2.2.4 How well did the feedback you received help you to learn and improve (including grades, rubric scores, or comments)?

Why this teaching practice matters:

• Sharing and acting on feedback is one way to apply the “Ponder and Prove” step of the BYU-Idaho Learning Model.
• Research on effective teaching consistently emphasizes the importance of quality feedback as part of formative learning processes. [1, 8, 9, 11, 16]
• This principle is emphasized in widely used teaching quality frameworks. [10, 13, 15]
• Feedback supports learning when it helps students understand expectations, recognize patterns in their work, and identify clear next steps for improvement, rather than focusing solely on evaluation.

Student examples of this principle in action:

• “Giving comments that uplift and provide applicable improvements that can be made would be helpful.”
• “Provide me with a rubric and then tell me why points were taken off on a specific part of the rubric.”
• “Prompt, specific, and improvement-oriented. Focus on where I should be and model that rather than point out shortcomings.”
• “Including the ‘Why’ is…very helpful so that I have a deeper understanding of the reason I got something wrong or so that I understand the benefits of their suggestions.”

Ways to triangulate your data:

• Look at a sample of graded work and consider whether feedback communicates strengths, areas for improvement, and clear next steps for learning.
• Compare student performance on related assignments or skills across the course to see whether feedback appears to support learning and improvement.
• Reflect on whether students are given opportunities or prompts to review and apply feedback (e.g., revisions, reflections, or follow-up assignments).
• Invite a peer instructor or a SCOT to review a sample of feedback you have given and offer perspective on clarity, tone, and usefulness from a learner’s standpoint.

Ideas for improvement:

• Some instructors may use teaching assistants to help with grading and providing feedback. The question was intentionally worded to account for various graders, but to still give feedback about the helpfulness of feedback.
• Look for ways to prompt students to review and act on feedback given in the course.
• Talk with colleagues on ways they provide helpful and scalable feedback to students.
• Consider summarizing frequent challenges or examples of strong work and discussing them with the class to reinforce expectations and learning goals.
• Curriculum designers can help you design feedback approaches that support learning while remaining sustainable.