Encourage Students to Act on Teacher Feedback with Google Classroom

Feedback is such an important part of the learning process. The key word in that statement is "process". Authentic learning that sticks comes from mistakes made and adjustments done based on teacher/mentor feedback. Whether you are in distance learning, hybrid or face to face, speed of teacher feedback and student reaction to it is key.

In distance learning, it's easy for teachers to leave quick feedback on student work through platforms like Google Classroom. A big issue, though, is how students ignore feedback or not used to replying or acting upon it. Getting students to see the feedback and use it to iterate and improve work is a challenge. Oftentimes, students aren't aware of the tools available to them for receiving feedback, acting on it and submitting work. Below is a series of screenshots that shows teachers how to quickly leave feedback on Google Classroom assignments and how students can view teacher feedback, act on it and resubmit.

The Teachers

In Google Classroom, open an assignment to view student work. On a Google Doc, Google Slides Presentation, Google Drawing or PDF, you can leave a comment. This can be done by right clicking on a portion of the document and selecting Comment. On PDFs and images, there is a Comment button on the top right of the grading window. Leaving comments this way puts the comment directly on the document rather than just a Private Comment on Google Classroom.

Below is an example of what a comment box will look like on Google Slides.

The Student

Below is an example of an email a student will receive when a comment is left. The student will see the feedback left and a link that takes them back to the document.

After acting on the feedback, in Google Classroom, students can click the Resubmit button to turn in the newest iteration of their work. If a Resubmit button is greyed out, it means the teacher hasn't returned the assignment to the student. Be sure to leave comments and return work to students promptly so they can iterate and resubmit.

If you have any questions and would like a follow up, contact me via Gmail or Hangouts at ajuarez@cojusd.org. 

My book, The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Supporting Digital Learning, co-authored with my wife Katherine Goyette is now available on Amazon. Click here to purchase. It is published by Dave Burgess Publishing. Be sure to follow the hashtag #OrganicEdTech and #CVTechTalk for updates.