overview
Feedback: A Powerful Tool for Raising Student Achievement in Language Arts
(Grade 3-5)
Holly Searl
Course Description:
Think of a time when you received feedback that made a difference in your work or personal life. Was the feedback helpful? In this session, participants will learn how to identify specific, descriptive feedback that can improve learning. Holly Searl will show participants how to use current research to connect specific feedback on formative tasks to increase student achievement. She will also explain the difference between descriptive and evaluative feedback. Using sample tasks from Maryland's State Assessment, participants will practice creating and analyzing descriptive feedback connected to specific learning outcomes. Participants will walk away from this session with a greater understanding of the critical link between recognizing the intent of outcomes, the necessity of aligning formative assessments with the outcomes, and the power of descriptive feedback to improve student achievement.
Holly Searl
Holly Searl brings 15 years of educational experience to the Summer Workshops, from her background as a classroom teacher in grades 4 through 7 to her work as a Reading Specialist at the elementary and middle school levels. During her tenure at a high-poverty Title I school that was undergoing a system-initiated restructuring, Ms. Searl served as a full-time mentor teacher and a fifth grade literacy teacher. Ms. Searl facilitated the implementation of early literacy intervention classes in grades 1 and 2, with an emphasis on using assessment data to inform team planning and instructional decision-making. As a Title I Instructional Specialist, she helped schools align School Improvement Plans with professional development by using collected assessment data. Ms. Searl presented Establishments of a Professional Learning Environment to Implement School Reform for the 2003 Council for Education, Administration, and Supervisory Organizations of Maryland. She currently teaches in Montgomery County, Maryland.
