Teaching Initiative Learning 1

Amanda Brown

LS 2000/3000

Fall 2017

Reflective Essay #1

Teaching Initiative Learning

The article, Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding, addresses the ideas behind

using effective feedback in order to best promote student performance. The author (Shepard,

2005) states that the link between formative assessment is quite similar to the idea of using the

zone of proximal development. Both strategies encourage students in the process of learning by

helping scaffold what they already know, with what they want to know. Throughout the article,

Shepard (2005) argues the importance of using effective feedback in order to best help students

take charge of their own learning, as well as for teachers to understand that a students prior

knowledge of a topic shouldnt be an assessment of their overall knowledge. Rather, their prior

knowledge should be a basis for starting to build new knowledge. The author (Shepard, 2005)

states that feedback is most effective when it helps move the student forward (p. 210). This

statement is key to the importance of the article, and the aspects of teaching and giving feedback

that Shepard expresses is vital for student development and success.

Shepard (2005) focuses on this initiative in learning and addresses how it can be used in

the classroom. Specifically, the article gives examples of real teachers and tutors and how they

implemented this idea and were able to actually boost their students academic performance. The

tutors in the article did not give just general feedback, but rather they were able to give specific

feedback at different stages. The focus started with the big picture of why the students

performance was struggling. Shepard (2005) specifically stated that the teachers used in these
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article were, highly selective in how they use feedback. The feedback given in the article

(Shepard, 2005), offers interesting perspectives as to how a teacher or educator should offer

feedback to students.

In addition, this article is very informative as to how I hope to observe and participate in

classrooms. A lot of my personal experience being in a classroom as a student involved a lot of

general feedback which often did not feel as supportive as it could have been. After reading the

article, the author (Shepard, 2005), has given me a new perspective on how to give feedback, as

well as how to personalize feedback for each student. As the article states, these decisions help

maintain student motivation and self-confidence during the feedback process (p. 210). This

statement is quite important to me because for children to be confident in their abilities and strive

to move forward, the feedback they receive from teachers and mentors in their life should be

effective. I believe that my personal experience with inefficient feedback at times is also a great

motivator for me to strive for children to not feel the lack of interest as I know I experienced.

Overall, in my fieldwork, the information from this article will help me in order to

provide immediate feedback that is specific to the student, as well as in a way that doesnt

discourage the student from wanting to learn. I have realized that the feedback from not only

teachers, but those throughout a students educational and personal life can have drastic effects

on their future and their future desire for learning and growing. In my fieldwork, I hope to

observe feedback being given to students either by their peers and/or their teachers, and see how

it affects the student. I also hope to not only observe feedback but to provide effective feedback

which could help a student feel more confident in their ability to not know something, yet still

have the desire to learn it. In conclusion, this article provides enlightening material to how
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teachers and educators should attempt at giving more effective feedback to support their

students development.

References

Shepard, L. A. (2005). Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding. Educational

Leadership, 63(3), 66-70.

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