If your institution is looking to develop in the provision of high-quality feedback, we’ve got you covered. Here, we guide you through the effective use of feedback.
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In the realm of education, feedback reigns supreme as the most vital technique for fostering effective learning. Yet, it is woefully underutilised, particularly in higher education. This begs the question: why is feedback so crucial, and how can we harness its potential to enhance our courses?
According to renowned experts, feedback has an extraordinary impact on learning outcomes and motivation. It facilitates the development of accurate mental frameworks, known as schemas, that organise and connect information. John Hattie's research even reveals that feedback has a remarkable effect size of 0.79, double the average of other educational effects. When it comes to formative feedback, designed for learning purposes, its effect size soars to an impressive 0.90. Feedback holds immense power in shaping positive learning outcomes. It is also a key ingredient in effective teacher-learner dialogue, an important dialogue type outlined in Laurillard's Conversational Framework.
However, not all feedback is created equal. Ineffective feedback can hinder learning progress. Merely pointing out errors without providing guidance on how to improve proves unhelpful. General praise and rewards undermine intrinsic motivation and fail to offer valuable task-related information. Likewise, comparing learners or ranking them induces anxiety, undermining their self-esteem.
Feedback is a multifaceted concept, intricately tied to the learning process. It adapts to the learner's progression stages. In the early phases, feedback serves a concept-improving function by offering corrective guidance. As learning advances, feedback transitions into a retrieval-strengthening tool.
Among the various types of feedback, three stand out:
Common misconceptions paint feedback as a one-way street from educator to learner, stifling learner agency. It is time to reimagine feedback as a learner-centred process. Learners must actively engage with feedback, making sense of the information to enhance their work and learning strategies.
Creating effective feedback necessitates addressing critical conditions:
As education embraces digital transformation, feedback enters a new frontier of possibilities. Multimodal feedback, encompassing diverse media forms such as audio, video, and interactive elements, empowers educators to convey information more effectively. Tools and integrations, such as insendi's Canvas integration, make it easy to harness the power of multimodal feedback, facilitating the personalisation of feedback delivery and helping nurture stronger educator-learner relationships.
With insendi, effective feedback loops can be threaded throughout the learner journey and across multiple activities, allowing learners to consistently progress towards reaching their full potential. Feedback can be general (pre-written and set to appear upon answer submission) or personalised (written in real time and tailored to each individual learner and response). Instructors can also endorse impressive answers and highlight them to other learners.
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Dig deeper into insendi's versatile feedback capabilities with this interactive demo:
Feedback's potential to revolutionise learning outcomes, empower learners, and foster continuous improvement is unparalleled. By embracing effective feedback practices and leveraging the advantages of digital education, we can unleash the full learning potential of every student and pave the way for a brighter educational future.