The Sandwich Method: The Best Way to Give Feedback to Online Students
It’s hard to convey emotion and create a positive environment when teaching online, but I’ve found one way to give feedback that I feel is effective, encourages students, and makes the online environment a more positive place.
I call it The Sandwich Method. Quite simply, you construct assignment feedback in the following way:
- Something (or a few things) the student did well
- Something (or a few things) the student can work on (constructive criticism)
- Something (or a few things) the student did well
For example (if you’re giving feedback on a student’s speech):
You did a great job here with eye contact and vocal variation- you were dynamic and engaging as a speaker! In the future, be sure to start with an attention-getter at the very beginning of your speech, organize your thoughts a bit more, and orally cite at least 3 scholarly sources. Work on those content elements for your next speech, but overall you had a great delivery!
Again, it’s super easy to structure feedback this way (although it may take some time for it to become a habit), and I like to think it leaves the student feeling good about at least one thing they did in the assignment.
Happy teaching!