Feedback in Seqta

John Hattie's seminal research identified feedback as one of the most important and effective influences on student outcomes.

In 2011 John Hattie contributed to a publication by Sutton, Hornsey & Douglas with an article about ‘Feedback in schools’. Some brief points:

1. Giving is not receiving: Teachers may claim they give much feedback, but the more appropriate measure is the nature of feedback received (and this is often quite little).
2. The culture of the student can influence the feedback effects: Feedback is not only differentially given but also differentially received.
3. Disconfirmation is more powerful than confirmation: When feedback is provided that disconfirms then there can be greater change, provided it is accepted.
4. Errors need to be welcomed: The exposure to errors in a safe environment can lead to higher performance
5. The power of peers: Interventions that aim to foster correct peer feedback are needed.
6. Feedback from assessment: Assessment (…) could and should also provide feedback to teachers about their methods.
7. There are many strategies to maximize the power of feedback: Shute (2008) provided nine guidelines for using feedback to enhance learning:

• focus feedback on the task not the learner,
• provide elaborated feedback,
• present elaborated feedback in manageable units,
• be specific and clear with feedback messages,
• keep feedback as simple as possible but no simpler,
• reduce uncertainty between performance and goals,
• give unbiased, objective feedback, written or via computer,
• promote a learning goal orientation via feedback,
• provide feedback after learners have attempted a solution.

(cf. John Hattie in Sutton, Hornsey,  & Douglas (2011), Feedback: The communication of praise, criticism, and advice.)

Using Seqta, staff and students are able to reflect and give feedback on each assessment, right in the marks book.

This short video explains how: