On Going Feedback in Prep to Year Five

In recent years, research has confirmed that providing students with meaningful feedback can significantly enhance their learning and achievement. It has a significant influence on students' academic success. Positive feedback has the power to initiate further action, and improves both teaching and learning. Feedback and instruction are intertwined. It is as important as instruction because it gives new information about students' understanding of a fact or achievement of a skill. Feedback provides new information specifically related to the task or process of learning that fills a gap between what is understood and what is aimed to be understood. Hence, feedback is an essential part of effective learning. It helps students understand the subject better and gives them clear guidance on how to proceed with their learning. At Pacific, we strive to create a culture of feedback in many ways, including student work samples on Seesaw.

Effective feedback is:

• Constructive - relevant to the nature of the task and focused on growth in learning.

• Timely - given while the assessed work is still fresh in a student’s mind before the student moves on to subsequent tasks.

• Meaningful - is directed to the student, targets their individual needs, and is linked to learning intentions and success criteria.

From Prep to Year 5, teachers will post annotated work samples and rubrics on Seesaw for Mathematics, English, and Science this term. These samples will give parents ongoing feedback about how their child is working towards, working at, or beyond a sound standard of achievement in the curriculum- ACARA v9.

At Pacific, it is essential to understand that documentation of a representative sample of this feedback using Seesaw supports students and parents/caregivers in engaging with the learning process as it is happening.

Mrs Sue Zweck, Head of Learning K-5