How Feedback Loops Boost Student Learning

By CIOReview | Wednesday, July 17, 2019

With the incorporation of education technology, teachers can craft a feedback loop that benefits the student’s academic growth.

FREMONT, CA: Tailored instruction and providing apt feedback for students can be a difficult task for teachers. Each time an educator offers input, and the learner corrects it; a new evaluation is required. The cyclic and recursive process does not seem to end, as learning never stops.

The concept of the feedback loop allows students who complete a task to receive a positive or negative response, and learners make adjustments accordingly. A feedback loop is a process to check and confirm the understanding that is non-evaluative, specific, manageable, and focused on a learning target.

Instructional Feedback Loops

The aim of providing feedback is to project student accomplishment beyond its current trajectory. As students take possession of their learning, they employ immediate feedback to learn alternative strategies and ultimately take independent charge of their instruction. In its fundamental nature, feedback loops keep students moving forward towards higher goals in academic achievement, and for the circuits to be successful, they must be:

• Goal-oriented and purposeful.
• Non-evaluative and specific.
• Allow for correction.
• Consist of self-reflection.

Technology’s Role in Feedback Loops

A solution to provide specific and timely feedback exists in the form of technology. Adaptive Learning Programs (ALPs) and digital-based assessment can facilitate a teacher’s task in delivering a constant evaluation. ALPs merge machine learning with cognitive psychology, which results in a personalized learning model and creates a tailored loop. An ALP constitutes an efficient way to assess, teach, and evaluate student’s performance. Additionally, most effectual ALPs require learners to engage in reflective actions so that they be part of the continual feedback loop.

Digital-based formative assessments play a vital role in feedback loops. While, online tools in the form of built-in assessments, apps, or software that frequently measure growth help teachers in providing immediate feedback to correct actions and reset their paths.

Educators today have many EdTech options for using formative evaluation as part of the constant feedback loop. In general, EdTech also solves the issue of providing targeted feedback that can help teachers to improve student’s learning.