WHAT WORKS
Task, subject, strategy
The Education Endowment Foundation says effective feedback focuses on the task, the subject and self-regulation strategies, and gives specific information on how to improve.
Check a commentGIVING FEEDBACK
Rate the work,
not the person.
Feedback is powerful, but it can backfire.
UK education evidence rates feedback as high impact for very low cost. A classic review of feedback studies also found that over a third made performance worse. The difference is mostly about where the feedback points attention.
Check a comment Read the short answer
01 Point at the task02 Name the next step03 Notice what's rightThen give time to use it
THE SHORT ANSWER
Specific beats
general.
The best feedback tells someone how to improve the work in front of them.
Praise for the person tends to do least.
WHAT BACKFIRES
About the person
Feedback about someone as an individual tends to be the least effective, the EEF says. A 1996 meta-analysis found effects fall as attention moves towards the self.
Why it backfires
CLOSING THE LOOP
Time to use it
EEF guidance says teachers should give pupils chances to use feedback. Only then is the feedback loop closed so learning can move on.
Four habitsA QUICK COMMENT CHECK
Will this comment
help?
Pick a kind of feedback to see what the evidence says about it. The bar shows how likely it is to help.
Based on the EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit and its guidance report Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning. Figures are for school pupils.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Big gains,
real risks.
One figure for the average benefit,
one for how often feedback makes things worse.
SCHOOLS · EEF
Average extra progress from feedback
+6 months
The EEF rates feedback as high impact for very low cost, based on extensive evidence. Effects are slightly higher in primary (+7 months) than secondary (+5 months).
META-ANALYSIS · 1996
Feedback interventions that lowered performance
> 1/3
Across 607 effect sizes and 23,663 observations, feedback improved performance on average, but over a third of interventions made it worse.
The 1996 review, by Kluger and DeNisi in Psychological Bulletin, found the negative effects could not be explained by sampling error or by whether the feedback was positive or negative.
FOUR HABITS FOR USEFUL FEEDBACK
Help them take
the next step.
These follow the EEF's principles for teachers, but they work for any drawing, essay or project you are asked to look at.
- Know the goal firstBe clear about what the work is aiming for, so feedback can target the specific gap between where it is and where it is going.
- Point at the workComment on the task, the subject or the strategy used, with a specific way to improve, rather than on the person.
- Say what is right tooThe EEF stresses giving feedback when things are correct, not just when they are wrong.
- Leave time to act on itFeedback only moves learning on if there is a chance to use it.
WHY FEEDBACK BACKFIRES
Where attention
goes matters.
Kluger and DeNisi proposed that feedback shifts attention between three levels: the task itself, motivation for the task, and processes about the self. Their results suggest feedback becomes less effective as attention moves up towards the self and away from the task.
The EEF notes another cost: large amounts of time go on giving feedback, and some written forms carry a significant workload. Its guidance says the method, written or spoken, matters less than following the principles of good feedback.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Frequently asked
Does feedback really improve learning?
Yes, on average. The EEF says feedback has a high impact on learning outcomes for very low cost, adding about six months' progress, based on extensive evidence.
Can feedback make things worse?
Yes. A 1996 meta-analysis of 607 effect sizes found feedback helped on average, but over a third of feedback interventions decreased performance.
Is praise good feedback?
Feedback about the person tends to be the least effective, the EEF says. It does stress giving feedback when work is correct, focused on the task.
Is spoken or written feedback better?
Studies of verbal feedback show slightly higher impacts (+7 months), but the EEF's guidance says the method matters less than following the principles of effective feedback.
When should feedback be given?
The EEF says feedback can work during, immediately after or some time after learning, and that policies should not over-specify how often it is given.
SOURCES
Where the facts come from
Each figure on this page comes from the sources below. Check them for the full detail and context.
- Education Endowment Foundation: Teaching and Learning Toolkit, Feedback
- Education Endowment Foundation: Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning (guidance report)
- EEF: Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning, summary of recommendations (PDF)
- Kluger and DeNisi (1996), The effects of feedback interventions on performance, Psychological Bulletin (abstract)