There has been a lot of debate recently about feedback given on pupils’ work and the role it plays in motivation.
Discussions were sparked when a teacher said that a pupil appreciated their books being marked every day, because in their previous school “no one cared”. Inevitably, it turned out that this teacher taught a very reduced timetable and had very few classes but still, it got people talking.
Many schools have now moved away from prescriptive marking policies that insist that individual written comments appear in pupils’ books with any degree of regularity. Many teachers, including me, welcomed that. But is it possible that something has been lost? Have we moved too far away from written marking as the dominant form of feedback?
Teachers have shifted away from providing a lot of written feedback because it is so ineffective. Getting feedback on a piece of work days or weeks after it has been produced is unlikely to lead to any change in what students know or can do. Giving feedback live, as the class is working and while you are circulating the room, means that a discussion can be had about what is right and what is wrong and, importantly, why this is the case. The teacher can respond to what they are seeing and make adjustments to their lesson there and then. Spotting an error and writing it in the book in the hope that the pupil will eventually see it and act on it is far less effective.
However, even if written marking isn’t as effective, should we be doing it anyway because it is motivating? Because it shows that we care? This is where things become more complex.
Should teachers give written feedback?
We know that people are motivated by the expectation that they will succeed, the perceived cost of doing something and whether they feel the thing has value. Maybe the written marking helps to show the value of the work? You need to do this because I, the teacher, value it, and I show you this through marking it.
But aren’t there other ways of showing that the work is valued? It can be shown under a visualiser, as a great example; it can be praised quietly while the work is being completed; it can be discussed with the pupil so that they can explain their thought process and have their ideas challenged and expanded upon. Doesn’t that also show its value? Isn’t that more likely to lead to better outcomes than a red pen scribbling “Good work! Don’t forget capital letters!” on every other page?
Shouldn’t we be trying to move away from the culture where the work is valued because it is important to me as the teacher? I would suggest that we need to help pupils to realise that the work isn’t being done for me, as a favour that I will benefit from, but is being done because it will help them. The point of the work isn’t to generate work for me but to generate learning for them. Feedback may be an important part of that learning journey but that feedback can take many forms and the form should follow the function that we need it to have.
If you like writing comments in pupils’ books, and by some strange quirk of fate you have a light timetable and few classes that allow you to do so without sacrificing either your life or other important aspects of your job, then lovely. But to link it to motivation and caring seems to be short-sighted and show a lack of imagination about other ways of achieving those same ends.
Mark Enser is head of geography and research lead at Heathfield Community College in East Sussex. His latest book, The CPD Curriculum, is out now. He tweets @EnserMark
