NEN Explain: Four Styles of Feedback
When looking at assessment, an often overlooked aspect is the style of feedback used. This can be equally impactful and important as the type and methods of assessments used. This is because the feedback style reflects the quality of information the learners gain. As such, the developmental impact the assessment can have on the individual’s knowledge, skills and behaviours. When exploring feedback, it can be done in many different ways, feed-up, feedback and feedforward, and constructive feedback. However, content-wise, feedback often fits into four distinct styles, these being Motivational, Descriptive, Evaluative and Effective. Each of these styles can be linked to constructive as well as feedback, feedforward and feed-up.
Motivational
The first of the four styles that will be covered is Motivational feedback. This style of feedback focuses on rewarding an individual’s efforts and results through written and verbal praise and encouraging statements that highlight positive aspects of the work that has been produced or the effort that has been shown. The main aim of Motivational feedback is to promote continuing and enhanced engagement with the knowledge, skills and behaviours being produced and presented. Whereas other types of feedback provide developmental information, motivational feedback does not. Instead, it offers emotive statements that enable individuals to feel positive about their work and participation.
Another feature of this feedback style is its impact on the individual’s interpretation of their knowledge, skills and behaviours about the learning programme and outcomes on offer. This style of feedback can be linked to the ideas of the Growth Mindset theory and positively shift the perspective of individuals so that they are more willing to engage with potentially challenging knowledge, skills and behaviours and, as an effect, enhance their academic achievements. This understanding of the impact of motivational feedback is further supported by Mega et al. (2014), who states that an individual’s emotive understanding of their knowledge, skills and behaviours positively influences self-regulated learning and motivation and increases their resilience when faced with challenges in their learning journey. This was also further supported by Mega et al. (2014), who suggest that individuals who hold feelings of joy and pride in their knowledge, skills and behaviours increased ‘organisation of academic study time’, ‘confidence in their intelligence’ and the likelihood of ‘pursuing mastery–approach goals’ (Mega et al., 2014, pg. 126).
Another feature of this feedback style is that it offers little to no guidance on improving the individual’s knowledge, skills or behaviours. Instead, its primary focus is to ensure a positive emotional response to the work produced. This means that an over-reliance on this style of feedback can have an adverse effect on an individual’s academic achievement despite the positive impact it will have on their mindset and resilience.
Descriptive
The second of the four styles of feedback is Descriptive feedback. This style of feedback focuses on providing supportive developmental feedback, enabling the development and improvement of an individual’s knowledge, skills and behaviours. Descriptive feedback can often be broken down into three sections: what, where and how. What are the current achievements, highlighting areas of improvement and identifying appropriate next steps that the individual can undertake to meet the required knowledge, skills and behaviour?
Descriptive feedback can be provided through verbal or written communication. However, descriptive feedback is best provided through written feedback and can be recapped verbally for the feedback to be as effective as possible. This enables specific information to be provided that helps the individual understand clearly what they need to do to improve, develop and gain the required knowledge, skills and behaviours (Sachse-Brown, Aldridge, 2004).
Another feature of this feedback style is that unlike other types, such as motivational, descriptive feedback is neutral through how feedback is provided and the specific feedback given. This is because it avoids praise and criticism by focusing on the strengths and areas for improvement of the intended knowledge, skills and behaviours. Black and William (2010) emphasised that descriptive feedback to individuals should be about the particular qualities the individuals work, with advice on what can be developed further.
Evaluative
The third of the four styles of feedback is Evaluative feedback. This style of feedback focuses solely on an overall evaluative grade of an individual’s work about specific knowledge, skills and behaviours that are required to be gained. Unlike the other styles of feedback, evaluative feedback dose does not provide any developmental or supportive comments that would enable the individual to improve. Instead, it provides them with a mark, which could be a percentage, numerical or letter grade, often based on a standardised assessment. This summary of their work enables their achievements to be comparable with others undertaking the same assessment.
A feature of Evaluative feedback that is designative to the other styles is that once an individual receives their grade, the learning often stops. This is based partly on the fact that evaluative feedback is linked to summative feedback but also because there is no constructive feedback offered to support and guide the individuals in recognising their areas of improvement and development. Further, Evaluative feedback and, more broadly, regular evaluation can negatively impact an individual’s learning and motivation.
Effective
The final style of feedback is that of Effective feedback. This style differs from the other types and can be seen as an umbrella type that can touch upon the other method. The reason for this as main focus of this style is for individuals to internalise the feedback they are being provided by making it meaningful and relevant to their own learning and development wants and needs. This method, unlike the others, doesn’t just provide feedback based solely on the current work being assessed. Still, it is a holistic view of the individual’s knowledge, skills, and behavioural needs, and feedback is based on these.
One feature of Effective feedback is that it focuses on the long-term development of an individual’s knowledge, skills and behaviours during their educational journey. The goal is for the individual to internalise the feedback and enable them to move their learning forward independently. This is where the connections to the other styles come in for this to happen, and feedback must be descriptive to ensure the individual has the required information based on their performance to help them continually improve and know how to take action on it.
Another feature, as Lipman (2003) suggests, is that feedback has four elements to be categorised as effective. These elements are specific, timely, meaningful and candid. Within the specific element, feedback should focus on the work being assessed and tie into a larger overall goal of improvement. In addition, feedback should be provided as close as possible to the assessment. Lipman (2003) states that the ability to suitably reflect on the knowledge, skills and behaviours gained and changes needed have passed, negatively impacting the overall development of an individual in meeting the specific knowledge, skills and behaviours as well as the larger overall goals. When looking at the meaningful element, effective feedback gives meaningful and actionable suggestions on how to adjust behaviour or change course and adds additional context that might have been missed initially. Finally, the fourth element, as suggested by Lipman, is that of candid. This element focuses on whether the feedback being provided is honest and truthful to the required areas of development, as, with this, the feedback gains its manfulness.
Another feature that has already been touched upon but bears repeating is that this feedback style allows individuals to develop their ability to self-monitor and self-manage. This is because effective feedback will enable individuals to recognise their current skills, knowledge and gaps in their learning and then plan and adapt to this knowledge.
References
Black, P and Wiliam, D., 2010. Inside the Black Box Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. GL Assessment: London.
Chappuis, J., 2005. Helping Students Understand Assessment, Educational Leadership, 63 (3), pg. 39-43.
Hattie, J and Timperley, H., 2007. The Power of Feedback, in, Review of Educational Research, 77 (1), pg. 81-112.
Lipman, M (2003) Thinking in education. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, UK.
Nottingham Education Network 