How to Leverage Feedback to Maximize Learning
By Ruth Clark
Imagine you are blindfolded sitting in front of pencil and paper. I ask you to draw a line exactly 3 inches long 100 times to see if you get better with practice. If your line is within 1/8 of an inch of the 3 inches I score you as correct – otherwise incorrect. In 1932 Trowbridge and Cason tried this experiment. On the first 10 tries the error rate was 64% and on the last 10 tries the error rate was 62%. Clearly practice did not make perfect or even improve performance. But suppose I tell you if your line is within 1/8 of an inch of the target length or not. When they tested this procedure, errors fell from 85% on the first 10 tries to 38% on the last 10 tries. For almost 100 years we have evidence that practice does improve performance when feedback is provided.
In an analysis of 138 different factors that affect learning, Hattie (2009) ranked feedback as number 10 in influence! However, in spite of its overall effectiveness, not all feedback is effective. One analysis in fact reported that some feedback even degraded performance.
Which of the following two feedback versions to a correct response in a botany lesson is most effective?
A. Correct. Well Done!
B. Yes, in a low sunlight environment a large leaf has more room to make food via photosynthesis
If you selected A you are in favor of what we call corrective feedback that tells the learner whether their response is right or wrong and offers praise. If you selected B you are in favor of what we call explanatory feedback that summarizes reasons the response is right or wrong. Experiments that have compared learning from corrective versus explanatory feedback show explanatory feedback leads to better learning. If the response is incorrect, feedback that tells the learner their response is incorrect, gives a hint, and asks the learner to try again is most effective.
Research on feedback that students find useful recommends feedback that answers the following 4 questions. I illustrate each question with feedback to an essay.
The bottom line: Go beyond corrective feedback to include explanations and to answer the questions listed above.
For More Information
Johnson, C.I & Marraffino, M.D. (2022). The feedback principle in multimedia learning. In R Mayer and L Fiorella. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (3rd Ed)
Mandoult, L & Hattie, J (2023). Revisiting “The Power of Feedback” from the perspective of the learner. Learning & Instruction, 84 101718.