How to Use Google Drive for Descriptive Feedback

The consistent and effective use of Descriptive feedback in classrooms has become a popular strategy due to its positive influence on student learning. Based on the research of John Hattie, my colleague, Jason Lynn has given me an in-depth look at Hattie’s work and how we can use it in the classroom.

Although the research suggests that providing students with descriptive feedback has the largest influence on student learning, it can be difficult for teachers to find more time to provide this meaningful assessment as learning and assessment for learning tool with regularity. Additionally, storing this amount of feedback can be quite wearing on the teacher’s system. By looking into options such as Clean Drive for Google Drive, keeping your google drive clean and organised becomes much easier and there is more room to keep feedback material and assessments.

More than one way; Google Drive is just one of them

You may have already read a similar post that outlines how to use Evernote App for Assessment and Evaluation on your iPad, however I find Google Drive is easier to organize, manage and share content on any device. Dropbox also provides a cloud based solution to collecting student evidence on the fly, but providing descriptive feedback requires more than one app and multiple steps.

Google Drive to Collect and Share Descriptive Feedback

Steps to Providing Descriptive Feedback via Google Drive

Step 1: Create a Google Doc in a Student Shared Folder

Inside your Google Drive account, click on the student shared work folder where you’ll be creating the descriptive feedback for. Create a New Google Doc to store your feedback and student evidence in.

Google Drive for Descriptive Feedback - Create a New Google Doc

Step 2: Rename the Document and Copy/Paste Generic Details

Rename the Google Doc to something that is easily identifiable. Using the name of the student in the Google Doc file name will make it easy for you to call up the file via the Google Search Bar.

Copying and pasting generic details that can be used in the feedback file of each student is ideal to save you a huge amount of time.

Google Drive for Descriptive Feedback - Rename Google Doc

Step 3: Copy/Paste Student Work and Provide Descriptive Feedback

Taking a photo or cropping student work from a digital file and copy/paste into the Google Doc in order to make the creating the descriptive feedback easier for you and to give students the ability to immediately connect the feedback to their work.

Google Drive Descriptive Feedback - Copy/Paste Student Work

Step 4: Share the File or an Entire Folder With the Student

Although using Google Drive could be a personal assessment tool for collecting evidence, using the power of shared files and folders in Google Drive allows students to have a digital portfolio of descriptive feedback to continually improve and promote a growth mindset in math.

Google Drive Descriptive Feedback - Share and Invite Students and Parents


Are you providing descriptive feedback?

How are you doing it? Share with us below in the comments!


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About Kyle Pearce

I’m Kyle Pearce and I am a former high school math teacher. I’m now the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, where I uncover creative ways to spark curiosity and fuel sense making in mathematics. Read more.


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