Introduction to feedback

Feedback plays a key role in supporting learning and influencing student activity and attention. Assessment may be the key driver of learning (Boud et al., 2010), and hand-in-hand with feedback, it is essential for every student’s learning. This module compliments the material covered in Module 7. Assessment.

While feedback focuses on current performance (and may simply justify the grade awarded), feedforward looks ahead to the next assignment and gives guidelines for improved learning and performance. Not all authors make this distinction; indeed, some argue that there is no need for the term feedforward, as feedback should always include a future orientation towards improvement and follow-up of planned action.

• Feedback provides information to learners about where they are in relation to their learning goals. This enables them to evaluate their progress, identify gaps or misconceptions in their knowledge and take action to reduce the gap. Hence, feedback should promote self-regulation of learning. Generated by tutors, peers, mentors, supervisors, a computer, or as a result of self-assessment, feedback is a vital component of effective learning.
• Feedback can take many forms. Praise and feedback on content is much less effective in the long term than feedback on process/skills and on self-regulatory abilities. The latter is more likely to allow learners to develop autonomy in learning and an ability to make evaluative judgements without the support of a teacher.
• Feedforward is equally important to a learner’s progress. While feedback focuses on current performance, feedforward offers constructive guidance on how to improve. A combination of feedback and feedforward ensures that assessment has an effective developmental impact on learning (provided the student has the opportunity and support to develop their own evaluative skills in order to use the feedback effectively, plus the opportunity to apply feedback in future work).

Consider the descriptions of what constitutes feedback and feedforward as you undertake the Reading and Watch activities.