THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK FOR STUDENTS

Feedback is one of the most powerful factors relating to learning and achievement. 

However there are many types of feedback and some types of feedback is better than others (Hattie & Yates, 2014). Effective feedback closes the gap between a student’s current performance and the desired performance they are trying to reach (Sadler, 1989).

Hattie and Timperley (2007) outline three key levels of effective feedback:

1. Feedback can be about a task or product, such as whether work is correct or incorrect. Feedback at this level may include directions to add, delete, or correct information.
2. Feedback can also be aimed at the process used to create a product or complete a task. Process feedback targets “how” learners have processed information or how the learning processes are used to complete the activity.
3. Finally, feedback to students can be focused at the self-regulation level, including greater skill in self-evaluation, such as using success criteria as a checklist of their performance. This can have a major influence on students as they are encouraged or informed how to better and more effortlessly continue on the task.

Praise is often given in lieu of, or in addition to, feedback: this is information based on the person and not the task being performed. Therefore, it is not considered feedback, nor should it be included in the feedback process.

Student’s teachers may use the following prompts:

The reminder prompt is intended for self-regulated feedback, for students who simply need nudging to elaborate, extend, or solve; the scaffolded prompt is for those who need some suggestions on the processes or content to use; and the example prompt is for students who need improvement explicitly modeled.