The Future of Education

The influence of teacher feedback on student achievement is well established, but with wide variance in the levels of effectiveness between different forms of feedback also acknowledged. In addition to this, the subjective nature of how each individual student responds to teacher feedback adds another layer of complexity to the feedback discussion. With most prior research in the area of feedback completed from a researcher and teacher perspective, this poster presents an overview of a series of studies completed which aims to develop a deeper understanding of how students respond both cognitively and emotionally to teacher feedback, and how they assign meaning to the feedback presented to them. Study one in this research involved 103 student participants from years 10 – 12 completing a survey in which they were presented with a range of feedback samples and asked to record: what they thought teachers were communicating in their feedback; how this information would shape their future performance on task; and, how effective this feedback would be to them as learners. Following analysis of this survey data, study two involved conducting a small number of interviews with participants, with themes identified in the first study discussed and elaborated on. Results from these studies support previous research in that different forms of feedback vary in effectiveness, with: self based feedback such as praise acknowledged as providing no information in which to base future improvement; and, process and self-regulation based feedback being deemed most useful. Despite this, there are also a number of new insights to consider based on this evidence from the perspective of the student, which include: the importance of praise in feedback to stimulate learning confidence and motivation; the tendency for students to construct their own meaning when delivered feedback; and, the importance of the learning context when responding to feedback. This poster will present: an overview of the key feedback literature; summary of research method; key themes emerging from the research; and finally, what these results mean in the classroom for teachers and students. 

Keywords: Feedback, Student Perceptions, Assessment, Secondary Education, Student Emotions, Student Achievement