Delaying feedback promotes transfer of knowledge despite student preferences to receive feedback immediately
Educators and researchers who study human learning often assume that feedback is most effective when given immediately. However, a growing body of research has challenged this assumption by demonstrating that delaying feedback can facilitate learning. Advocates for immediate feedback have questioned the generalizability of this finding, suggesting that such effects only occur in highly controlled laboratory settings. We report a pair of experiments in which the timing of feedback was manipulated in an upper-level college engineering course. Students practiced applying their knowledge of complex engineering concepts on weekly homework assignments, and then received feedback either immediately after the assignment deadline or 1 week later. When students received delayed feedback, they performed betteron subsequent course exams that contained new problems about the same concepts. Although delayed feedback produced superior transfer of knowledge, students reported that they benefited most from immediate feedback, revealing a metacognitive disconnect between actual and perceived effectiveness.
Duke Scholars
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- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 5202 Biological psychology
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 5202 Biological psychology
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology