Designing & Teaching Learning Goals & Objectives. Robert J. Marzano

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Communicating Goals and Providing Feedback

      If goals provide clear targets for learning, then feedback may be thought of as information that facilitates the process of reaching those targets. Researchers John Hattie and Helen Timperley (2007) claim that in educational settings “the main purpose of feedback is to reduce discrepancies between current understandings and performance and a goal” (p. 86). Their comprehensive review synthesized research on the power of feedback to improve student achievement. Noting that many of the individual findings included in feedback meta-analyses are negative (showing that feedback sometimes inhibits performance), Hattie and Timperley distinguished between the effects of feedback about the task, the process, self-regulation, and the self. Feedback regarding the task, process, and self-regulation is often effective, whereas feedback regarding the self (often delivered as praise) typically does not enhance learning and achievement. They concluded:

      Learning can be enhanced to the degree that students share the challenging goals of learning, adopt self-assessment and evaluation strategies, and develop error detection procedures and heightened self-efficacy to tackle more challenging tasks leading to mastery and understanding of lessons. (p. 103).

      Table 1.3 presents the findings regarding feedback for a number of meta-analytic studies. Based on the findings reported in the table, one can conclude that feedback should be an integral part of any teacher's arsenal of strategies. Within The Classroom Strategies Series, we highlight the research on feedback in the book Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading (Marzano, in press). Here we include the research on feedback because it has a symbiotic relationship with goals. Without effective goals, feedback is impossible. Without feedback, goals are rendered quite sterile.

Table 1.3 Research Results for Feedback