Feedback seems extremely powerful. It is 'among the most common features of successful teaching and learning' with an average effect size of 0.79, 'twice the average effect of all other schooling effects' (Hattie, 2012: pp.115-116). Such meta-analyses are problematic (see, for example, Wiliam, 2016) and more recent reviews have offered lower effect sizes, but the overall picture is clear: 'Good feedback can significantly improve learning processes and outcomes' (Shute, 2008). Anders Ericsson emphasises the importance of feedback and guided improvement in his work on expert performance: 'Deliberate practice involves feedback and modification of efforts in response to that feedback' (Ericsson and Pool, 2016: p.99).
Providing effective feedback is problematic, however. 'While feedback is among the most powerful moderators of learning, its effects are among the most variable' (Hattie, 2012: p.115). Providing feedback successfully is a real challenge: 'Get it wrong, and students give up,
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