Feedforward
2024 · Venture concept
Master of Educational Technology — University of British Columbia
Because super heroes need super tools.
Feedforward highlights
Envision a classroom where every lesson and assessment is compared, in real time, to a standard that illuminates each student’s true potential. A school where program consistency and unique instruction co-exist. Picture an education system where progress is no longer measured by report cards but by meaningful conversations, insightful feedback, and clear standards guiding every step of the learning journey.
Problem
As a team with experience teaching students from lower elementary through to high school we know the difficulty of assessment. Current assessment is tailored to the group of students in the classroom, but as each teacher employs differentiated methods, the result is a variation in grading outcomes that are not equitable across the whole student body. Reporting of achievement is static, stale, and one-dimensional.
The inclusion of diverse assessment methods and teaching approaches is paramount for fostering success among our learners. However, this diversity can also present challenges in obtaining an accurate and objective picture of students’ relative growth.
Solution
Feedforward is an innovative solution that is designed to enhance K-12 educational practices by promoting standard alignment through a gradeless approach, while continuing to foster creativity and personalization in lessons. Using real-time standards-based analysis of teacher lessons and student products, it provides teachers, parents, and their school boards with the confidence that classrooms are curriculum-aligned and achievement is equitable and accurate.
Educators are encouraged to differentiate lessons and assessments because the adaptive tool can effectively match the teaching practice and outcomes to accurate curriculum and grade-level standards in real time.
With Feedforward, the human element of teaching is preserved while boosting teachers’ superpowers. The result is timely feedback, data driven insights, and an improved educational experience for all.
How Feedforward is used
The teacher creates a lesson plan, including assessment criteria tailored to the unique needs of their students.
Using Feedforward, the teacher imports assessment criteria (e.g., upload pictures, documents, or type it out).
During/after the lesson, the teacher will add student assessments (e.g., upload pictures of work, documents, or audio files).
Feedforward uses its trained model to generate feedback regarding the student’s ability to meet the teacher’s success criteria, the curriculum expectations, and comparative information to standards.
Feedforward offers optional feedback suggestions for next steps for both the teacher and the student to enhance learning outcomes.
Organizations have the option to access real-time, large-scale data through Feedforward, allowing them to track student achievement across classrooms, grades, schools, and regions.
How Feedforward works
Feedforward is trained using current and widely recognized standardized testing methods, both at the local and national levels.
Feedforward processes and interprets curriculum data, comparing it to the assessment and its respective success criteria.
Student work undergoes comparison with curriculum and national standard expectations, with customized weighting based on the student’s prior achievements and overall learning profile.
Feedforward continuously learns from students’ progress across the curriculum at a broader scale, offering macro-level insights to teachers and organizations.
Overcoming obstacles
Built by teachers, one of the key promises we make to educators is that Feedforward will not undermine their crucial role within the education system. Instead, it empowers them by providing valuable tools and insights that enhance their teaching effectiveness, curriculum fidelity, and support student learning outcomes. Our tool is designed to complement and amplify teachers’ expertise, not replace or diminish it.
By addressing these concerns and offering tangible benefits to teachers, we create a win-win scenario where technology enhances teaching practices, supports student success, and maintains the integrity and importance of educators within the education system.
What is the future of Feedforward?
Subscriptions. Subscriptions from school boards and educational institutions could be a significant source of revenue as Feedforward gains traction and becomes a preferred solution for assessment and learning analytics.
Premium Insights. Additionally, there may be opportunities to monetize certain features or services within Feedforward, such as premium analytics insights, personalized training programs, or additional modules that cater to specific educational needs.
Upselling and Cross-selling. Offering additional features, services, or modules within the Feedforward platform can lead to upselling opportunities. For instance professional development offerings can be monetized to increase average revenue per user/organization.
Let’s give superheroes, super tools.