Feedback

Feedback, in a teacher-student context, refers to information and analysis given to the student about their progress - or lack therof. It is an important part of the teaching process as students are less able to evaluate their own progress and expect such information from the teacher.

Feedback should not be relentlessly negative and the teacher should praise the student for problems that have been overcome. Where feedback is negative, it should be accompanied with suggestions about how the student can improve his or her performance in the future.

Goldsmiths Learning Enhancement Unit suggests that feedback is formative both at the "level of subject knowledge, [as] it is grounded in the difference between what a student knows and what they need to know" and at "a metacognitive level, [as] it moves students forward by clarifying learning intentions and criteria for success".

However, while the UK's 2007 National Student Survey found that "82 per cent of students were satisfied with teaching on their courses, and 81 per cent were satisfied with courses overall", "undergraduates gave the lowest ratings to the quality of the feedback they received on their work": "only 54 per cent agreed that feedback had been prompt and had helped to clarify points they did not understand".