Activities are the main feature of lessons.

This is where much of the learning happens.

We can give verbal feedback before and after activities, to individuals, groups or the whole class.

Both methods have their benefits; both give us an opportunity to share expert information with learners, information that can drive their efforts and influence their approach.

Here are some example strategies:

Pre-Activity Feedback 1

If you regularly use a specific activity and know the kind of problems students can get into, or the kind of errors that tend to be committed, use this information as the basis for pre-activity feedback.

This sees you using feedback to signal to learners where they should target their efforts and what to look out for during the activity itself.

It also means you can refer to the feedback during the activity if students forget about it or go off task.

Pre-Activity Feedback 2

Identify a single learner or a group of learners you feel will benefit from some extra support in the upcoming activity.

Provide this to them in the form of pre-activity feedback.

Think ahead and predict where these learners might get into difficulties, then deliver feedback before the event.

This method gives learners a leg-up, helping them to understand how best to tackle a task before they get bogged down in the practicalities of doing it.

A simple example is a PE teacher explaining to a group of less-able rugby players the importance of maintaining defensive shape, even when they are tired, and giving them a mental cue to use as a reminder.

Post-Activity Feedback 1

During an activity, circulate through the room and identify any common themes running throughout the class.

These could be positive things that attract praise or areas that suggest a need for improvement.

At the end of the activity, instead of moving on straightaway, spend some time talking to your learners about what you observed.

Use this as an opportunity to give feedback to the group as a whole.

You might team this up with an opportunity for reflection, give learners a chance to redo part of the activity, or model the improvements you feel could be made.

Post-Activity Feedback 2

Identify a group of learners who found the activity easy, or who appeared to be coasting.

Give feedback to these learners that increases the level of challenge moving forwards.

This could mean the feedback challenges them to think more deeply or work harder in the next section of the lesson.

Or it could be feedback that prompts them to work differently the next time you use an activity of this type.

Either way, you are using the information elicited during the activity to deliver feedback that influences learners’ future efforts.

A more general point to make about pre-activity feedback is that it helps shape learners’ interactions with the activity.

For this reason, it is a good tool to call on if you feel there is potential for the activity to fall short of what you had in mind when you planned it.

In terms of post-activity feedback, the impact can be intensified by planning a lesson section that runs: Activity -> Feedback -> Activity.

Here, we run the activity, give post-activity feedback, then run a second activity in which individuals, groups or the whole class make use of the feedback.