This week I would like to share some thinking around feedback.

At Lemonwood Grove we have a focus on promoting further learning. Promoting further learning is about the strategies and techniques we use to 'close the gap' between what a learner currently knows and what they need to learn. One technique we use to allow our students to know if they are on the right track when learning is feedback.  

Feedback can be given as statements or questions, verbal or non verbal. We also use modelling, examples, reminders and scaffolds as part of this process. 

According to John Hattie and Helen Timperley, two prominent New Zealand Educationists, feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement. 

In an interview Hattie emphasized that the most powerful feedback is that given from the student to the teacher. This feedback allows teachers to see learning through the eyes of their students. It makes learning visible and facilitates the planning of next steps. The feedback that students receive from their teachers is also really important. It enables students to progress towards areas they need to be focusing on.

I listen to feedback being given every day in the Learning Landscapes at Lemonwood Grove. It is also really rewarding to give our learners feedback at more formal occasions such as Celebrations of Learning.