You can use feedback checklists to train learners to more accurately assess, improve, and refine their own work.

They are a tool you can teach learners to use and which, over time, they will likely internalise.

This means the checklists become part of learners’ minds – something to which they can return without the need for outside help.

For this reason, feedback checklists can be thought of as a metacognitive aid.

Something learners can use to keep tabs on their own thinking; to improve and cultivate it as they go.

A feedback checklist outlines a series of things learners should look for and check in their own work before deciding it is finished.

The teacher uses their expert knowledge to construct the checklist, aware in advance of the kinds of things learners are likely to miss and of the areas to which they need to attend if they want to create the most successful work possible.

For example, a graphic design teacher might develop a feedback checklist based around the different things a learner needs to look for in a piece of design work before handing it in to be marked.

The purpose here is to transfer the teacher’s expertise to a list, which can then be fixed in space and time and shared with the learner.

Through using the list, the learner becomes familiar with it.

This means they are becoming familiar with the teacher’s expertise and, over time, if they remain attentive and engage actively with the list, they start to transfer the expertise into their own mind.

Eventually, all being well, they can assess their own work and their own thinking without recourse to the list.

This should improve the quality of their work and afford the learner a greater degree of control over what they are producing – all because of the initial input from the teacher.

Here are two examples to illustrate, starting with graphic design.

Example 1: Graphic Design

The teacher creates the following feedback checklist, which they share with learners at the start of the year:

• Ask yourself what the first thing would be someone noticed about your work when they saw it.
• Ask yourself whether your work is a first draft or an improved version.
• Ask yourself what feedback you would give about how your work could be improved – and whether you can make changes before handing it in.
• Ask yourself what you would improve about your work if you only had five minutes. Then see if you can make these changes.
• Ask yourself what I will think when I first see your work – then decide if you want to alter anything.

This feedback checklist provides learners with a series of critical positions to cycle through.

It promotes a more questioning, critical approach to self-assessment, helping learners to think in depth about what they’ve done, why they’ve done it, and the results to which it’s given rise.

Over time, the teacher would expect learners to start thinking about the items on the checklist before finishing their work.

For example, they might ask themselves halfway through whether their work is a first draft or an improved version, instead of waiting until the end.

The aim is to make learners better self-assessors by giving them access to the teacher’s expertise through the means of the checklist.

Example 2: English

The teacher creates a feedback checklist that learners can use every time they produce a longer piece of written work:

• Read through your work before handing it in. Does it make sense? Does it say what you want it to say? Don’t be afraid to make changes if it doesn’t.
• Check your language. How much is slang? Have you used enough technical vocabulary? Are there any important keywords you’ve forgotten to include?
• Think about your audience. Who are you writing for? Does what you have written work for the intended audience – or do you need to make some tweaks?
• Examine your analysis. Have you gone into detail? Have you explained everything? You might need to include some more examples or make some extra points. Add these in if you think they’re necessary.
• Look at your evaluation. Where could you have been more critical? How else could you have evaluated the different ideas and arguments? Are there things you can add now, before handing in your work?

This checklist helps learners see their work through the eyes of the teacher.

It is like feedback before the event, helping and encouraging the learner to critically reflect on what they’ve produced before handing it over for marking.

There is an expectation that as part of this reflection learners will make changes and improve their work.