Date: Thursday 11 June

Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm (1 hour presentation, followed by discussion and questions)

Venue: Level 7 Seminar Room, Queensland Brain Institute (Building #79) The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus

Speaker: Cameron Brooks - PhD Candidate

Title: Feedback for learning

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About the speaker: Cam Brooks is a primary trained classroom teacher and has taught in Brisbane, Cape York and Tasmania.  The majority of his education experience involves teaching upper primary school and he has also acted in other roles including Head of Student Services, Head of Curriculum and Deputy Principal.  Additionally, Cam is also teaching and co-ordinating a Masters of Education course at UQ.  He is in the final year of his PhD at the University of Queensland and the title of his thesis is Feedback for learning: a mixed methods study in the upper primary classroom.

Abstract: Teachers use feedback to help the learner see where they are going, how they are going and where to next.  The aim of feedback is to reduce the gap between where the student is now and where they need to be.  Consequently feedback does not exist in a vacuum; rather it is connected to other effective pedagogical approaches such as diagnostic assessment, explicit learning intentions, learning goals and formative assessment.  Traditional models of feedback see a one way approach with the teacher imparting knowledge to the student.  Current models see a two way flow of feedback with the student as an active agent in their own learning. 

Whilst feedback is widely acknowledged as being one of the most powerful influences on student learning, its effects are also amongst the most varied.  This is not surprising as feedback in itself is a complex notion that may be deconstructed according to various mediators such as the focus, timing, mode, clarity, tone and valence.  Furthermore the nature of the relationship between the teacher, student and the learning environment can also impact upon the effectiveness of the feedback.

This seminar will review current research on feedback and outline the research study undertaken by the presenter.  The aim of this mixed methods study was to design and test a feedback matrix based on Hattie and Timperley’s (2007) model of feedback. The participant group spanned 5 schools with 8 teachers and over 200 students.  The results were significant with an average feedback intervention effect size of 1.89 over the duration of the study.

Please share this invitation with other interested colleagues.

Please note, there is no parking within the immediate vicinity. There is pay parking along Sir William MacGregor Drive, in the top level of the Conifer Knoll Carpark off Thyne Road (10 minute walk) and Oval 6 Parking Station off Sir William MacGregor Drive (10 minute walk).