By Filippe Oliveira
Posted Tue 24 September, 2024

As someone with a background in exercise and now teaching in higher education, I often find myself making connections between these two worlds. One such area is the process of giving and receiving feedback. In the realm of exercise science, feedback is a critical component of an athlete’s development, not just athletes actually – anyone who wants to increase their daily steps count, for example, can also benefit from feedback. For simplicity, we’ll use the term ‘athletes’ to refer to both elite performers and individuals engaging in regular physical activity. Similarly, in higher education, feedback plays an essential role in shaping a learner’s journey. Let’s think of the educator as the coach and the learner as the athlete for a moment, both working toward a shared goal: growth and improvement.

Warming up: setting the stage for success

From a coach’s perspective, the warm-up phase is essential for preparing athletes both physically and mentally for the workout ahead. It’s not just about getting the muscles ready; it’s about setting the tone for the entire session. In fact, recent studies show that a well-planned warm-up session can improve physical performance. But this post is not about exercise. Just as athletes need to warm up before engaging in physical activity, students may also benefit from some kind of “warm-up” before receiving feedback. Setting the stage for feedback is crucial in the academic context. A supportive environment where students feel prepared to receive and act on feedback comments can make all the difference. This involves clear communication of expectations, creating a safe space for dialogue, and ensuring that students understand the purpose and benefits of feedback. Feedback should be viewed as a learning tool that belongs in the classroom and requires intentional planning and design to be effective. It runs along (pun intended) with the capacity for feedback that has been discussed in the literature (Henderson et al., 2018).

Just as athletes need to warm up before engaging in physical activity, students may also benefit from some kind of “warm-up” before receiving feedback.

The main workout: engaging in the learning process

This phase is where the athlete shows the main effort (e.g. a training session, an event). Similarly, in an educational setting, this phase is where students engage in learning activities, and feedback plays a pivotal role in guiding their progress. During the main workout, a coach provides real-time feedback to help athletes correct their form, adjust their techniques, and stay motivated. This immediate feedback is essential for making on-the-spot improvements and ensuring that the workout is effective. In the same way, educators should provide timely, actionable and specific feedback during learning activities. For example, during a class discussion or a hands-on project, an educator might offer feedback on a student’s approach, encouraging them to think more critically or explore different perspectives while fostering a dialogue. Just as a coach might suggest modifications to an athlete’s workout routine to target specific areas, educators can tailor their feedback to address individual student needs, promoting a more personalised learning experience.

To me, this main phase also highlights the importance of learners taking an active role in seeking, interpreting, and using feedback – much like an athlete who, after a failed attempt, looks to their coach for guidance, asking themselves over and over again: what should I do now, how do I do this better? A key feature of this stage is to regularly and actively seek feedback on their actions and thinking. Feedback then can be understood as a process where learners interpret and utilise information about their performance to improve the quality of their actions/learnings (Henderson et al., 2018). It’s interesting how this definition works for both ‘worlds’. By integrating feedback into the main workouts or learning sessions, coaches and educators can help their athletes and students reach their full potential.

Immediate feedback is essential for making on-the-spot improvements and ensuring that the workout is effective. In the same way, educators should provide timely, actionable and specific feedback during learning activities.

Cooling down: reflecting and consolidating knowledge

The cool-down phase is essential for athletes. It allows the body to recover and assess how the workout went. For coaches, it’s a time to reflect on the workout and make adjustments after the workout for future sessions, ensuring progress. In education, the cool-down phase aligns with the educator’s need to reflect on and improve their feedback. Like coaches, educators should collect data to assess how their feedback is received, and adapt their practices based on that evidence. Effective feedback should have a dual focus, reflecting on the learner’s past performance while also providing guidance for future growth and improvement (Sadler, 2010). I’ve adopted this approach by regularly observing and seeking information from my students and asking them how useful they found my comments, observing how they approach follow-up tasks, and whether they feel equipped to apply in future tasks. This process helps me refine my feedback to each student and context, making it more actionable and relevant to their individual learning needs. It’s similar to a coach reviewing an athlete’s workout data to inform the planning of their next session.

Next level: continuous growth mindset

Similar to a coach who systematically measures an athlete’s progress relative to their past performance, educators may use some tools to help students become aware of their growth over time. For instance, in ipsative assessments, feedback focuses on how a student has improved in relation to their previous work rather than comparing them to others or benchmarks (Malecka et al., 2022). This approach encourages learners to focus on personal development, reinforcing that education – like athletic workouts and training – is about continuous development. It shifts the focus from external validation to internal growth and motivation, fostering a mindset of ongoing improvement. Just as physical training requires a structured, thoughtful and intentional approach to achieve optimal results, so too does the process of giving and receiving feedback in an academic setting.

Question for readers: Feedback is a crucial component of teaching and learning, whether in athletics or academics. Yet several questions remain regarding its effective implementation: What other strategies can educators use to ensure feedback is timely, specific and actionable? Would these strategies work in a large class setting? Can Artificial Intelligence play a role in supporting this process? Should we, as educators, also use feedback as a catalyst for personal growth, in addition to academic success?

References

Henderson, M., Boud, D., Molloy, E., Dawson, P., Phillips, M., Ryan, T., & Mahoney, P. (2018). Feedback for Learning: Closing the Assessment Loop – Final Report. Australian Government Department of Education and Training.

Malecka, B., Ajjawi, R., Boud, D., & Tai, J. (2022). An empirical study of student action from ipsative design of feedback processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47(5), 801–815. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1968338

Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in complex appraisal. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), 535–550. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930903541015