Feedback
Feedback is an important part of the learning process. Effective feedback helps learners understand their progress, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and determine what steps to take next.
Feedback can occur during formal or informal assessment activities and may come from instructors, peers, self-reflection, or automated tools. When aligned with learning outcomes and assessment criteria, feedback can help support learner growth, confidence, and engagement.
Understanding Feedback
Providing effective feedback is a skill that takes practice to develop. It can be easy to rely on vague comments that do not clearly explain how a learner can improve or what steps to take next (e.g., "Good work"). As Wiggins (2014) notes, feedback is often confused with advice, evaluation, or praise rather than information that supports improvement.
Effective feedback helps learners understand:
- What they did well
- Where improvement is needed
- How their work aligns with expectations
- What steps they can take next
Types of Feedback
Different types of feedback can support learning in different ways depending on the purpose, timing, and context of the assessment.
Confirmatory Feedback
Confirms that a learner completed a task correctly or met expectations.
Evaluative Feedback
Indicates the quality or accuracy of performance but may not explain how to improve.
Descriptive or Analytic Feedback
Provides specific information, guidance, or suggestions to support improvement.
Remedial Feedback
Guides learners toward the correct answer or process without directly providing it.
Peer and Self-Feedback
Encourages learners to reflect on their own work and the work of others.
Providing Effective Feedback
Effective feedback helps learners understand their progress and identify meaningful next steps for improvement. Wiggins (2012) identifies seven characteristics of effective feedback that can serve as useful guidelines (pp. 13–16):
- Goal referenced: Effective feedback is directly connected to a goal and helps learners understand whether they are on track to achieve it.
- Tangible and transparent: Learners should clearly understand the goals of a task and what successful performance looks like.
- Actionable: Effective feedback includes realistic steps learners can take to improve their performance.
- User-friendly: Feedback should be communicated in a clear and understandable way. Too much feedback or overly complex feedback can become ineffective.
- Timely: Feedback is most effective when it is provided while learners still have opportunities to apply it to future learning.
- Ongoing: Frequent opportunities to receive and apply feedback can support continued growth and improvement.
- Consistent: Consistent feedback helps reduce confusion and supports clearer expectations for learners.
Examples of Feedback
Different types of feedback serve different purposes. While brief confirmatory feedback may encourage learners, more descriptive feedback often provides clearer guidance for improvement and next steps.
| Broad Feedback | Actionable Feedback |
|---|---|
| "Your thesis needs to be clearer" | "Your introduction identifies the topic, but your main argument is difficult to identify. Consider revising your thesis statement to make your position more explicit" |
| "This answer is vague" | "Your response briefly mentions nucleic acids, but additional detail and examples would strengthen your explanation" |
| "Good presentation" | "Your presentation effectively engaged your peers through the use of discussion and collaborative activities" |
| "You need more detail" | "Including additional evidence and explaining how it connects to your argument would strengthen your analysis" |
| "Incorrect" | "Review the relationship between independent and dependent variables and reconsider how they apply in this scenario" |
| "Good work" | "Your conclusion clearly summarizes the key points and connects them back to the learning outcome" |
Additional Resources
- Feedback and Formative Assessment Tools Module by Queen's University
References
Wiggins, G. (2012). Seven keys to effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 70(1).
Wiggins, G. (2014). What feedback is and isn’t . https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/what-feedback-is-and-isnt/