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Brianne Palensky
are two top priorities each day for a teacher. Feedback, both positive and negative is essential for
students to achieve their learning goals. From the beginning of the year, students should be
setting and monitoring their goals. As a teacher, it’s important to show them when they are on
track or when they are steering off course. A positive learning environment is also essential, as
every student should feel safe when walking into the classroom. Not only does this allow them to
feel comfortable and ready to achieve, but it also helps build a relationship with their teacher. A
welcoming environment and timely feedback will be two extremely important aspects of my
By linking feedback to your student’s learning goals, your students can use this to
monitor their progress through the year. “One way to avoid feedback falling on deaf ears is to
ensure that students not only understand but also buy into their learning objectives” (Goodwin &
Hubbell, 2013). When it comes to teaching and coaching, pairing negatives with at least two
positives ensures students can maintain positivity and will encourage them to achieve even more.
Feedback is extremely important and can be extremely helpful to student success when it is non-
Non-Controlling Feedback. “If teachers deliver praise simply as information about how
students are performing against a predefined standard, then they can raise performance with little
or no negative effect on motivation” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). It’s important to set a pre-
defined standard at the beginning of the year. Once that is set, you can begin giving feedback
based on that pre-defined standard. While giving feedback, you can use your rules and standards
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as a do-confirm checklist to make sure you are providing feedback that is supportive and
encourages your students to think deeper. Another extremely important aspect of a teacher is to
get your students excited about learning. As I said in Module 4, I will begin each lesson with
something exciting and interesting. When it comes to multiplication, I’ll read Amanda Bean’s
Amazing Dream, which will grasp my student’s interest and encourage them to get excited to
learn multiplication.
If I have a student that is struggling with multiplication, a way I can use non-controlling
feedback is by saying: I see you’re working hard to learn these multiplication facts. Is there
something about repeated addition you can remember that will give you a clue to solve this
multiplication problem? This encourages the student to continue to try their hardest and also
guides his/her learning by asking a question that guides learning. If I have a student excelling
with multiplication facts, I can use non-controlling feedback to say: You did a nice job applying
your knowledge of addition to solve these multiplication problems. Again, I’m focusing on
Growth Oriented Feedback. “It’s important to guard against praising for ability and
ensure that all comments to students reinforce the importance of their effort and its link to their
achievement” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). I will base my feedback off student goals and track
this throughout the year. Some students will be learning multiplication at a quicker pace, but
others that are showing progress should receive just as much encouraging feedback as well.
For a student that is striving with their multiplication facts, I will use a growth-mindset to
provide feedback by saying: Your practice with arrays is really paying off. You’re really getting
your multiplication facts down. By praising the student’s hard work, I’m reinforcing effort, rather
than ability. For a student that is having a hard with multiplication facts, I will use a growth-
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mindset to provide feedback by saying: Everyone learns different. We’ll keep with applying
different addition concepts until we find your best way to master multiplication. Not only am I
encouraging the student, but I’m also encouraging them to continue learning, by applying
Specific Feedback. “Feedback is more likely to motivate and guide students when it’s
specific” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). Specific feedback that is tailored to each student can help
each focus on what is needed to succeed at a specific concept. When a student isn’t
understanding multiplication as fast as they should be, I can provide feedback on their work and
encourage them to review repeated addition, jumps and arrays. I will also list specific behaviors
and actions they can take to achieve the learning goals. By planning ahead and recognizing
where my students stand on the concept, I will be able to provide specific feedback when it can
be used.
After my student masters his/her multiplication facts, I will provide the following specific
feedback: You’ve made tremendous strides with your multiplication facts this year. How did you
use your knowledge of addition to master this concept? What helped you when you started
multiplying larger numbers? This feedback encourages critical thinking and also allows the
Constructive, Non-Evaluative Feedback. “The best feedback isn’t a score or grade; it’s
guidance on what students are doing well and what opportunities they have for improvement”
(Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). By including information on how to improve and encouraging my
students to continue thinking and applying their learning, my feedback will be constructive.
For a student that is struggling with multiplication, I will use the following non-
evaluative feedback: That time, when you used repeated addition, you were able to solve that
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multiplication problem. How do you think you can use it for this problem? I am reminding my
student of a time where they succeeded at multiplication and am helping them think to that time
Timely Feedback. “Researchers generally agree that in most circumstances, the more
immediate feedback is provided, the better” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). When I am working
with my students on multiplication, it’s important to provide them with feedback while we are
still learning this topic. Solving equations on white boards will be a great way to provide timely
feedback. I will present my class with a multiplication problem (3x5) and will have each student
raise their whiteboard when they are finished. I can look around the room and talk to those
students who were unable to solve the equation or didn’t get the correct answer. This gives me an
opportunity to provide real-time feedback. Also, online quizzes and games are a great way to
provide feedback. By using this software, students will see right away if their answers are
correct.
“Ultimately, we want students to become adept at self-assessing so that they are able to
reach out to networks, online tutorials, or other resources to aid in their learning” (Goodwin &
Hubbell, 2013). I will have my students answer statements after each lesson. They will answer
“One thing I understand is” and “One thing I’m struggling with is”. Not only does this help the
student self-reflect on their performance, but it also shows you what concepts students need to
“Teachers play a key role in creating safe, positive learning environments and school
climates for students” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). Once I become a teacher, the number one
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thing I will focus on is being positive. I bring a lot of positivity and encouragement to my
swimmers, and it shows. Not only do my swimmers comment on how happy they are and how
motivated they are to swim for me, but they also swim their best times after I encourage them
My classroom environment will also be bright, welcoming and inviting with positivity
displayed throughout. “Students’ work displayed on the bulletin boards, interactive bulletin
boards for instruction and improved learning, and student-designed bulletin boards not only
enhance the environment but also give students a role in planning that environment” (Bosch,
2006). It’s important to use student work and display it throughout the classroom. When students
see their work around the classroom, this is a form of positive encouragement that their teacher
thinks their work is good enough to be displayed. Desks will be arranged in groups so students
can collaborate with one another, but will also be able to read the board and listen when I’m
giving a lesson.
Positive, caring, respectful and encouraging classroom rules will be displayed in the
classroom for students to refer to. “Whether the teacher refers to them as rules, rights,
expectations, or responsibilities, these principles govern classroom operation and become the
written and unwritten code that allows a classroom to work” (Bosch, 2006). Rules hold students
accountable for their actions and ensures respect for the teacher. Students should have input at
the beginning of the year into consequences for poor classroom behavior. I will use a clip chart,
where there are 5 levels a student can behave. All students will begin the day in the middle, and
they will be able to either move up or down the clip chart, depending on their actions.
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It’s important to catch students when they are displaying the rules in a positive way.
Rather than calling out a student for doing something they shouldn’t be doing, I will call out a
student who is displaying positive classroom behavior. By telling the class, “I like the way
Samantha is doing her work”, I have found this encourages students to use them as a model to
I will set rules for certain circumstances that the students will know to follow. These will
be posted in the classroom for the students and any teacher that will be substituting. At the
beginning of the school year, we will review the classroom rules and spend the first week
practicing the rules, while enforcing consequences. By starting day 1 with rules and
consequences, the students know they will be enforced throughout the year.
Students Entering the Classroom. All students will start their day by walking into the
classroom, saying hello and putting their backpack away. They will then quietly move their name
on the board to “packed lunch” or “buying lunch”. After that, they will begin their warm-up
assignment and raise their hands if they have any questions. If a student finishes early, he/she can
Students Leaving the Classroom. We will begin packing up 10 minutes early. While
packing up, I will ask the students what they learned today. We will then sit quietly and listen for
car riders and buses. If the student is waiting, he/she can read a book at his/her desk.
Walking in the Hallway. All students will walk quietly. We will play a game where I
pick a “mystery walker”. One student will be chosen at random, but the students don’t know who
the mystery walker is. If the mystery walker is silent in the hallway, they get a sticker. After
using this as a substitute, I found every single student remained quiet in the halls, just in case
Students Who Finish Early. Students will sit quietly and read a book or write in their
Gaining Class Attention. To get the class’ attention, I will say “waterfall, waterfall” and
the class will follow with “shhhhhh”. This quiets the classroom and I can begin instructions.
Listening and Responding to Questions. All students will use their listening body. Eyes
and ears should be on the speaker. Lips should be zipped and hands will be raised if there is a
question of comment.
Roll Taking, Collecting Papers, Etc. Students will be assigned jobs at the beginning of
each week. The students will be responsible for whatever job they have – roll taking, collecting
Critical Analysis
Both feedback and classroom environment are just two of the many important
oriented, specific, non-evaluative and timely will help students achieve their learning goals. As a
teacher, providing feedback is important for each student. Whether a student is succeeding or
struggling, shaping your feedback to make sure it has each component of successful feedback is
Smile to set tone, making eye contact, staying calm, listening, notice strengths and
provide encouragement, provide support, use humor, share own stories, listen and adjust (Giani
& O’Guinn, n.d.). By interacting with each student each day and building a relationship, I will
utilize all these components of a successful teacher. Routines and procedures are vital to
classroom success, so these will be created as a group at the beginning of the year and will be
displayed throughout the year. By enforcing feedback and consequences as well as positive
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References
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http://dx.doi.org.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.4135/9781483329451
Giani, M., & O'Guinn, C. (n.d.). Building supportive relationships as a foundation for learning.
Retrieved from
jgc.stanford.edu/docs/YiM_WA3_Building_Supportive_Relationships.doc
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying
focused every day. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum
Development.