Key Takeaways

• Grades Stop Learning: Research shows that the moment a student sees a grade, they stop processing further information and focus instead on their ranking.

• No "Best of Both Worlds": It is a common myth that giving a grade alongside a comment provides the benefits of both. In reality, the presence of the grade completely "washes out" the learning benefits of the comment.

• Ego vs. Task: Grades trigger ego-involvement (focus on self-esteem and comparison). Effective feedback requires task-involvement (focus on the work and how to improve it).

• Focus on the Future: Feedback must be prospective (looking forward to the next task), not retrospective (a post-mortem of the work just finished). The goal is to improve the learner, not the piece of work.

Learning Outcome Achieved

By completing this module, you have successfully addressed the following outcome:

• Analyse research on "ego-involvement" versus "task-involvement" to explain how grades can diminish the effectiveness of feedback.

You now understand the psychological mechanisms that determine whether feedback is accepted or rejected, and why separating grades from comments is a vital first step.

In the next Module...

We have established that comments are superior to grades, but simply writing a comment does not guarantee a student will read it or act on it.

In Module 2, we will explore "Feedback as Detective Work." You will learn specific techniques (such as "Match the Comments" and "Five of These Are Wrong") to force students to engage cognitively with your comments, ensuring the feedback creates more work for the recipient than the donor.