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Session 2. Quality Feedback: Task, Process, Self-Regulation
Objective. Classify feedback by level (task, process, self-regulation, self), rewrite weak comments so that a pupil knows what to do next, and plan lesson time in which pupils act on the feedback.
Marking takes hours, yet many comments change nothing because the pupil cannot tell what to do next. Research on feedback, such as the work of Hattie and Timperley and recent guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation, points to the same ideas: say where the pupil is going, how they are doing and what comes next, choose the right level, and leave time to act. A few well-aimed comments can do more than a full page of remarks.
Key ideas
Three questions feedback should answer
- Hattie and Timperley describe effective feedback as answering three pupil questions: Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next?
- Many comments answer only the second question ('7 out of 10') and leave the third empty. The pupil learns the result but not the next step.
- Before writing a comment, ask: does this tell the pupil what to do next?
Four levels of feedback
- Task level: is the answer right or wrong, and what is missing. ('The unit is missing in line 3.')
- Process level: how the work was done and which strategy could help. ('Try drawing the situation before you calculate.')
- Self-regulation level: how the pupil checks and directs their own work. ('Before you hand in, check each answer by putting it back into the equation.') Self level: praise or blame of the person ('You are clever'), which rarely helps learning.
Match the level to the pupil
- A pupil who is new to a topic usually needs task-level feedback: what is right, what is wrong, what is missing.
- When the basics are secure, move to process and self-regulation: strategies, questions to ask oneself, checks.
- If you praise, praise effort and strategy that the pupil can repeat ('you tried three methods'), not a fixed quality. Carol Dweck's work supports this.
Feedback is work for the pupil
- The best feedback makes the pupil think harder than the teacher. Give one or two points to act on, not ten.
- Plan time in the lesson for pupils to act on it, for example 5 to 8 minutes to correct, rewrite or try again. Feedback that is read and not used is wasted marking time.
- A mark placed beside a comment often draws the eye first. Try returning the comment first, and the mark later or not at all on drafts.
Four levels of feedback
Choosing the level for this pupil
Feedback at task level is not weak; it is right for a pupil who does not yet know the basics. 'The unit is missing' or 'this step is wrong' is what a beginner needs. Trouble starts when every pupil, including those who already manage the basics, gets only task-level comments, because they never learn how to improve independently.
Process-level feedback offers a strategy: draw a diagram, reread the question, compare with the example. Self-regulation feedback hands over the checking: 'Before you hand in, test your answer by substituting it back.' Over several weeks the aim is for the pupil to use these questions without you. Feedback about the person ('you are clever') is pleasant but does not tell the pupil what to do, and it can make a later mistake feel like a verdict.
Making the pupil do the thinking
A useful test is who works harder, the teacher or the pupil. If you correct every error and write the answer, you have done the thinking. Instead, point to the place and ask a question: 'Look at line 3: what happens to the 3 when it moves to the other side?' The pupil must then think. Limiting yourself to one or two points also helps you finish faster.
Time is the part most often forgotten. Return the notebooks at the start of the lesson, give 5 to 8 minutes to act, and walk round to see what changes. If it is possible, return comments without the mark first, because a mark beside a comment tends to take the eye. Where the same issue appears in ten notebooks, give one comment to the whole class and spend your marking time on the few who need individual points.
Examples from the classroom
From 'be careful' to a check
Scene. Aziz's Grade 7 pupil writes x = 7 for 2x + 3 = 11. The old comment was 'Wrong, be careful!'. Aziz now writes: 'Check line 2: what do you do with +3 when you move it? Put your x back into 2x + 3 to see if you get 11.' He gives six minutes at the start of the next lesson. Most of the six pupils who received such comments correct their work.
Insight. A process hint plus a self-check routine gives the pupil something to do and a method for next time.
Sumalak and the full stop
Scene. Malika in Tashkent reads a Grade 5 paragraph about Navruz with lively ideas but no full stops. The previous comment was 'Good job! You are a great writer.' She writes instead: 'Read your paragraph aloud and mark each place where you breathe; put a full stop there.' After five minutes the pupil returns with four sentences.
Insight. Praise of the person gave no direction; a concrete strategy at process level did.
One comment for the whole class
Scene. Dilnoza in Bukhara finds that 14 of 30 Grade 8 history answers list dates but do not explain why events happened. Rather than write the same note 14 times, she writes one sentence on the board: 'Add one sentence with "because" to two events.' Pupils revise for eight minutes, and she writes individual comments only for the five who still list dates.
Insight. Class-level feedback saves marking time and leaves energy for the pupils who need individual points.
Common pitfalls
- Writing many comments on one piece of work, so the pupil does not know where to start.
- Giving the answer instead of a question or a strategy.
- Returning notebooks with no lesson time to act on them.
- Using praise of the person ('you are clever') as the main feedback.
Rewrite the Feedback
- Read the four pupil work samples and the teacher's original comments in your Activity Kit. Mark each comment as task, process, self-regulation or self level (8 min).
- In pairs, rewrite the comment for two samples: one at process level and one that asks the pupil to check their own work. Keep each to two sentences (15 min).
- Test each new comment with the checklist: specific, about the work and not the child, one thing to act on, doable in five minutes (7 min).
- Plan the response time: write where in your next lesson pupils will act on feedback, what they will do, and how you will see the change (10 min).
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which original comment was most common in your own marking, and what did it leave out?
- How long did a good rewrite take compared with a vague comment? Where can you save time (a class comment, a code)?
- What will pupils do with the feedback in the lesson, and how will you know it helped?
Reflect
- Which of your usual comments are really at the 'self' level?
- When did a pupil last change their work because of your comment? What was different about that comment?
- What could you stop marking so that you have time for fewer, better comments?
Try it tomorrow
- Choose six notebooks and write one process-level or self-regulation comment on each.
- Give 5 to 8 minutes at the start of the next lesson for pupils to respond, and note which pupils changed their work.
- Return one set of work with comments only and no mark, and ask pupils what they will do first.
Further reading and links
Good feedback tells the pupil what to do next and leaves time in the lesson to do it.