Eliciting information is an essential part of giving good feedback.
Without an accurate understanding of where your learners are at, it becomes far harder to provide feedback that is relevant to them.
We can elicit information in several ways: through observation, by listening, by asking questions and by marking student work.
An effective teacher will probably see all interactions with their students as opportunities to elicit information.
They will use signs and signals in the classroom to modify their teaching, their lessons, and their behaviour, as well as the feedback they give.
For example, an effective Year 6 teacher may carefully observe the way in which different learners respond to an increase in the level of challenge after lunch.
Knowing their students well, they will modify what they have planned based on what they see and hear.
Similarly, an effective A Level PE teacher may carefully observe how different students engage with a set of warm-up drills, using the information they elicit to modify the individual tasks and targets they set for those students in the next part of the lesson.
These examples illustrate the role eliciting information plays in the AfL cycle.
Returning our focus to feedback and marking, we can say that a teacher who is in full control of the feedback they give – who is on top of it and is using it in a manner that suits them and their students – will almost always be eliciting the information necessary for making successful judgements.
For example, they may plan assessments with the express intention of revealing information that will be useful to them.
This sounds obvious, but how many assessments are planned simply to close off a topic?
A carefully planned assessment sees the teacher creating a task, series of tasks or set of questions that allow them to elicit the information they deem most useful.
They do this in full knowledge that the information is what they want to get their hands on; that it is this which will allow them to give the best quality feedback.
A common example of good practice here is hinge questioning.
This is a short, in-lesson assessment method in which the teacher poses a question on which the learning hinges.
If students get the question right, and can explain their answers, the teacher can move on.
If they get things wrong, or are uncertain, this signals to the teacher that further action is required.
When planning a hinge question, the teacher first identifies the key piece of learning on which everything hinges, then develops a question that will elicit both correct answers and incorrect answers.
Getting mistakes and misconceptions into the open is as important as getting the correct answers out.
Only if the teacher is aware who is labouring under misconceptions and making mistakes can they intervene to remedy this – often by providing feedback.
Good feedback rests on accurate information about student learning.
This principle is central to maximising the impact of your feedback.
It is a rule of thumb you can use to make decisions during your planning, teaching and assessing.
It is also worth keeping at the forefront of your mind when you are marking.
If you are not gaining access to the information you want, it could be that you need to change the structure of your tasks, or that students are not fully engaging with the work.
Once you have identified the cause – whatever it is – you can do something about it.
And, by making positive changes, you will elicit better information.
The information you want.
This, in turn, means you can give better feedback. Feedback more closely tailored to your learners’ needs.
