Student pictures of feedback : feedback is for learning and from teachers

Feedback is a key facet of classroom assessment as it is through the use of formative feedback that progress in learning occurs (Hattie, 2009; Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Tunstall & Gipps, 1996a). While teachers continue to be a primary source of feedback to students, there is also increased endorsement of involving students as legitimate sources of feedback through the promotion of peer and self-assessment practices (e.g., Andrade, 2010; Strijbos & Sluijsman, 2010), especially within an Assessment for Learning framework (e.g., Black & Wiliam, 1998; Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, & Wiliam, 2003). While feedback is universally endorsed as beneficial to learning, what counts as ‘good feedback’ is contested, with contrasting perspectives about the optimal source, form, content, frequency, and timing of feedback (Shute, 2008). Student viewpoints about their roles in feedback situations are also not well understood. While it is well established that students react to, respond, and utilize feedback differently (e.g., Hyland, 2003, Peterson & Irving,2008), it remains unclear what pupil thinking shapes successful and unsuccessful student uses of feedback. This paper aims to contribute to knowledge about how students understand and experience feedback within the classroom.