpret · Descriptive praise beats evaluative praise