Providing feedback

In a year 12 English class, the teacher provides individual feedback to students on a recent written English task. The teacher addresses specific issues students are having and provides timely and pertinent feedback to assist them in their learning. Tasks are allocated to students individually. These tasks are based on the students' performance in recent 'learning outcomes' and so are targeted to strengthen identified areas of weakness in each student's work. This feedback will enable students to gain a better understanding of the requirements for the end of year exam.

Our Lady of Mercy College is a Catholic school for girls in the inner northern metropolitan area of Melbourne. It has a school population of approximately 1,100 students in Years 7–12. The school has a strong professional learning culture, with a focus on peer mentoring, coaching and collegial activities. Timely, targeted feedback to students is seen as an important part of the learning and teaching process. During 2011, the College implemented strategies and professional development sessions that focused on how to provide effective feedback to students. One of the emerging ideas from this was that students often do not consider that 'general class feedback' applies to them. More focus on one-on-one conversations and targeted feedback emerged from these findings.