12 Touchstones of Good Teaching

7. Use Feedback to Encourage Effort

What it looks like: "Teachers provide students with frequent and timely feedback that links to learning objectives.  Teachers also keep feedback non controlling and growth oriented, helping students see how their efforts are the key to success and giving students opportunities to self and peer assess."

Why it is important: "Effective feedback has among the strongest influences on student success of any instructional practice.  Feedback is most effective when it is linked to learning objectives..."

(Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 197)

See the power of effective feedback in the story about Austin's Butterfly.

Austin's Butterfly can be used in a variety of ways.  Use it with your students to show the importance of effective peer feedback.  Use it with other teachers to show the importance of providing specific feedback to students.  You can see other examples by going to the Expeditionary Learning website.

12 Touchstones of Good Teaching Series

Touchstone 2: Ensure Students Set Personal Learning Objectives for Each Lesson

Why it is important: "By setting and achieving small goals, students develop fate control, learned optimism, and willingness to take on new challenges. Research suggests teacher effectiveness largely boils down to deliberate teaching of learning objectives" (Goodwin & Hubbell, pg. 196)

What it looks like: Teachers help students create learning goals and short-term learning objectives.  Students then have a clear picture of what the end looks like and can develop a plan to meet their goals.

Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD - See more at: http://www.mcrel.org/products-and-services/products/product-listing/100_199/product-111#sthash.NJswMvKe.dpuf