Feedback is one of the most important components of the learning process for pupils and students. Besides providing effective feedback, it is equally important that students handle it well: feedback literacy. Feedback literacy is the ability to receive, interpret, and use feedback to learn from it. It involves a set of skills and attitudes to recognize and understand the learning value of feedback and subsequently take action based on it. A widely used model for feedback literacy is that of Carless and Boud (2018). According to Carless and Boud, feedback literacy consists of three aspects, which together ensure that as a pupil or student, you take action (Leenknecht, 2018): • Appreciating Feedback involves recognizing and valuing feedback: you realize that you are receiving feedback, see its value (priorities), and appreciate it. To work on this, it is useful, for example, to have students reflect on the feedback they have received before the assessment (Jackson & Marks, 2016). • Making Judgments involves the ability to assess one’s own work, so that they can accurately determine what further action is necessary. To work on this, it is beneficial, for example, to engage in peer feedback, with extra emphasis on judgment formation and knowing and applying the assessment criteria (Leenknecht & Prins, 2018). • Managing Affect involves being emotionally open to feedback. You want to avoid a defensive reaction to feedback and instead encourage a constructive approach. To work on this, it is helpful to focus on development rather than failure: making mistakes is allowed. A prerequisite for this is that there is space in the curriculum to actually learn from your mistakes. Key concepts in working on feedback literacy are ‘scaffolding’ and the ‘zone of proximal development’. Both concepts are part of the ideas of Lev Vygotsky. In line with his ideas, research by De Kleijn (2021) shows that feedback becomes especially meaningful and therefore more powerful when it occurs in social interaction with more experienced peers, who can certainly include teachers. In other words, through conversation. Particularly, asking questions for oneself is often found to be very challenging in practice. It is therefore important to actively help students by teaching them strategies. A good way to do this is by teaching students what questions they can ask themselves or their peer (fellow student, teacher, or other professional). These questions will depend on the situation: for example, have they received feedback before? Are they facing a particular challenge? Is there a specific goal to be achieved? Based on the situation, you can help students by asking them good questions (De Kleijn, 2021).
Sutton, P. (2012). Conceptualizing feedback literacy: knowing, being, and acting. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49, 31–40.
Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2013). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge of design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(6), 698–712.
