Empowering Growth: Tips for Using Constructive Feedback
Constructive feedback is a cornerstone of effective teaching, yet it’s an art that requires intentionality and skill. At its best, constructive feedback guides students toward improvement, builds confidence, and fosters a growth mindset. At its worst, it can discourage or confuse students. Teachers who master the art of constructive feedback not only elevate student learning but also create a classroom culture of trust and collaboration.
Here’s a guide to providing impactful, constructive feedback, complete with practical strategies and examples of sentence stems to streamline the process.
1. Focus on the Work, Not the Student
When giving feedback, emphasize the task or behavior rather than the student’s character. This helps avoid feelings of personal criticism and keeps the focus on learning.
Example Sentence Stems:
"Your thesis is clear, but the evidence could be more specific. Let's identify a stronger example together."
"The way you explained this concept shows effort, but consider organizing your ideas into shorter paragraphs for clarity."
2. Be Timely and Specific
Feedback is most effective when delivered soon after the task. Specificity is key — vague comments like "good job" or "try harder" do little to guide improvement. Instead, pinpoint what was successful and what can be improved.
Example Sentence Stems:
"Your use of imagery in the second paragraph really brings your story to life. To make it even stronger, consider adding dialogue to show how the characters feel."
"I noticed that you used a lot of details in your diagram. Could you label each part so it’s easier to follow?"
3. Balance Praise and Suggestions for Growth
Start with positive feedback to build confidence, then provide actionable suggestions for improvement. Ending with an encouraging statement reinforces the student’s ability to improve.
Example Sentence Stems:
"You’ve done a great job solving this equation. Now, let’s work on double-checking your work to avoid small errors."
"Your presentation was engaging, especially when you shared personal examples. To take it to the next level, try making eye contact with your audience more often."
4. Encourage a Growth Mindset
Frame feedback as part of the learning process. Use language that emphasizes effort, strategies, and progress rather than fixed abilities.
Example Sentence Stems:
"You’re getting better at organizing your ideas. Let’s talk about one more strategy to improve your transitions between paragraphs."
"Mistakes like this show that you’re taking risks in your writing. Let’s learn from them to make your next draft even stronger."
5. Ask Questions to Foster Reflection
Encouraging students to reflect on their work deepens their learning and helps them take ownership of the improvement process.
Example Sentence Stems:
"How do you think you could make your argument more convincing?"
"What part of this task did you find most challenging, and how can I support you with it?"
6. Use the “Glow and Grow” Framework
This simple framework highlights one strength (glow) and one area for improvement (grow). It’s especially effective with younger students or those new to constructive feedback.
Example Sentence Stems:
"Glow: Your poster is very colorful and creative. Grow: Adding more facts could make your message even more persuasive."
"Glow: I can see you worked hard on this project. Grow: Let’s focus on including more details in the conclusion."
7. Provide Feedback That’s Actionable
Actionable feedback gives students clear steps to improve. Avoid generalities like “Be more organized,” and instead, provide specific guidance.
Example Sentence Stems:
"Instead of writing one long paragraph, break your ideas into three smaller ones with separate topics."
"Try reading your sentences out loud to check for awkward phrasing."
8. Incorporate Student Strengths into Feedback
Pointing out how students can leverage their strengths to address challenges fosters a sense of competence and ownership.
Example Sentence Stems:
"You have a great eye for design, which will be helpful as you reorganize your chart to make it easier to read."
"Your creativity shines in your storytelling. Let’s use that to brainstorm a more engaging opening for your essay."
9. Follow Up and Revisit Feedback
Feedback is most impactful when paired with opportunities to revisit and revise. Encourage students to view feedback as a tool for continuous improvement rather than a final judgment.
Example Sentence Stems:
"Let’s check back next week to see how your new strategy is working."
"I can see you’ve incorporated my suggestion to use more evidence. What other improvements do you think we can make?"
10. Create a Feedback-Friendly Classroom Culture
Model giving and receiving feedback in positive ways. Encourage peer feedback, but teach students how to do it constructively.
Peer Feedback Sentence Stems:
"One thing I liked about your work is…"
"One suggestion I have for you is…"
"Have you thought about…?"
Conclusion
Our years in the classroom and countless workshops at conferences all over the country have given us this toolbox of sentence stems to use in our assessment practices. Thanks to the arrival of ChatGPT and the other LLMs, we now have a teaching partner. If you need more, or more help, ask one of the generative AI models for suggestions and examples. That’s what we would do.
