What is Wise Feedback? (From Temple University)
Wise feedback is targeted feedback which conveys high expectations, the instructor’s genuine belief that those expectations can be achieved by the student and provides concrete information to help the student meet the expectations. Here, “wise” does not necessarily mean smarter or better. Instead, wise feedback refers to psychological interventions which are attuned to how people make sense of themselves, others, and social situations which may affect their learning.
When giving feedback on a student’s assessment, the Greater Good in Education Organization based at Berkeley suggest breaking Wise Feedback into three components:
- Start with specific actionable feedback.
You do a great job of addressing [assignment component/goal.] However, the assignment also asked for x, but x is not present. How might you address [assignment component/goal]? – This feedback highlights areas where the student met assignment goals and expectations, as well as areas for improvement.
- State high expectations.
“You earned a score of ____ on the last assignment, which demonstrates you understand the foundational concepts for the project.
- Express your confidence in the student’s ability to accomplish the task at hand.
“I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them”. – From Breaking the Cycle of Mistrust: Wise Interventions to Provide Critical Feedback Across the Racial Divide (Yaeger et al., 2014) In this study, middle and high-students who received feedback contextualized with this quote performed better than those who received constructive feedback alone. This combines high expectations with the idea that students can reach these standards.
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