Each recommendation begins with an overview of its key focus areas, followed by explanations, methods, and strategies highlighting “what works in the classroom.” These approaches are illustrated with diverse classroom examples, and the guide also addresses common teacher questions through short video clips embedded throughout the guide where relevant.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is intended for primary and secondary schools, as well as providers of formal and supplementary education. It is relevant to classroom teachers and school leaders responsible for developing and implementing school feedback policies.

While the guide covers all subjects, it presents principles applicable to all contexts, alongside examples demonstrating how to provide effective feedback in subject-specific and stage-specific scenarios. Other potential audiences include policy makers, parents, program developers, education leaders, and educational researchers.

Our message in this guide

We emphasize the following key messages for teachers, in collaboration with and supported by their school leadership:

• Focus on the principles of effective feedback to ensure that feedback actively supports learning. This includes high-quality teaching prior to feedback, implementing formative assessment strategies, providing timely feedback that advances learning, and considering how students receive and use feedback (Recommendations 1–3).
• Prioritize the quality and effectiveness of feedback, regardless of how it is delivered (oral or written) or how frequently it is provided.

What is teacher-provided feedback?

Feedback is an organized, interactive process, not a one-way relationship between a cause (teacher) and a recipient (student). Instead, it is a two-way or multi-dimensional process in which teachers and students engage in dialogue. Feedback helps students understand where they are heading, how to get there, and the next steps in their learning journey.

To achieve this, it is essential to provide a supportive learning environment and recognize students’ active role in their learning from the earliest years. Our broader goal is to prepare students who can manage their learning effectively and independently.

In this guide, we focus exclusively on teacher-provided feedback to students, which can be defined as:

“Information provided by the teacher about students’ performance with the goal of improving learning.”

Teachers can deliver feedback in multiple ways. It can be:

• Positive or negative
• Explicit or implicit
• Self-directed or peer-directed

These aspects are described in greater detail within the guide, along with illustrative examples.

Before you start

The guide begins by posing key questions about feedback. It will address these questions and others, providing practical guidance for teachers to ensure that the feedback they provide effectively supports and advances student learning.