How we view Feedback
Why don't students do anything with my feedback?
Not all feedback given by you as a teacher is processed as you intended. Why is that? According to research, these appear to be the main reasons:
- As teachers, we tend to give too much feedback: Pointing out everything that needs improvement can overload students. Providing 3 substantial comments is more manageable for most students.
- We do not always make an explicit connection between feedback and the assignment’s assessment criteria; as a result, students do not know what they are working toward.
- We often give feedback at the wrong time, giving the student no chance or motivation to process it. An example is the extensive feedback given on a final version of an assignment.
- We are quick to use overly abstract language or jargon that students don’t always understand.
- Students do not always recognize our feedback as feedback. For example, it appears students primarily see written comments from a teacher as feedback, while other forms of feedback exist.
Views on Feedback
The aforementioned problems can largely be traced to our view of feedback. Often feedback is seen as the responsibility of the teacher: who formulates comments with high-level information that the student receives, as a kind of “gift”. This view of feedback emphasizes the passive role of the student; receiving a gift does not necessarily mean unwrapping it or doing something with it. Does this view sufficiently encourage the student to actively process the information received?
Current views of feedback focus on “sense-making,” or meaning-making, and the application of feedback by students. Feedback should stimulate thinking, and should set the receiver, not the giver, to work. One speaks of a partnership between student and teacher, in which the student learns to actively and critically solicit, give, receive and process feedback.
At the heart of this vision is feedback literacy: the knowledge, skills and attitudes that allow students to become active partners in the feedback process. This term attempts to emphasize that the feedback process is complex and that students must actively learn, be supported and encouraged in its use, just as they are with academic writing.
When is a student feedback literate?
When is a student feedback literate?
A feedback literate student….
- understands and appreciates the purpose and process of feedback;
- can assess own and others’ work for quality;
- can control/manage emotional reactions when receiving feedback;
- takes productive action following feedback.
Effective feedback can help develop student feedback literacy. Feedback literacy is not only important during the student’s academic career, but also a skill and attitude that a student will use throughout their career, in the workplace and as part of lifelong development.
Resources
- de Kleijn, R. A. (2022). Vraag beter om feedback. Geraadpleegd op 21 juli 2023, van Poster ‘VRAAG BETER OM FEEDBACK’ | Toetsrevolutie.
- de Kleijn, R. A. (2023). Supporting student and teacher feedback literacy: an instructional model for student feedback processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(2), 186-200, https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1967283.
- Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112, doi: 10.3102/003465430298487.
- Vanhoof, S., & Speltincx, G. (2022). Feedback in de klas. Lannoo Campus.
- Winstone, N., & Carless, D. (2019). Designing effective feedback processes in higher education: A learning-focused approach. Routledge.
