Making Feedback Count

One of the greatest tools to aid student learning in any subject is feedback.  By pointing out areas of strength and those that need correction, students can adjust and gradually improve their application of knowledge and critical thinking.  Another benefit of feedback is to motivate students to be more reflective about their progress (Ion et al., 2016).  Although a percentage, letter grade, or pass/fail is a basic form of feedback, such a simple critique leaves the student wondering what they should do differently or better in the future.  Therefore, the purpose of this article is to revitalize your feedback practices.

Written Feedback

The most common type of feedback is written.  Perks of this style of feedback include the asynchronous nature of the feedback.  Instructors can write the feedback, and the student can access it at their own pace as many times as desired.  Feedback may take time to read and comprehend thoroughly, so written feedback allows the student to read a comment and process it before moving on.  Quite often, instructors use copy-and-paste statements in their written feedback, which is why instructors may prefer this more streamlined feedback method.  However, the feedback may feel less personalized to each individual, and students may only note the grade but never read the written feedback (Mackinney et al., 2021).

Figure 1.

Bad grades [Photograph].

Note. From “Bad grades” by tacojim, n.d., Getty Images Signature, Canva. https://www.canva.com/

Audio/Video Feedback

Another option for feedback delivery is through audio or video recording.  This feedback will feel more personalized, which will build feelings of connection with students. In a study by Mackinney et al. (2021), assessments were tracked before and after various types of feedback.  Audio and face-to-face feedback following an initial assessment led to significant gains on a second assessment when compared with written feedback.  Audio feedback offers more detail and is more engaging to students than written feedback.  In this type of feedback, instructors may also simplify constructive criticism in a way more accessible to students.

Face-to-face feedback

Face-to-face feedback may be the most effective method as the experience becomes a two-way conversation between the student and instructor.  The interaction is very similar to a tutoring session, which is highly relevant and personalized.  The drawbacks of this style of feedback are the required time, coordination of schedules, and privacy needed for the interview, which can be challenging to both parties.

Peer Feedback

Feedback from another learner is beneficial to both students.  As students assess their peers’ learning against a rubric, they reinforce content and principles for themselves.  For the student doing peer review, the process reiterates the assessed objectives and develops self-reflection in regard to future course work.  For instance, in a writing course, students can read and assess one another’s essays.  As students identify well-structured writing, they begin to better comprehend expectations for their own writing. When writing in the future, students will recall the changes they need to make and apply them.    

Peer feedback can be especially effective as an intermediary assessment, so learners have an opportunity to make corrections before submitting for final instructor feedback and grading.  Indeed, Ion et al. (2016) found that participating in written peer feedback leads to better problem-solving and application of learning in future situations.  This active learning process is sometimes called “feedforward” because the current feedback benefits future output (Ion et al., 2016, p. 8).

Peer review is most effective when students are given specific criteria to identify.  Not every aspect of an assignment needs to be peer reviewed.  Instead, instructors can request that the peer review achieve certain objectives.  In the case of a rhetorical writing assignment, students may be asked to identify effective argumentation and quality evidence but ignore issues with grammar and citations.  Whatever the student grader is expected to focus on in their peer review is where the learning will occur.

To improve the quality of the feedback given, students can also assess one another’s feedback.  Is there a balance of positive and constructive feedback?  Are the assigned criteria the focus of the feedback?  Does the feedback seem warranted and credible?  How does the feedback help the student improve their final product?  Overall, peer feedback is effective for learning outcomes and should be incorporated into larger projects that may take more steps and time to complete.  Adding an assessment of the feedback can increase sincerity of feedback and reduce bias due to interpersonal relationships (Abraham & Singaram, 2024).

Self-Assessment

Providing multiple opportunities for students to engage in self-assessment leads to many learning outcomes as students participate in self-regulated learning.  Self-regulated learning is “a cyclical process where students plan for a task, set learning objectives, monitor their performance, and reflect on outcomes” (Abraham & Singaram, 2024).  Successful students compare their personal performance with a standard, reflect on needed changes, adjust, and then improve gradually over time.  

How to improve feedback

Students need time to process feedback and make changes in their learning and application before being expected to demonstrate their learning again. Therefore, feedback should be timely so that students remember what they did in the prior assessment and have plenty of time to reflect and implement changes (Mackinney et al., 2021).  Keep in mind that feedback given too frequently can adversely affect progress as well (Johnson et al., 2025).

Conclusion

Recording meaningful feedback takes effort and time, but the rewards are multifold.  Student motivation and engagement are dependent on timely and personalized feedback.  Greater learning gains occur as students reflect on the representation of their learning, make corrections, and fill in gaps in understanding.  Various forms of feedback can be a springboard to growth and learning, but instructors must consider which format will be the most effective for their students and learning environment.

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References

Abraham, R., & Singaram, V.S. (2024). Self and peer feedback engagement and receptivity among medical students with varied academic performance in the clinical skills laboratory. BMC Medical Education, 24(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06084-9

Ion, G., Barrera-Corominas, A., & Tomas-Folch, M. (2016). Written peer-feedback to enhance students’ current and future learning. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 13, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-016-0017-Y

Johnson, J. A., Kelly, K., & Olczak, W. (2025). Is more always better? An experimental examination of the effects of feedback frequency, narcissistic oversensitivity, and growth mindset on performance accuracy. Contemporary Accounting Research, 42(1), 418–445. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.13005

Mackinney, R., Kelly, J., & Pulling, C. (2021). The effect of feedback type on academic performance. Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 15(1), 78–93.

tacojim. (n.d.). Bad grades [Photograph]. Getty Images Signature. Canva. https://www.canva.com/