STRATEGY 3 IN PRACTICE
Levels of Feedback
According to Hattie and Timperley’s model, effective feedback that addresses the three questions of ACL (i.e. “Where am I going?”, “Where am I now?” and “How can I close the gap?”) occurs at three levels. Click the buttons below to read more about each level of effective feedback.
Instructional Fit
To determine which level of feedback is most appropriate for a given situation, think about the student’s acquisition of new knowledge/skills. The type of feedback to provide is guided by the level of instruction and learning.
- Task: Use task level for new material.
- Process: Use process level when student has some degree of proficiency.
- Self-Regulation: Use self-regulation level when student has high degree of proficiency.
TASK Level Feedback
How well has the task been understood and performed? Is it correct or incorrect?
The first level of feedback is more information focused (incorrect or correct), leads to acquiring more or different information, and builds more surface knowledge. This type of feedback is most common and most students see feedback in these terms. Having correct information is a pedestal on which processing and self-regulation can be effectively built.
EXAMPLE
Your learning goal was to structure your recount in a way that the first thing you write is the first thing you did. Then write about the other things you did in the same order that they happened. You have written the first thing first, but after that it becomes muddled. You need to go through what you have written, number the order in which things happened, and re-write them in that order.
PROCESS Level Feedback
What are the processes needed to perform the task? Are there alternative processes that can be used?
The second feedback level is aimed at the processes used to create the product or complete the task. Feedback at this process level appears to be more effective than at the task level for enhancing deeper learning. Process level feedback can have a powerful interactive effect between feedback aimed at improving the strategies and processes and feedback aimed at the more surface task information
EXAMPLE
You are stuck on this word and you have looked at me instead of trying to work it out. What else might you try? Think about what you have done before when you were ‘stuck’ on something. What strategies have we used in class when we did not understand or weren’t sure of what the word was or meant?”
“You were asked to compare these ideas. For example, you could try to see how they are similar, different, and how they relate together.
SELF REGULATION Level Feedback
Self-monitoring, directing, monitoring the processes and task. What is the conditional knowledge and understanding needed to know what you are doing?
The third level, self-regulation, focuses on students monitoring their own learning processes. Feedback at this level can enhance students’ skills in self-evaluation, provide greater confidence to engage further on the task, can assist in the student seeking and accepting feedback, and can enhance the willingness to invest effort into seeking and dealing with feedback information. When students can monitor and self-regulate their learning, they can more effectively use feedback to reduce discrepancies between where they are in their learning and the desired outcomes or successes of their learning.
EXAMPLE
I am impressed by how you went back to the beginning of the sentence when you became stuck on this word. But in this case it didn’t help. What else could you do? When you decide on what it means I want you to tell how confident you are and why.”
“You checked your answer with the resource book [self-help] and found you got it wrong. Any ideas of why you got it wrong [error detection]. What strategy did you use? Can you think of another strategy to try and how else you could work it out if you are correct?
Use this handout to reflect on your own feedback practices.
Coaching Companion
Article/Blog: 5 Researched Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback