Feedback and learning Professor Steve Higgins, School of Education, Durham University s.e.higgins@durham.ac.uk @profstig

Overview Why feedback? What is feedback? Some challenges Evidence from the Sutton Trust/EEF Toolkit Applying evidence from research What is feedback? A simple model Some practical strategies A more complex model Some challenges

EEF Project Best bets (on average) https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit

Good bets (on average)

High risk (on average)

Summaries What is it? How effective is it? How secure is the evidence? What are the costs? What should I consider? Downloads Printable summary Technical appendix Printable summary Technical Appendix Further reading Case studies/ video Related EEF projects

Overview of value for money 1.0 Promising Feedback Meta-cognition Could be worth it EY intervention Effect Size (potential months gain) Peer tutoring Homework (Secondary) 1-1 tutoring Summer schools Digital technology Phonics Smaller classes Parental involvement After school Individualised learning Needs careful thought Teaching assistants Performance pay £0 Ability grouping £1000 Cost per pupil

The Bananarama Principle It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it…

So what is feedback?

‘Feedback’: a simple feedback loop

Feedback follows performance… Feedback is information given to the learner and/or the teacher about the learner’s performance relative to the learning goals which can then redirect the teacher’s and the learner’s actions to achieve the goal. The ‘Learning Loop’ Set/ agree learning goals Assess where pupils are (including self or peer assessmeent Adapt teaching to meet goals Learner adapts strategy It is about teachers seeking feedback from pupils to adapt teaching. Specific, accessible learning intentions. Feedback that has real impact for future learning. Fundamental everyday change. Hattie model Teachers as learners, learners as teachers. It is about changing teacher’s actions. Wiliam’s formative assessment. Not AfL. … to close the ‘gap’

Feedback is reactive Feedback is powerful when it addresses faulty interpretations but not total lack of understanding -- clearly feedback is one part of the teaching process Feedback happens second – after the pupil has responded to initial instruction – when information is provided regarding some aspect(s) of the student’s task performance.

Purposes of feedback provide alternative strategies to understand material increase effort, motivation or engagement confirm that the responses are correct or incorrect indicate that more information is available or needed point to directions that could be pursued to restructure understandings

Summary of effect-sizes relating to feedback effects No. of No. of No. of Variable meta-analyses studies effects Effect-size Cues 3 89 129 1.10 Feedback (overall) 74 4157 5755 .95 Reinforcement 1 19 19 .94 Video/audio feedback 1 91 715 .64 CAI feedback 4 161 129 .52 Goals & feedback 8 640 121 .46 Student evaluation feedback 3 100 61 .42 Corrective feedback 25 1149 1040 .37 Delayed vs. immediate 5 178 83 .34 Reward 3 223 508 .31 Immediate vs. delayed 8 398 167 .24 Punishment 1 89 210 .20 Praise 11 388 4410 .14 Programmed Instruction 1 40 23 -.04

Summary of effects by types of feedback (adapted from Kluger & DeNisi, 1996) Moderator No. ES Correct feedback It is correct 114 .43 It is incorrect 197 .25 F/bk about changes from Yes 50 .55 previous trials No 380 .28 F/bk designed to discourage Yes 49 -.14 the student No 388 .33 F/bk with praise Yes 80 .09 No 358 .34 F/bk frequency Lots 97 .32 Little 171 .39

Summary of effects by types of feedback (adapted from Kluger & DeNisi, 1996) Moderator No. ES Task complexity Very complex 107 .03 Not complex 114 .55 Goal setting Difficult goals 37 .51 Easy goals 373 .30

Optimal feedback Provide feedback about correct (and incorrect)… …previous attempts …for tasks not too complex… …but which relate to more challenging goals … …and does not discourage the pupil… …or threaten their self-efficacy

Two helpful models Outward bound schemes (Hattie) Challenging and specific goals Learners seek instant feedback Instructors reassess and redirect learner’s strategies Sports programmes (Wiliam) Develop and produce talent Challenging and specific goals Specific feedback to move learning on Split into manageable steps for action It is about teachers seeking feedback from pupils to adapt teaching. Specific, accessible learning intentions. Feedback that has real impact for future learning. Fundamental everyday change. Hattie model Teachers as learners, learners as teachers. Wiliam’s formative assessment. Not AfL.

Hattie’s four feedback levels

Feedback features Form – what? Source – who? Timing – when? Oral, spoken, audio Written Pictoral/ iconic Timing – when? Prospective – what next? ‘Live’ Retrospective – what did you learn? Source – who? Teacher/ TA / other professional Peer Self Book/Computer

From feedback to feed-forward Feedback given or feedback received? What does the pupil hear/see? What do they think this means? What do they think they should do about it? Feedback for task success or feedback for learning?

Problems with traditional marking Tended to focus on four elements: presentation surface features (punctuation, grammar and especially spelling) quantity of work effort involved Time consuming Easy to overload Often not actionable: “but what am I supposed to do?”

Some challenges (1: recap) Getting the task difficulty right Too difficult – overload – too much feedback needed Too easy – no need for feedback Getting the level of feedback right Too complex/ too many points – overload Too simple – doesn’t help A “Goldilocks” problem – you have to get it just right

Some challenges (2) Time What to focus on? Time to diagnose Time to ‘judge the nudge’ so that it feeds forward Time to embed/ habituate What to focus on? Diagnosing key needs ‘Thorny’ problems Correcting/ re-learning

Some challenges (3): teacher/pupil talk Teacher/ pupil talk is like a genre on writing Questions can: Appear as imperatives “Why are you doing that?” = “Stop doing that!” Imply a correct answer the teacher already knows Not require an answer (rhetorical) Hard to ensure authentic dialogue

Suggested exploration Choose one area to explore with a colleague you currently work with What feedback is given and what is received? Is it for task success or for learning? Is it spoken/ written Can less be more?

Final thoughts… Develop mini-feedback strategies (cues, prompts, reminders) Make is as challenging as the learner can accept Give sparingly (needs to be meaningful) Don’t overload (key points, break into stages etc) Specific and received (relating to learning goals) Give positive feedback too (you got it right, because you…) Needs to be timely – (before/ during/ after) Focus on task and process (avoid self level 'clever boy’, good girl etc) Fade the feedback (from the teacher, from peers to self-regulation) Develop a culture of peer and self-assessment Try to avoid comparisons between pupils – self – and focus on how has improved in relation to previous personal bests – practical tips for this

Remember the Bananarama principle… “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it… that’s what gets results” High challenge, high support Authentic feedback Understood and actionable by the pupil? How do you create feedback loops which amplify learning?