‘Feedback’- what does this word mean to you? What memories does it invoke? One of the quickest thoughts that run through my mind when I hear ‘feedback’ is the dreadful Parents-Teacher meets. But at the end of these meets, I know where I am going wrong, where I need to improve and where I am doing well. So feedback is not all dreadful but desirable in the entire learning process. Suppose you started learning the cello, and the constant feedback you will get from your teacher, your family, or friends when they hear you play the cello. Their feedback helps you understand which songs or scales you play really well or where you are going wrong. You will acknowledge their feedback, work on it, and excel playing the cello.
Feedbacks are generally of two types — formative and summative feedback. The formative feedback is given while you are doing an assignment and summative feedback is given after the end of the assignment in the form of grades. While summative feedbacks have developed as the means to gauge a person’s intellectual capabilities, formative feedbacks are crucial in the process of learning and overall development of a person. So while doing an assignment if my teacher or professor tells me where I am going wrong, then I have an avenue to rectify my mistakes and that will help retain what I have learned and also help me get good grades, as well. It also boosts my confidence because I will know that the assignment is full proof and even conclusive. Furthermore, the inclusion of formative feedbacks during classes or lectures, in the form of classroom activities, will allow the teacher or professors to identify the areas where students have maximum confusion. In this way, learning becomes efficient and it also allows the student to self-regulate their learning. They will be able to retain more and will be able to apply concepts properly in future assignments and help them to engage in critical thinking. And this is why formative feedbacks should be given more importance. So now you know, next time you hear feedback- acknowledge it, work it and triumph it!
-RAJNANDINI BARMAN
