Microsoft Word language assessment theory with practice

*Stage 4: Teacher Feedback/Assessment 
==During Stage 3, the T walks around the class, checks the sentences 
in the DGT sheets, listens to Sts’ discussions and provides feedback to 
Sts when s/he notices that there are disagreements or the rules to be 
followed are misinterpreted. 

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Assessment of Language Skills: Productive Skills
189 
Learning point: Formative Teacher Feedback
Giving students information about their progress is an essential part of formative 
assessment. Research shows (e.g., Greenstein, 2010; Irons, 2008; Muir, 2001) that students 
are more highly motivated when they believe that their teachers are interested in their 
learning and in helping them. Formative feedback is defined as the “information 
communicated to the learner that is intended to modify his or her thinking or behaviour to 
improve learning” (Shute, 2008, p. 153).
To achieve this aim, formative feedback should be
(i) nonevaluative
Formative feedback serves only to inform a learner in response to some action or 
practice and does not contribute to formal evaluation results.
 
(ii) supportive
Formative feedback is a supportive dialogue during which teachers present their 
constructive, unbiased and objective comments to the students (Price et al., 2010). It creates 
a supportive learning environment in the classroom where students feel comfortable and 
trust that their teachers have their best interests in mind. Supportive formative feedback 
tells students whether they are on track or need to change course.
(iii) timely
Summative feedback is provided once weeks or months after the assessment. In 
contrast, formative feedback is provided immediately and regularly after the targeted action 
to inform immediate next steps. McCallum and Milner (2021) argue that to call feedback 
timely, students must receive feedback while it still matters to them and in time for them to 
pay attention to further learning or before they move on to their next assignment. Cowen 
(2003), based on his analysis of related studies, argues that feedback needs to be provided 
‘within minutes’ of completing a task to be effective.
Providing immediate formative feedback just once, however, is not enough. To be 
most effective, it should also be provided often enough and in enough detail so that students 
have a clear understanding of their academic performance. Tuckman (1999) points to a link 
between providing students with regular feedback on academic performance and an 
improvement in subsequent academic achievement.