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Improving the Student, not the Work

Medical vs. Post-Mortem: A Quick Review

As we explored at the beginning of this course, Douglas Reeves compares effective feedback to medical intervention.

• A Post-Mortem tells you why the patient died. It accurately judges what has already happened, looking backward at the work.
• A Medical tells you how to get healthy. It diagnoses issues while there is still time to improve, looking forward to the student's future capabilities.

When teachers fall into the trap of correcting every single error on a piece of work, they are performing a post-mortem. It improves the document, but it does not necessarily improve the learner. The ultimate purpose of feedback is to help the learner do a better job at some point in the future, on a similar task they have not yet attempted.

Here's what that difference actually looks like written down.

References

Reeves, D. B. (2011). Elements of Grading: A Guide to Effective Practice. Solution Tree Press.