The Role of Student Processing of Feedback in Classroom Achievement

This study focused on students' processing of feedback during regular classroom instruction. Students in two high-school computer programming classes were observed and asked to give retrospective reports of their thoughts during feedback episodes. Feedback episodes consisted of the teacher explaining test answers to the class after her grading and returning tests to students. The data showed that students' attention to feedback on missed, but not on correct, items was significantly related to course achievement and that this relationship was moderated by content knowledge. A qualitative analysis of retrospective reports revealed the diversity of ways of processing feedback and suggested two mechanisms that led to withdrawal of attention to feedback. One was the student's perception that he or she could not understand feedback and the other was dwelling on the negative affect produced by making errors.