As parents, we all want to see our teenagers feel empowered when reviewing their assessment feedback. Receiving feedback can often be challenging, as no one likes being criticised. However, we can help our teens see feedback as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Feedback should be seen as ‘The gap between what is understood and what is aimed to be understood’ (Hattie & Clarke, 2019).

Feedback serves various functions, such as reinforcing success, correcting errors, identifying misconceptions, suggesting improvements, providing future improvement advice, and praising. When discussing your child's writing, focus on the qualities of their work, specific ways in which it can be improved, and the improvements they have made compared to their earlier work. This approach helps build their self-esteem and confidence.

To effectively engage with the feedback your child receives, you can provide purposeful and goal-focused guidance. Help your child understand the assessment objectives and align them with the feedback they received. Moreover, encourage self-reflection in your child by asking thought-provoking questions that prompt them to analyse their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth based on the feedback. By actively participating in the feedback loop, you empower your children to internalise the feedback, make necessary changes, and continuously strive for excellence in their assessments. By discussing the feedback and emphasising the constructive nature of the comments, you create an environment that promotes a growth mindset. This mindset highlights that mistakes are opportunities for learning and improvement.

One way to start a conversation about assessment feedback with your child is by asking them what helpful feedback they received at school that day. This opens a dialogue and encourages them to reflect on their learning process. It's important to foster a growth mindset in our children, where they understand that their writing can be developed through working on using feedback to improve their skills and the quality of their work. By providing support and empowering them through teacher feedback, we can unlock their academic potential and help them become confident and successful learners.

Camilla Cook
Teacher & Literacy Coordinator
Camilla_cook@shalomcollege.com