Kudos this week to Lance, Julie, and Ann, for finding a useful solution to a pervasive peer feedback problem.
You have students create a project with other students as an audience (a new fitness routine, for example) and maybe have their peers write them feedback on tiny slips of paper -- then do you collate them? Average them? How do you get that information to the people who really need to see them: the creators of the project? This usually requires laborious sorting by hand, or Valentine's-Day-like-drop-offs on a military scale.
There is an easier way.
Lance Robertson found a way to solicit feedback instantly -- using clickers, in his Health class. Then he and Julie adapted it for their Personal Fitness classes last semester, students sweated, lifted, and jumped their way a variety of fitness programs, and then were challenged to create their own.
In teams of 3, students created their own personal fitness routines, and then they performed them, leading the class through a ten minute workout that covered a variety of muscle groups and fitness goals.
Part of the overall score for the project was based on audience feedback, so the teachers created a clicker lesson that incorporated the actual rubric for the assignment, and students were able to vote immediately after each presentation, giving scores on a variety of categories. (Lance pioneered this last year, in his health class, to give kids feedback about their multimedia presentations.)
The PE teachers even consulted with Laura Siemons for her math expertise, who advised them to use median, not average, scores when calculating what students really thought. (This eliminates the influence of outliers and errors.)
It also allowed them to find out where they and the students already agreed about what a quality performance looked like. Students have many misconceptions about what your standards for quality may be -- unless you teach them explicitly.
But the instant feedback of the clickers helps to correct misconceptions.
In the picture above, students were asked about how well the professional presenters showed teamwork -- and most of them got it wrong.
The students thought the presenters showed teamwork, because the presenters talked to each other during the video -- but the teacher scored it a "1," because there was only one leader throughout, and the presenters did not take turns taking the lead on various sections. But within 10 seconds, the teacher clarified this point, and students all understood exactly what was expected of them.
You could tell that there were some students who suddenly realized they needed to change their presentations.
Lance started this last year in his health class, then it spread to Fitness with his and Julie's classes, and now Ann Smith, who has taken on a Fitness class this semester, is using it, too.
So, bravo to Lance, Julie, and Ann, who have found a way to get useful feedback from kids -- and to help them keep moving closer and closer to excellence.
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| Students rest after a workout, and Julie directs them to click in their feedback. |
The problem: peer evaluation is difficult to manage
If you've ever wanted to solicit useful feedback from your class on another student's work, you've run into a problem.
You have students create a project with other students as an audience (a new fitness routine, for example) and maybe have their peers write them feedback on tiny slips of paper -- then do you collate them? Average them? How do you get that information to the people who really need to see them: the creators of the project? This usually requires laborious sorting by hand, or Valentine's-Day-like-drop-offs on a military scale.
There is an easier way.
 |
| Students confer with each other about the merits of the fitness presentation they just participated in. |
The solution: collect, display, and store feedback instantly with clickers
Lance Robertson found a way to solicit feedback instantly -- using clickers, in his Health class. Then he and Julie adapted it for their Personal Fitness classes last semester, students sweated, lifted, and jumped their way a variety of fitness programs, and then were challenged to create their own.
In teams of 3, students created their own personal fitness routines, and then they performed them, leading the class through a ten minute workout that covered a variety of muscle groups and fitness goals.
Part of the overall score for the project was based on audience feedback, so the teachers created a clicker lesson that incorporated the actual rubric for the assignment, and students were able to vote immediately after each presentation, giving scores on a variety of categories. (Lance pioneered this last year, in his health class, to give kids feedback about their multimedia presentations.)
The PE teachers even consulted with Laura Siemons for her math expertise, who advised them to use median, not average, scores when calculating what students really thought. (This eliminates the influence of outliers and errors.)
 |
| To make sure everyone understands the criteria for success, you can display scores instantly. In this case, the teacher's assessment choice is marked green - so only about a quarter of the students understood how that aspect was to be judged; after a quick discussion, they all did. |
Rubric anchoring: make sure you and your students share the same picture of excellence
Before the real student project began, Lance and Julie had their students watch a professional video and do the workout, then score the video using the clickers. This allowed them a test run of the clickers, so they and the students could become familiar with them.
It also allowed them to find out where they and the students already agreed about what a quality performance looked like. Students have many misconceptions about what your standards for quality may be -- unless you teach them explicitly.
But the instant feedback of the clickers helps to correct misconceptions.
In the picture above, students were asked about how well the professional presenters showed teamwork -- and most of them got it wrong.
The students thought the presenters showed teamwork, because the presenters talked to each other during the video -- but the teacher scored it a "1," because there was only one leader throughout, and the presenters did not take turns taking the lead on various sections. But within 10 seconds, the teacher clarified this point, and students all understood exactly what was expected of them.
You could tell that there were some students who suddenly realized they needed to change their presentations.
Good ideas spread
Lance started this last year in his health class, then it spread to Fitness with his and Julie's classes, and now Ann Smith, who has taken on a Fitness class this semester, is using it, too.
So, bravo to Lance, Julie, and Ann, who have found a way to get useful feedback from kids -- and to help them keep moving closer and closer to excellence.
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