Constructing effective assessment feedback comments: Three learner-centred principles

This is a condensed version of a short guide by Ryan et al. (2022). For the full version click here.

Feedback is a learner-centred process in which learners “make sense of information about their performance and use it to enhance the quality of their work or learning strategies” (Henderson et al., 2019, p. 1402). Learners are at the centre of this process; thus, it is critically important to consider how to construct feedback information so that they can make meaning from the information, be able to act upon it, and ultimately improve what they do in the future.

While we know that effective feedback can have a powerful effect on learning outcomes, research also indicates that learners don’t always understand or know how to act upon the comments being offered by teachers. In response, our research has examined the alignment between the intent of teachers’ feedback comments and the ways that learners made sense of those comments.

Below we present three principles of effective learner-centred feedback and evidence-based guidelines for how to support these principles in practice (for more detail and examples see the full guide).

Principle 1. Focus on Future Impact

Impact from feedback is more likely when comments highlight actions learners can take to improve their future performances. This is the central focus of feedback. To increase the likelihood of impact, consider providing comments that offer actionable information to help learners:

• improve aspects of similar tasks they may undertake in the future;
• achieve the learning outcomes for the subject; and
• develop learning skills, processes or strategies that could be useful across and beyond their degree

Principle 2. Promote Learner Agency

Agency is enabled by explicit feedback statements that construct agentic learner roles; attend to learners’ social, emotional and motivation needs; and encourage learners to be open to evaluative comments and pursue dialogue within productive pedagogical relationships. When constructing feedback to promote learner agency, consider including comments that:

• encourage them to take an active role by discussing their work with the teacher, engaging in further study, or seeking help from sources other than the teacher;
• strengthen the relationship between teacher and learner; and
• affirm their achievement on the completed performance and/or encourage them in future performances

Principle 3. Facilitate Learner Sensemaking

Sensemaking is more likely to lead to impact when comments provide learners with clear evaluative details about why their current work is strong or weak. To aid sensemaking, consider including comments which:

• highlight strengths and weaknesses in terms of specific aspects of the task, such as grammar, content, structure, etc.; and
• summarise the overall strengths and weaknesses of the learners’ performance in relation to the learning outcomes / assessment criteria

Dr Tracii Ryan, Centre for the Study of Higher Education
Last updated: March 2025