SETTING OBJECTIVES &
PROVIDING FEEDBACK
Created by The School District of Lee County, CSDC
in conjunction with
Cindy Harrison, Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Adapted by the Foreign Language Cadre
Arlene Dunn
David Flecha
Debbie Fuchs
Cristina Hernandez
Participant Outcomes
Participants will:
 Understand the purpose and importance
of setting objectives
 Identify ways to implement goal setting in
the classroom
 Understand the purpose and importance
of providing feedback to students about
their learning
 Review examples of providing corrective,
timely and specific feedback
Average
Effect
Percentile
Size (ES)
Gain
Identifying similarities and differences
1.61
45
31
Summarizing and note taking
1.00
34
179
Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
0.80
29
21
Homework and practice
0.77
28
134
Nonlinguistic representations
0.75
27
246
Cooperative learning
0.73
27
122
Setting objectives and providing feedback
0.61
23
408
Generating and testing hypotheses
0.61
23
63
Questions-cues-advance organizers
0.59
22
1,251
Category
No. of
ESs
Research and Theory about
Goal Setting
Generalizations based on research:
1. Instructional goals narrow what
students focus on.
2. Instructional goals should not
be too specific.
3. Students should personalize
goals.
Activities/Assignments
Today
Read Chapter 2 in ..
Finish Adverb assignment…
Work on myth..
Learning Goals
As a result of what we do today, you will be
able to demonstrate that you:
Understand the technique of
foreshadowing in mysteries.
Can revise writing to improve use of
descriptive adverbs.
Activities/Assignments or
Learning Goals?????
•Conjugate the irregular verb “ser”
•Understand the difference between “ser” and
“estar”
•Make a conjugation book with the following verbs:
ser, estar, regular “-er” (e.g. comer) and “-ar” (e.g.
bailar)
•Understand the relationship between formal and
informal greetings and salutations
•Write a report on the history of the Oktoberfest.
•Design a menu in French.
•Know Spanish speaking countries and their
capitals.
Formats for homework that clarify purpose:
Assignment Notebook
Assignment: Report on the Berlin Wall
Language
Arts
Assignment:
Math
Assignment:
Science
Assignment:
Social
Studies
Due:
Due: 11-10-05
Learning Goal: As a result of doing this assignment, I should:
Learning Goal: As a result of doing this
Due:
assignment,
should
Learning
Goal: As a result I
of doing
this assignment, I should:
Know more about…?
Due:
Understand better…?
Learning Goal: As a result of doing this assignment, I should:
Be more skilled at…?
Research and Theory about
Goal Setting
Generalization # 1:
Instructional goals narrow what students focus on.
Set objectives or goals that are specific but flexible.
Generalization # 2:
Instructional goals should not be too specific.
When goals are too specific they limit learning and are
typically referred to as behavioral objectives.
Too Broad
Too Specific
Specific but
Flexible
Research and Theory about
Goal Setting
Generalization # 3:
Students should personalize goals.
Students are more likely to explain what they are learning
and show personal interest in the learning objectives.
Example:
Write a contract for learning





include the goals for learning and how grades are determined
include teacher determined goals and student determined goals
Allow students to identify more specific knowledge that interests them
base on their individual gaps
individualize
Research and Theory about
Goal Setting


Teacher goals:
By the end of chapter 2, TLW
a.) describe people and things
b.) talk about more than one person or thing
c.) tell time
d.) tell at what time an event takes place
Student goals:
a.) spend 5 mins a day reviewing vocabulary
b.) will practice dialogs or conversations
c.) will do homework twice a week
Recommendations for Classroom
Practice on Goal Setting
a.
Communicate Learning Goals to Students
 Provide in writing (i.e. on board, handout)
 Provide orally
b.
Help Students Set Learning Goals
 Model process for students (i.e. sentence stems)
 Provide support along the way
 Short term and long term goals
c.
Communicate Learning Goals to Parents
 Keep the message simple
 Avoid educational jargon
A well written goal should…
establish direction and purpose
 be specific but flexible
 be stated in terms of knowledge rather
than learning activities
 provide students opportunities to
personalize

Think, pair, share…
1.
2.
3.
Write an effective
classroom goal for your
students.
Share with a partner.
“Provide feedback.”
Research & Theory
Classroom Practice Regarding
Providing Feedback
Generalizations based on research:
1. Feedback should be corrective in
nature.
2. Feedback should be timely.
3. Feedback should be specific to a
criterion.
4. Students can effectively provide some
of their own feedback.
Research & Theory
Classroom Practice Regarding
Providing Feedback
1. should be “corrective” in nature.
 gives an explanation of what the
student is doing correctly
 gives an explanation of what the
student is doing that is not correct
 promotes working on a task until the
student is successful
Research & Theory
Classroom Practice Regarding
Providing Feedback
2. should be timely
 this is a critical point!
 immediate is best
 the longer the delay that occurs in
giving feedback, the less
improvement there is in achievement
Research & Theory
Classroom Practice Regarding
Providing Feedback
3. should be specific to a criterion to be the
most useful
 Referenced to a specific level of skill or knowledge
(criterion referenced)
 NOT in reference to other students – (norm
referenced).
 Only giving the percentage of correct or incorrect
answers is not usually very helpful in correcting a
skill.
Research & Theory
Classroom Practice Regarding
Providing Feedback
4. can also be effectively provided by
the students themselves.
 Students keeping track of their own
performance
 Chart or graph of accuracy
 Chart of graph of speed
 Or both accuracy and speed
 Teach students how to give feedback
Recommendations for Classroom
Practice on Providing Feedback
a.
Use Criterion-referenced feedback

Use rubrics to focus students on the knowledge and skills
they are supposed to learn
What is the focus of the criteria?
If criteria focus is on the appearance of the product,
the student will be more likely to attend to the
appearance.
If criteria focus is on the level of learning, the
student will be more likely to attend to the level
of learning.
Clean refrigerator
4
3
Entire refrigerator is sparkling and
smells clean. All items are fresh,
in proper containers (original
or Tupperware, with lids), and
organized into categories
Refrigerator is generally wiped
clean. All items are relatively
fresh, in some type of container
(some Tupperware lids are
missing or don’t fit) and are
sitting upright
2
1
Some of the shelves are wiped
clean, although there are some
crusty spots. There are some
suspicious smells. Items are in
containers, but there seems to be
some green stuff growing in some
of the Tupperware
Items stick to the shelves when
they are picked up. The smells
linger long after the refrigerator
door is closed. Several items need
to be thrown out— Tupperware
and all
Speaking Rubric (partial
example) …
4. Vocabulary is generally accurate and appropriate to the
task; minor errors, hesitations, and circumlocutions
may occur.
3. Vocabulary is usually accurate; errors, hesitations, and
circumlocutions may be frequent.
2. Vocabulary is not extensive enough for the task;
inaccuracies or repetition may be frequent; may use
English words.
1. Vocabulary inadequate for most basic aspects of the
task
0. No response
Recommendations for Classroom
Practice on Providing Feedback
b.
Focus Feedback on Specific Types
of Knowledge
 Relay correct as well as incorrect
responses to fill in missing information
and clarify misunderstandings
Recommendations for Classroom
Practice on Providing Feedback
c.
Use Student Led Feedback
 Use peer feedback (templates may be
helpful)
 Use self assessments to help students
gauge own progress
Insert as examples, cadre created/selected feedback templates:
How would you use this in your classroom?
Using a whip…
What have you learned about
setting objectives or providing
feedback?
What thoughts,
questions, challenges,
or ideas do you have?
The work of a teacher . . .
exhausting, complex, idiosyncratic,
never twice the same . . . is at its
heart, an intellectual and ethical
enterprise. Teaching is the vocation
of vocations, a calling that
shepherds a multitude of other
callings. Teaching begins in
challenge and is never far from
mystery.
William Ayres