How do I provide students with effective feedback?
In a nutshell
Providing feedback to students can be one of the most effective ways to help them learn. How, what and when feedback is delivered is key. Poor quality feedback provided at the wrong time can do more harm than good.
Feedback on an assessed piece of student’s work should:
- Help the student understand the extent to which they have met the assessment criteria.
- Provide guidance on how they can improve their performance on future assessments (sometimes called feedforward).
Formative feedback should be provided regularly throughout the course to ensure students can measure their progress. This can be done through weekly tutorials, online tests and practical classes.
Students need to be given guidance on how to use feedback and develop self-assessment skills. They should be encouraged to reflect on their work and give feedback on their own and other students’ work.
Factsheets and links:
Key research / evidence / case studies
- Formative Assessment and Self Regulated Learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Nicol D. & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006)
- Advance HE Feedback Toolkit
- Advance HE: Enhancing Student Learning through Effective Formative Feedback
- Using Assessment to Support Student Learning, Graham Gibbs (2010)
- NUS Assessment and Feedback Tool
