Lesson 5: Feedback session (optional)
Living Democracy » Textbooks » Taking part in democracy » Part 2 – Taking part in politics: settling conflict, solving problems » Unit 6: Government and politics » Lesson 5: Feedback session (optional)| This matrix sums up the information a teacher needs to plan and deliver the lesson. Competence training refers directly to EDC/HRE. The learning objective indicates what students know and understand. The student task(s), together with the method, form the core element of the learning process. The materials checklist supports lesson preparation. The time budget gives a rough guideline for the teacher’s time management. |
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| Competence training | Reflecting on one’s personal process of learning and competence development. Giving constructive feedback. Reflecting on the class’s and teacher’s joint responsibility for the success of EDC/HRE classes. |
| Learning objective | Feedback is an important tool to improve processes of teaching and learning. |
| Student tasks | The students reflect on their work (learning outcome and process of learning). |
| Materials and Resources | Student handout 6.3 (student feedback). Flipcharts with markers in different colours. One flipchart with a big copy of jss student handout 6.3 |
| Method | Individual work, plenary presentation and discussion. |
| Time budget | 1. Individual feedback. (7 min) |
| 2. Plenary presentation of feedback results. (13 min) | |
| 3. Follow-up discussion. (20 min) | |
Information for the teacher
This unit has been selected as one of two examples in this manual18 to demonstrate how a feedback session may be used to evaluate a unit. This feedback session is optional, but also strongly recommended.
The students give feedback on their work in the project – now focusing on the process of teaching and learning. What difficulties were there, what went well? Which skills do they possess, and what would they like to develop further?
A feedback session is a useful tool to evaluate the impact of EDC/HRE classes by comparing the students’ views with each other’s and with the teacher’s. Feedback requires time, but the investment brings rewards, as the working atmosphere and efficiency of lesson planning may be expected to improve. The feedback session consists of an information input (steps 1 and 2, and a follow-up discussion (step 3).
Lesson description
The following procedure is suggested for students who are not familiar with giving feedback. An alternative procedure for classes and teachers with some feedback experience is given below.
1. Individual feedback
The flipchart copy has been attached to the wall or blackboard where all students can see it well. The teacher explains the purpose of the lesson: the students will not deal with a new topic, but will step aside, so to speak, and view the results and their process of learning. They should answer the questions honestly and fairly on the handouts they will receive. They need not give their names.
In the follow-up discussion, the class and the teacher will look at the feedback information to find out how they can improve the learning outcome in EDC/HRE classes together – by keeping what went well, and changing what did not work so well.
The students each receive a copy of student handout 6.3. The teacher points out that the students should not look at each other’s handouts – this is not a test with a set of expected answers.
Part 1 of the handout consists of eight statements on different aspects of teaching and learning – the policy cycle tool, the methods of teaching and learning, co-operation and interaction with other students and with the teacher. These questions are answered by entering a dot on the dartboard – a dot in the centre (No. 5) means “I fully agree”, and a dot in the outer circle (No. 1) means “I fully disagree”.
In the second part, the students may enter their personal “highlight” and “flop” – what was the most interesting and important thing – and therefore worth remembering – that they learnt in this unit? And what was particularly uninteresting, unproductive, or boring – and what will they therefore forget quickly?
2. Plenary presentation of feedback results
The students work in silence. A team of two students collects the worksheets and brings them to the flipchart. One student reads out the dartboard results from each handout, and the other enters them on the big copy of the dartboard on the flipchart. A student can work out the exact total score by adding the scores in each sector and dividing them by the number of students taking part.
The personal feedbacks (part 2) are also read out and entered on two big flipcharts to the left and right of the dartboard, each carrying a title that refers to the feedback question – e.g. what I found particularly interesting/uninteresting.
An alternative procedure
This procedure is time-consuming, but will make it easier for those students for whom this is the first feedback exercise. A more direct method can be applied if:
- the students have some feedback experience;
- (more important) they can trust the teacher not to sanction open criticism, e.g. by giving bad marks or personal verbal attacks;
- (still more important) the students can trust each other to respect each other’s differing opinions and learning experiences.
Step 1: In turn, the students come to the flipchart and enter their points directly on the poster. They do not fill in student handout 6.3. Instead, the students receive red and green strips of paper (white paper marked accordingly will do as well), and enter their personal feedback statements. These are then collected and presented by a tandem team of students. Preferably, the students come forward themselves and read out their statements, commenting on them if they wish.
These strips are attached to the flipcharts, and clustered if they repeat a certain point. Subtitles and keywords give structure to the feedback chart.
Basic rule during feedback input: no commenting, no discussions
Whichever approach is adopted, one basic rule applies: no statements are commented on during the input phase. It may disrupt the time schedule if a premature discussion starts, and the principle of equal opportunity for all is ignored. The teacher chairs the input phase and intervenes if students comment, laugh or deride any statement by other students.
3. Follow-up discussion
A feedback session generates its own agenda, so no advice on how to structure content can be given. Here are some starting points to help the class read the main feedback messages.
Dartboard:
- What questions show a dominant cluster of agreement or disagreement? Why?
- What questions show a spread right across from one extreme to the other? Why?
Personal feedbacks:
- Are there any clusters – statements repeatedly made?
The follow-up discussion may address points like the following:
- What are the strengths of our EDC/HRE classes? Should we continue in the way we have done up to now?
- What are the weaknesses of our EDC/HRE classes? What should we change or improve? In what way?
(The following questions can also be included in an extension to student handout 6.3).
- What is my personal responsibility? What can I personally contribute to our success?
- What would I – as an individual student – like to learn next? What tasks interest me, or help me most?
The students and teacher decide – perhaps even jointly – what results from their feedback session are to be taken further in future lesson planning. One of the most important things that the students – and perhaps also the teacher – should understand is that teacher and students depend on each other to be successful, as professionals and as learners respectively.
18. See student handout 5.6 (for units 4 and 5).
