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Description, Interpretation, or Evaluation?
Description, interpretation, and evaluation are all part of constructive feedback, but each serves a different purpose. Consider these brief definitions from Blythe et al., Looking Together at Student Work (Teachers College Press, 1999), using sample comments that might be made while looking at a student's painting:
Description involves identifying in very literal terms what constitutes the piece of work being observed. Generally, there is little disagreement among group members about comments that are truly descriptive.
- I see a yellow circle surrounded by blue.
- There is no white space left on the page.
Interpretation involves assigning some meaning or intent to what is in the work.
- There's a sun in a deep blue sky.
- I think that the student was afraid of leaving any blank space on the page.
Evaluation attaches value or personal preference to the work being examined.
- The sun is drawn skillfully.
- I don't like the way there's no room left on the page – it feels so crowded.
Peer observation practice, such as the classroom visits described in these pages, might produce statements like these:
Description:
- I saw Earth Day cards in the classroom.
- The work on the bulletin board quoted the students' expressed thoughts but was in the teacher's handwriting rather than the students' own handwriting.
Interpretation:
- I didn't see much evidence of student thinking in the science work.
- The teacher was asking the students questions to try to figure out if they were understanding the reading.
Evaluation:
- I like the way the teacher divided the class into groups and gave each a different task.
- The students could have been more organized in their presentation.
Adapted by Annenberg Institute staff. Excerpt from Looking at Teaching and Learning through Peer Observation, 2002, Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
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