Verbal feedback in a primary classroom
When it comes to providing high quality feedback, we need to ensure that we are teaching responsively – actively eliciting evidence about our pupils’ learning in order to inform and adapt our teaching to meet their needs (Black and Wiliam 1998). One efficient and immediate response to move pupils’ learning forward is to provide verbal feedback.
Giving feedback verbally means that you can clarify and elaborate immediately, therefore ensuring that misconceptions are not embedded, and pupils can act upon the feedback given straight away.
As you watch this video of classroom practice, consider how the teacher:
- Provides clear and actionable steps for achieving success
- Uses verbal feedback to establish a dialogue with pupils to move learning forward
- Manages to reduce marking workload by utilising verbal feedback
- Prompts pupils to elaborate and self-explain their ideas
Whether you’re establishing ways of working for the first time or reviewing your feedback approaches, take some time to reflect on what the teacher has done, how they’ve done it, what they might have done differently, and how this might influence your own practice.
