Actionable and descriptive feedback moves student learning forward, and effective feedback differs from less-effective feedback on identifiable qualities¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r2 · q1
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Actionable and descriptive feedback to students is a powerful response that research has shown to move student learning forward. → Barbara Jones 2024 q1 i? Effective feedback focuses on qualities of student work or thinking, references the success criteria, provides hints or clues while letting the student make decisions, and is of a manageable grain size, whereas less-effective feedback focuses on attributes of the student, occurs after a significant time delay, and tells students what their next steps are. → Barbara Jones 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Barbara Jones 2024¶

Barbara Jones, Molly Faulkner-Bond, and Jennifer Blitz. (2024). Accelerate English Learner Success: Students Take Ownership Over Their Learning With Formative Assessment. Region 15 Comprehensive Center at WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED673602

q1 · i? · theoretical · r2

The brief asserts, citing Black and Wiliam (1998), that actionable and descriptive feedback moves student learning forward; it offers no study design or effect size of its own for this assertion. The feedback should relate to the intended learning as expressed in the success criteria and also honor individual students' sensemaking.

"Overall, actionable and descriptive feedback to students is a powerful response that research has shown to move student learning forward."

Barbara Jones 2024 (2)¶

Barbara Jones, Molly Faulkner-Bond, and Jennifer Blitz. (2024). Accelerate English Learner Success: Students Take Ownership Over Their Learning With Formative Assessment. Region 15 Comprehensive Center at WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED673602

q1 · i? · theoretical · r2

Table 1 of the brief contrasts effective and less-effective feedback qualities, including that effective feedback "Provides hints or clues but lets the student make the decisions about their learning" while less-effective feedback tells students their next steps and is of a too-large grain size. This is a descriptive framework, not a tested comparison.

"Focuses on qualities of student work or thinking Focuses on attributes of the student"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Teacher feedback as part of formative assessment has been shown by multiple studies to move student learning forward — a broader claim this one bears on
• In a case analysis, probing instructor feedback with required revise-and-resubmit moved one teacher candidate toward citing student evidence, though his progress was not linear and another candidate did not improve — related
• Peer assessment improves academic performance by a small average amount relative to no assessment or to teacher assessment — related