Feed-Forward

This week I would like to share research on the concept of “feed-forward." Most of you have heard of and most likely are providing timely, critical feedback on well-aligned authentic assessments. However, there is an additional approach that has shown to be helpful in the learning process. The concept is explored in the article, “Using feed-forward strategies in higher education” by Hine and Northeast (2016).

In this article, the authors remind us of the research on feedback, which is the most important way of raising student achievement and encouraging learning. However, over the past 15 years, problems with feedback have been identified. Statistics show students do not check their feedback (Gibbs & Simpson, 2005). When they do engage, they often report that feedback is not useful, they struggle to apply the comments and that feedback does not help them look forward to how they can improve (Duncan, 2007). It is suggested there is a ‘feedback gap’ (Evans, 2013; Sadler, 2010), representing a disassociation between the guidance of lecturers and use. At present, most students view feedback in a linear fashion (Murtagh & Baker, 2009), where they complete an assignment, and receive feedback. This linear model demonstrates an absence of reflection and application. This directly contradicts theories of learning that suggest feedback is a fundamental part of the learning process and should be fed into a circular as opposed to linear model (Beaumont, O’Doherty, & Shannon, 2011; Kolb, 1984).

Feed-forward refers to feedback that should

1. be given post-assignment with specific direction on how this can be applied to future assignments; or

2. impact upon an upcoming assignment (Sadler, 2010).

Traditional theories of learning include elements of ‘feed-forward’ such as Kolb’s learning cycle (1984) is based on using feedback to reflect and make improvements to future actions. Murtagh and Baker (2009) propose a fully integrated model, proposing a greater emphasis placed upon ensuring that the student is clear about the next steps to be taken. Key to this process is ‘feedback discourse’. Feed-forward strategies commonly take the form of formative assignments, such as practice attempts at sections of an assignment, or a series of tasks related to the final submission. Wimhurst and Manning (2013) describe a two-stage process:

1. Students engage in an initial attempt; then

2. they receive feedback and use their increased understanding to tackle subsequent summative assignments that carry more weight.

Strategies that involve the creation of high-impact feedback that is specific and clear in nature in its relation to future assignments are linked to improvements in student performance (Vardi, 2013). Murtagh and Baker (2009) demonstrated that by engaging students in assignment and feedback discourse, and by specifically encouraging students to engage in self-reflection, they were successful in increasing their achievement and self-directed learning.

Finally, the findings in this week’s article showed that students not only felt they had achieved better grades, but they had gained increased ability and understanding of the task as well as increased confidence.

References

Hine, B., & Northeast, Tony (2016) Using feed-forward strategies in higher education. The terrifying novel assignment: using feed-forward to improve students' ability and confidence on assignments that test new skills. New Vistas, 2 (1), 28-33. ISSN 2056-9688 oai:repository.uwl.ac.uk:2012