Fyfe and Rittle-Johnson (2017) studied the effects of
feedback on immediate and 1-week delayed performance of mathematical skills.
The study participants included 243 second and third grade students. All
students took a pre-test, received scripted instruction, practiced mathematical
problems, and demonstrated skill proficiency on a post-test. Students were retested
one week later to study knowledge
retention of the learned mathematical strategies. During the practice phase of
the study, students either received immediate feedback after each practice
problem, summative feedback after all the practice problems, or no feedback at
all. Results of the study showed that immediate feedback resulted in the
highest performance during the practice phase of learning. Practice with no
feedback correlated with the highest levels of mastery (students scoring 100%)
on the 1-week knowledge retention test (Fyfe & Rittle-Johnson, 2017).
These finding suggest that while immediate feedback may
increase initial performance on practice problems, practice without feedback
may have a stronger longer lasting effect on learning. In addition, summative
feedback (feedback after all practice problems were complete) had an
insignificant effect on performance on both the post-test and the 1-week
knowledge retention test. The findings imply that the most effective feedback
during practice for student learning and knowledge retention is either
immediate or no feedback at all. While immediate feedback had a immediate positive
effect on practice problem performance, there was no significant difference of
performance on the post-test for students who received feedback versus students
who received no feedback. This study was limited in that 45% of students showed
mastery (100%) on all tests and may not have needed feedback to help them
master the mathematical concepts presented (Fyfe & Rittle-Johnson, 2017).
The feedback offered in this study was restricted to correct
or incorrect validation. Students were not encouraged to revise their work with
the correct answer or defend their reasoning of the mathematical concepts. I am
curious how feedback with time for revision work may affect performance on the
1-week knowledge retention test.
The study raises complicated questions about which students
benefit from feedback during practice and which students benefit from practice
without feedback. In my own fourth grade classroom, I can picture a few
students who already have a basic understanding of fourth grade mathematical
concepts and strategies. These students may benefit most from practice without
feedback. While this may not feel immediately effective, it could have a positive
long-term effect on their learning. Other students who do not have background
knowledge of our fourth grade mathematical strategies may benefit from
immediate feedback during practice. Based on this study, I do not think that
summative feedback (feedback after a full set of problems) is the most
effective feedback that I can offer my students, nor is it a practice that I want to include in my feedback research study.
Reference
Fyfe, E. R., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2016). Mathematics
practice without feedback: A desirable difficulty in a classroom setting. Instructional Science, 45(2), 177-194.
doi:10.1007/s11251-016-9401-1
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