Verbal feedback can be an effective tool for scaffolding learner.

Here are five strategies to consider.

A learner is struggling to get started with a task

Feedback can take the form of advice on how to begin the task, it can summarise how students have successfully started tasks in the past, or it can suggest a specific target the student can pursue which, when achieved, will mean they’ve successfully started the task.

For example, a history teacher might summarise the good things they’ve seen a student do in previous source analysis tasks before asking them to apply the same process to the present task.

A learner is finding it difficult to improve their work

Here the teacher can scaffold the learning by doing something on behalf of the learner – effectively analysing what they have done so far.

If a learner is finding it hard to improve their work, then it suggests they are also finding it hard to successfully assess what they have done.

After all, if they could effectively critique what’s in front of them then they would be in a position to make improvements.

The teacher does this on their behalf and delivers feedback focussing on what could be done to deliver some improvements. The student is then in a position to act on this information.

A learner is repeatedly making the same mistakes but can’t work out why

This may be because they aren’t aware of the mistakes they’re making or because they don’t quite have the knowledge and understanding necessary to pick apart what is happening.

The teacher steps in, delivering verbal feedback that doesn’t solve the learner’s problem but gives them enough feedback so that they can fix it themselves.

For example, a maths learner might be factorising quadratic equations and consistently making the same mistake.

The teacher steps in and provides verbal feedback that nudges the learner in the right direction. The learner can then take this and generate a solution for themselves.

A learner is unable to use their target

Perhaps because they don’t understand it or perhaps because they cannot see how it can be applied to the task in hand.

The teacher observes what is happening and steps in to help.

They provide the learner with feedback that has a dual purpose.

First, it re-explains what their target is and why it matters.

Second, it highlights some of the links between their target and the task they are trying to complete.

The learner is then a position to take things on themselves and experience a greater sense of success in applying their target.

A learner is trying to achieve something but keeps falling it short

The likelihood is that they will not understand why they are falling short or how to bridge the gap.

Here, the teacher offers verbal feedback that directs the learner to try something different; something the teacher knows will go a long way towards helping them achieve what they are trying to achieve.

For example, in a textiles lesson, the teacher sees a learner struggling to create a shape they want, so they provide some expert verbal feedback that unpicks why they are falling short and what changes they might like to try – the implicit message being that these changes will give rise to a different outcome.