5 Tips for Giving Effective Feedback to Students

Giving feedback to students is tricky. That’s why I began researching how to give effective feedback. What did I find? Here are five helpful feedback tips for my fellow educators.

1. If in doubt about timing, give immediate feedback

When you give feedback is important. Generally, there’s immediate feedback and delayed feedback. “Immediate feedback” must directly follow the completion of a task. And this kind of feedback works best for the retention of verbal, procedural, and motor skills. It’s also best if the task is new, particularly difficult, or you’re working with a lower achieving students.

2. Use a variety of feedback methods

Students prefer verbal feedback, but there are unique benefits to written and video feedback. That’s why it’s a good idea to mix up your feedback methods. And don’t forget to experiment with new feedback technology. In a comprehensive literature review of feedback research, Dr. Valerie J. Shute encourages professors to “exploit the potential of multimedia . . . consider alternative modes of presentations (e.g., acoustic, visual).”

3. Reference student outcomes.

Always try to reference assignment goals or course outcomes in your feedback. Doing so makes your feedback more specific and minimizes any signs of bias. It also gives students a macro view of their learning and allows them to track their progress.

4. Don’t compare students in your feedback.

Whenever you get egos involved, learning suffers. That’s why educators should never compare students in giving feedback.

5. Give feedback first and delay the accompanying grade.

An interesting study by Dr. Ruth Butler in 1998 suggests that feedback is most effective on it’s own — sans grade. So consider giving feedback first and delaying the accompanying grade. Or just do more feedback-focused exercises with drafts or activities.

@chadjardine is the CMO for @goreact, an edtech startup that makes video formative assessment tools for the classroom. He also teaches courses in venture financing @uutah