Giving feedback to students…
- Things Education
- Jan 2
- 5 min read
…to build understanding.
Hello all. Welcome to the 147th edition of TEPS Weekly!
Ms. Roy has 58 students in her Grade 6 classroom. She has just completed teaching a Civics chapter on ‘Local Self-Government’ using the Direct Instruction approach. Before moving onto written exercises, she asks, “In one sentence, who can tell me what a Gram Panchayat is?”
She cold calls Aman, who reluctantly answers, “It is the police station in the village that makes rules and punishes people.” Ms. Roy responds, “Hmm… okay. Anyone else?” Srija raises her hand and says, “It is a group of people in the village who do government work.” Ms. Roy responds, “Yes, yes, sort of. They do village work.” Not wanting to be left out, Karthik stands up and says confidently, “It is the local self-government body for a village that helps take decisions and manage village services.” Ms. Roy responds, “Good. Correct. Sit down.”
In this one-minute exchange, the teacher’s feedback to each student’s response decides whether the learning is lost or consolidated.
Type of Student Response | Type of Teacher Feedback | Impact on Student Learning |
Wrong (eg: Aman) | Ignores error | Learning is lost: misconception remains and may spread |
Partially correct (eg: Srija) | Rounds up as correct | Learning is weakly consolidated: students don’t learn what’s missing |
Correct (eg: Karthik) | Gives vague praise | Learning is partially consolidated: students don’t get a clear model to copy |
The issue is not that Ms. Roy didn’t check for understanding (she did). It is what happened immediately after. The few seconds after a student answers are not “extra” – they are part of teaching. So, in crowded classrooms, teachers need a system of fixed feedback routines. Feedback routines reduce the pressure on the teacher of thinking on the spot, and they keep more students listening, thinking and trying. Put simply, feedback should not depend on what you can think of immediately. It should follow a small routine that feels predictable and fair, so mistakes are corrected and learning is consolidated immediately.
Feedback Routines
Step 1: Identify the underlying reason for the response (Why did the student say this?)
In order to give the right kind of helpful feedback, the teacher must first identify the underlying reason for the student’s response. Let’s think back to the question that Ms. Roy asked: “What is a Gram Panchayat?” Students may give different responses – the following list describes the possible underlying reasons for those responses.
Low attention: The student wasn’t listening or answered too quickly.
“Sorry teacher, what was the question?”
Misunderstood the question: The student answered a different question than asked.
“The head of the Gram Panchayat is the Sarpanch.”
Fact gap: The student does not know the term or definition.
“I don’t know…”
Confused similar terms: The student has mixed up two related ideas.
“It is the Gram Sabha where all the villagers meet and decide.”
Misconception: The student has misunderstood the underlying idea.
“It is like the village police that makes rules and punishes people.”
Reasoning error: The student uses incorrect reasoning.
“It is not important because the CM decides everything”
Incompleteness: The student misses some key points.
“It is a group in the village that helps people.”
Careless error: The student makes a careless mistake.
“It is the local self-government body for a city…”
Language difficulty: The student cannot express the idea correctly.
“It is… like… village… people group… doing… government.”
In subjects like Maths and Geography, student responses can also have this underlying reason.
Procedural error: The student cannot apply the steps of a task.
Q: Find the total funds for the Gram Panchayat in 4 months (₹12,500 per month).
A: The student multiplies, but makes a step error: ₹12,500 × 4 = ₹40,000 (instead of ₹50,000).
Students can respond in different ways for different reasons, so the best feedback depends on the reason.
Step 2: Identify the type of response (How accurate is the student’s response?)
After you identify why the student responded that way, the next step is to identify how accurate the response is: wrong, partially correct, correct.
Student Response | Underlying Reason | Type of Response |
“It is the police station in the village that makes rules and punishes people.” | Misconception | Wrong |
“It is… like… village… people group… doing… government.” | Language difficulty | Partially correct |
“It is the local self-government body for a village that takes decisions and manages village services.” | Correct |
Step 3: Give matching feedback (What do you say next?)
If the response is WRONG → SCR
|
Example 1 (Underlying reason: Misconception)
Student: “Gram Panchayat is the police station that makes rules and punishes people.”
Teacher:
Stop: “Pause. Don’t copy that.”
Correct: “Police are for law and order. A Gram Panchayat is the village local self-government body.”
Repeat: “Aman, say that full sentence.”
Example 2 (Underlying reason: Confused similar terms)
Student: “Gram Panchayat is the Gram Sabha where all villagers meet.”
Teacher:
Stop: “Careful – two different terms.”
Correct: “Gram Sabha is all adult villagers. Gram Panchayat is the elected body that runs village work.”
Repeat: “Now say: ‘A Gram Panchayat is…’”
If the response is PARTIALLY CORRECT → FUR
|
Example 1 (Underlying reason: Incompleteness)
Student: “It is a group of people in the village who do government work.”
Teacher:
Find: “Good start. What’s missing is ‘elected local self-government body’.”
Upgrade: “Add those words.”
Repeat: “Say the full sentence again.”
Example 2 (Underlying reason: Language difficulty)
Student: “It is… like… village… people group… doing… government.”
Teacher:
Find: “Yes, you mean village government. Missing words are local body and services.”
Upgrade: “Use this starter: ‘A Gram Panchayat is the local body for a village that…’”
Repeat: “Now say it once fully.”
If the response is CORRECT → NMR
|
Example
Student: “It is the local self-government body for a village that helps take decisions and manage village services.”
Teacher:
Name: “Excellent! Notice the key words: local self-government, village, decisions, services.”
Model: “A Gram Panchayat is the elected local self-government body of a village.”
Rehearse: “Class, repeat once together.”
Give feedback immediately after a student answers. A simple routine reduces the pressure of thinking on the spot and helps the whole class learn the right idea.. Use the three-step routine: identify the underlying reason for the response, identify the type of response, and then give matching feedback using SCR (wrong), FUR (partially correct) or NMR (correct).
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Edition: 5.02
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