Feedback is for Learning

The right feedback enhances learning. Research is consistently confirming that this is the case (Hattie, 2008; Sutton, et. al., 2011; Marzano, et. al., 2001). However, there is a flip side to that coin: students don't always use our feedback. In 1996, Kluger and DeNisi conducted a review of over 130 studies and discovered that, "students often learn less when teachers provide feedback than they do when the teacher writes nothing."

That's a painful thought, we know. Especially if you've ever spent hours pondering, crafting, and rewriting student feedback to get just the right tone and message. Needless to say, Kluger and DeNisi's conclusion is discouraging—unless you understand the reason why students don't use feedback. First, the reviewed studies showed that students primarily ignored feedback that compared them to other students (e.g., my grade is higher than yours). Second, when a comment (whether comparison-based or not) accompanied an initial evaluation (think letter grade, statement of mastery level), they simply passed over it. What Kluger and DeNisi ended up discovering is that most of us are providing evaluations, not feedback—but we're calling it feedback.

Evaluations can come in many forms, such as letter grades, a categorization (e.g., Superior, Proficient, etc.), or any system that ranks student performance, and these inherently lead students to compare themselves to others or some standard they aren't achieving. Comparison, in turn, promotes a fixed mindset, which basically asserts that intelligence is static or fixed, that you're only as intelligent as your genetics allow (Dweck, 1988). A fixed mindset communictes the message that whether you did well or poor, if you did the best you could, that's all you're capable of doing. The real rub is that it doesn't matter how encouragingly, constructively, or politely the comments that go with your evaluation were crafted, the intelligent mindset is interpreted by the receiver (i.e., the student).

Learn More

If you want to learn more about fixed and growth mindsets, visit "Why Do Mindsets Matter?" on the Mindset Works website.

However, there is hope. Kluger and DeNisis' review also showed that when students are provided feedback that informs them how they need to improve and gives guidance on how to go about improving it, the feedback is effective and does elicit a positive change in student learning. This type of feedback is consistent with the growth mindset, which states that intelligence can be developed. With this feedback, we are communicating that while the student didn't reach the goal, they could still get there with more effort and specific changes. We are also reminding them that failure and persistence is a normal part of the learning process.

Effective Feedback

Read "Seven Keys to Effective Feedback" by Grant Wiggins.

As you read, consider:

How might you reshape your assessments to allow more opportunities for feedback?
How can you promote peer-to-peer feedback?
How can you foster a student's ability to provide themselves with feedback?

Freedom to Fail

Setting a tone in a course that allows (and encourages!) failure is another way to mentally and emotionally prime students to better receive and use feedback. No matter how long we've been at our profession, we make mistakes, especially if we're willing to try something new. When we communicate that failure is a normal part of the learning process, we are promoting the growth mindset. This frees students to receive criticism and constructive feedback as part of the normal learning process. When we give students permission to fail, we give them permission to learn from that failure.

References

Davidson, C. (2018). How to give great feedback: The architect versus the critic. hastac blog post. Viewed December 2019.

Dweck, C.S. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256–273.

Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254–284.

Mindset Works, Inc. (2017). The impact of a growth mindset: Why do mindsets matter? Viewed January 10, 2020.

Wiggins, G. (2012). Seven keys to effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 10–16.

William, D. (2016). The secret of effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 73(7), 10–15.