Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative. Its power is frequently mentioned in articles about learning and teaching, but surprisingly few recent studies have systematically investigated its meaning. This article provides a conceptual analysis of feedback and reviews the evidence related to its impact on learning and achievement. This evidence shows that although feedback is among the major influences, the type of feedback and the way it is given can be differentially effective. A model of feedback is then proposed that identifies the particular properties and circumstances that make it effective, and some typically thorny issues are discussed, including the timing of feedback and the effects of positive and negative feedback. Finally, this analysis is used to suggest ways in which feedback can be used to enhance its effectiveness in classrooms.

http://www.columbia.edu/~mvp19/ETF/Feedback.pdf

The Power of Feedback

This article is a review of the literature on classroom formative assessment. Several studies show firm evidence that innovations designed to strengthen the frequent feedback that students receive about their learning yield substantial learning gains. The perceptions of students and their role in self‐assessment are considered alongside analysis of the strategies used by teachers and the formative strategies incorporated in such systemic approaches as mastery learning. There follows a more detailed and theoretical analysis of the nature of feedback, which provides a basis for a discussion of the development of theoretical models for formative assessment and of the prospects for the improvement of practice.

Assessment and Classroom Learning

The education and research communities are abuzz with new (or at least re-discovered) ideas about the nature of cognition and learning. Terms like \"situated cognition,\" \"distributed cognition,\" and \"communities of practice\" fill the air. Recent dialogue in Educational Researcher (Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1996,1997; Greeno, 1997) typifies this discussion. Some have argued that the shifts in world view that these discussions represent are even more fundamental than the now-historical shift from behaviorist to cognitive views of learning (Shuell, 1986). These new ideas about the nature of knowledge, thinking, and learning—which are becoming known as the \"situative perspective\" (Greeno, 1997; Greeno, Collins, & Resnick, 1996)—are interacting with, and sometimes fueling, current reform movements in education. Most discussions of these ideas and their implications for educational practice have been cast primarily in terms of students. Scholars and policymakers have considered, for example, how to help students develop deep understandings of subject matter, situate students' learning in meaningful contexts, and create learning communities in which teachers and students engage in rich discourse about important ideas (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989; National Education Goals Panel, 1991; National Research Council, 1993).

What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to Say About Research on Teacher Learning

93 empirical studies on learning to teach were reviewed in order to establish what is currently known about how people learn to teach and to critique the quality of the reporting of that research. Among other observations concerning teacher education, the review highlights the tensions between the hopes and expectations of teacher educators and the expectations and experiences of beginning teachers. While this review supports the findings of others that many traditional programs of teacher education have little effect upon the firmly held beliefs of the beginning teachers, it also provides examples of successful programs. Such programs typically build upon the beliefs of pre service teachers and feature systematic and consistent long-term support in a collaborative setting. It is concluded that this body of research has advanced the field in significant ways, offering new directions for research and program reform. The critique of the papers themselves reveals that authors need to pay more careful attenti...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/1170752

A Critical Analysis of the Research on Learning to Teach: Making the Case for an Ecological Perspective on Inquiry

Teachers' beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction

The Roles of the Cooperating Teacher and University Supervisor in Learning to Teach.

Teachers' developing ideas and practices about mathematics performance assessment: Successes, stumbling blocks, and implications for professional development

How can performance assessments be used as part of regular instruction? Will this raise student performance on external achievement measures? What aspects of examinee performance improve on the assessment exercises?

/pdf/effects-of-introducing-classroom-peflormance-assessments-on-4rri3ny8s4.pdf

Vicky Mayfield

Papers

The Roles of the Cooperating Teacher and University Supervisor in Learning to Teach.

Teachers' developing ideas and practices about mathematics performance assessment: Successes, stumbling blocks, and implications for professional development

Effects of Introducing Classroom Peflormance Assessments on Student Learning