Yesterday I was having a great time with my granddaughter on the beach and at the park when I caught myself doing what we some times do in education - giving feedback that was meaningless even to an 18 month old. I caught myself saying "good job" and "nice work" as she was putting rocks in a bucket or sliding down the slide. It reminded me of a brilliant post by Nicole Vagle (check it out at http://www.allthingsassessment.info/wordpress/?p=55) that spoke to the need to go beyond these trite phrases. I committed to trying it out with baby Isabella and gave her specific feedback about the size of the rocks she was gathering and to look for different sizes as the bucket got full. I told her she could go faster on the slide if she pulled her legs together rather than having one out to the side that caused her to slow down. Now, I am willing to admit that the sun was shining on me and I could have been a little dopey but I am convinced that she changed what she was doing based on the specific feedback I was giving. If it works for babies, what a powerful intervention it must be for our students! Just a thought before heading back out for more Grandpa time.
Hi Tom, thanks for the shout out. Love the short post. I agree totally that we must go beyond the short phrases of saying "good job" and "nice work."
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian. I am reminded that it's the simple things that we can change that often seem to cause the biggest concern.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent I can be guilty of the same sort of comments to my children as well. This is another great reminder of the power of descriptive feedback in my personal and professional life - Good job :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Johnny. Being a grandparent means I get to go through the whole learning process again!
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