## Monday, 3 December 2012

### A Feedback Idea that Didn't Stick

Last year, I tried giving feedback to pupils - about their homework - using a detailed marking scheme, highlighted to show successes and failures.  A pupil's feedback would look something like this:

 Question Step Comment 1a differentiate sin to cos use the chain rule to produce an extra multiplier of 2 (the derivative of the function inside sin) keep 3 as a multiplier of the derivative know to evaluate f’ at x=0 perform evaluation correctly 1b realise that rearranging to tan(x)=... is the first step take square root to give tan(x)=... remember to use +/- square roots find building block angle from exact values choose correct quadrants for solutions work with fractions of pi correctly not available, as you did not consider other solutions state solution clearly
My hope was that the pupils would use the feedback to see where they had "gone right" as well as where they had gone wrong, and would be able to use it to help with corrections.

As it turned out, these feedback forms (returned to them electronically via the maths department Moodle installation) were time consuming to complete, and hard for pupils to interpret.  Some of the youngsters in my Higher class found them very useful, but most didn't, and the forms didn't have any impact on the quantity or quality of corrections being done.

You win some you lose some!  I guess this idea might work for someone else in a different situation.