Principles of feedback

Feedback is information that you give to your students that helps them close the gap
between where they are now with their work, and where they could be. The goal of
feedback is to provide students with insight that helps them to improve their
performance. ;According to Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006), the seven principles of
effective feedback include:

1. Helping to clarify what good performance is. Students require goals, criteria,

expected standards for which they can assess their progression. Examples include the
provision of clear, concise written instructions, instructional videos, and exemplars.
2. Facilitating the development of self-assessment (reflection) in
learning. Students require opportunities to practice aspects of their own learn and reflect on
that practice. Examples include peer feedback and self-feedback processes.
3. Delivering high quality information to students about their learning. Feedback
from teachers is a source against which students can evaluate their progress and check out
their own internal constructions of goals, criteria and standards. Feedback needs to be
timely, prioritise avenues for improvement and accessible.
4. Encouraging teacher and peer dialogue around learning. Feedback as dialogue
means that students not only receive initial feedback information, but also have the
opportunity to engage the teacher in discussion about that feedback. Examples include
collated feedback provided for small group discussion, and virtual office meetings.
5. Encouraging positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem. The focus of
feedback is on learning goals (mastering the subject) rather than on performance goals
(passing the test, looking good). Feedback given as grades has also been shown to have
especially negative effects on the self-esteem of low-ability students (Craven et al., 1991).
Examples include providing marks after students have responded to feedback comments,
and including processes of draft and resubmissions.
6. Providing opportunities to close the gap between current and desired
performance. Is the feedback of the best quality, and does it lead to changes in student
behaviour? Feedback should help students to recognise the next steps in learning and how
to take them, both during production and in relation to the next assignment. Examples
include providing feedback on work-in-progress, and use two-stage assignments where
feedback on stage one helps improve stage two.
7. Providing information to teachers that can be used to help shape teaching. In
order to produce feedback that meets students’ needs, teachers themselves need good
data about how students are progressing (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). They also need
to be involved in reviewing and reflecting on this data, and in taking action to help support
the development of self-regulation in their students. Examples include, one-minute papers,
diagnostic tests and ‘key questions’ for discussion as developed by the students