Using Feedback To Boost Student Performance In 11 Steps

We’ve all been there—spending hours giving detailed feedback, only to see students barely glance at it or repeat the same mistakes next time. It can feel frustrating, like talking to a brick wall.

But what if I told you feedback doesn’t have to be complicated or ignored? If you stick around, you’ll learn simple ways to give feedback students will actually use to up their game—and yours too. Trust me, it’s easier than you think.

Let’s jump right into how you can instantly improve your student feedback.

1. Provide Specific Feedback

Ever get comments from a professor that just say “nice job!” or “needs improvement” and wonder what the heck you’re supposed to do with that?

Yeah, your students feel the same way.

The best kind of feedback is specific—it clearly points out what worked or didn’t work and why.

Instead of saying, “This essay lacks clarity,” tell the student, “I had trouble following your main point in the second paragraph; can you clarify or provide an example to strengthen your idea?”

This tells them exactly how they can make improvements.

A quick trick for this is what’s called the “feedback sandwich”: start by saying something positive, then point out a specific area for improvement, and wrap up with another positive comment or encouragement.

This way, you help students see both their strengths and opportunities for growth without feeling defensive.

2. Give Timely Feedback

Ever waited so long to get feedback on an assignment that you’ve already forgotten what the original assignment was about?

We’ve all been there, and it’s frustrating.

Your students benefit most when feedback arrives quickly—ideally within a week, but even sooner if possible.

Prompt responses make feedback relevant and keep students thinking about improvements while the topic is fresh.

If grading large assignments feels overwhelming, try breaking them into smaller parts that you can review and return incrementally.

For example, have students submit an outline or first draft well before the final due date.

This approach isn’t just easier for you, but it closely ties feedback to immediate student action.

According to the Digital Marketing Institute, higher education enrollment for fall 2024-2025 saw a 4.5% year-over-year increase, which reflects renewed efforts by institutions to prioritize timely feedback as part of successful teaching strategies.

3. Focus on Student Progress

Ever beaten yourself up after receiving negative feedback, thinking you were just bad at something and would never improve?

Students often do the same unless you shift the conversation from shortcomings to growth.

Keep feedback focused on progress made rather than standards missed.

Instead of saying, “You didn’t meet the requirements for the assignment,” try stating, “You clearly improved your paragraph structure since the first draft; next, let’s look at how to formulate your thesis more clearly.”

This emphasis encourages students to view your class as a learning journey rather than just a quest for grades.

By guiding students through recognizing their improvement over the semester, you encourage self-confidence and motivation.

One practical method is tracking and sharing measurable student engagement techniques to illustrate progress more clearly.

Middle Georgia State University, for example, leveraged student engagement metrics to create hands-on experiential learning programs that visibly demonstrate student progress and improvement over time, according to a recent post by the NSSE Research Blog.

If you’d like some extra inspiration for encouraging student success, check out this overview on student engagement techniques.

4. Use Different Types of Feedback

Giving feedback isn’t just about marking papers in red ink; it’s about mixing things up to keep your students engaged and receptive.

Including varied feedback can really help to hold a student’s attention and makes the messages stick more effectively.

Written comments, verbal discussions, video feedback, and one-on-one sessions are just a few different approaches you can use.

For instance, video feedback can save you some writing time while giving students a more personal touch—like a quick Loom recording to walk students through exactly what they did well or where to improve.

You could also introduce peer-to-peer feedback activities, allowing students to offer and receive diverse perspectives in class exercises or small breakout groups.

With a mixture of approaches, students see feedback as a genuine conversation rather than a boring chore.

5. Try the SBI Feedback Model

Looking for a practical and structured way to give meaningful feedback? Check out the SBI model—Situation, Behavior, and Impact.

This involves clearly stating the specific situation (“During yesterday’s presentation…”), the behavior you observed (“you spoke more confidently than last time”), and the impact it had (“which kept the audience fully engaged and improved understanding of your points”).

Doing this turns abstract comments into concrete details, giving students specific, actionable ideas to immediately use in their next assignment.

The SBI feedback method makes your advice clearer, relatable, and less likely to confuse or frustrate students.

6. Structure Peer Feedback

Ever had students shrug off peer feedback, saying it’s pointless because their classmates “aren’t experts”?

To prevent that, clearly structure the peer feedback exercises.

Give students easy-to-follow guidelines, like a simple peer feedback worksheet with specific questions (“What was strong about the introduction?” or “Does the conclusion clearly summarize the main idea?”).

Provide examples of constructive criticism, emphasizing kindness and clarity to avoid students hurting each other’s feelings or offering meaningless praise.

Remind students that learning to give feedback not only sharpens critical thinking skills but also helps them better evaluate their own work.

7. Avoid Overloading Students with Feedback

We’ve all received overwhelming amounts of feedback at times—pages filled with corrections, comments everywhere, making us feel confused rather than helped.

Instead of pointing out every single mistake at once, prioritize what’s most important first—like the core aspects of clarity, argument structure, or key assignment requirements.

Stick to two or three key points at a time, give suggestions clearly, and suggest specific tasks to tackle each improvement suggestion.

If you overload your students with too many details, they might ignore them altogether or become discouraged.

Think small, focused, actionable—students will appreciate that much more.

8. Keep Feedback Task-Specific

Ever gotten generic advice like “work harder next time” and thought, what exactly does that even mean?

Feedback should pinpoint exactly which tasks students should focus on and how.

For example, instead of telling a student “Your essay structure needs work,” be direct: “Next time, use clear transitions between paragraphs, and work on including evidence from readings.”

This directness helps students understand exactly what to do differently, reducing frustration and offering a clear roadmap to improvement.

9. Encourage Student Reflection on Feedback

If you’ve ever tossed your graded assignment to the side without reading teacher comments, you know how sad wasted feedback is.

Encourage your students to reflect on your feedback by asking them to submit a brief summary of their understanding of your suggestions and specific ways they’ll apply it in future assignments.

Reflection activities can be simplified as journal entries or informal discussions in class, where students consider your feedback and brainstorm practical improvement ideas together.

Reflection helps students internalize feedback and use it meaningfully, which supports long-term skill development.

10. Measure the Impact of Feedback

Ever wondered if the feedback you spend hours giving actually makes a difference?

It’s a solid idea to periodically measure the effectiveness of your feedback approach by checking if students genuinely improve over time.

Use metrics like student retention, assignment grades, and even informal surveys asking students directly about feedback usefulness.

This approach fits perfectly with accreditation shifts too.

For example, starting in September 2025, the Higher Learning Commission expects to see data-driven evidence of continuous improvement in student success outcomes, including results directly tied to feedback strategies.

Check out how institutions like the University of Mobile used real-time engagement and sense-of-belonging data to refine student support processes, proving measurable feedback works.

11. Create Actionable Next Steps for Students

Getting students to actually put your feedback into action requires clear next steps—the simpler the better.

Rather than vague instructions, lay out detailed steps in easy-to-follow language.

For instance, if the feedback involves writing clearer arguments, say something specific like “Review and summarize each paragraph into one concise sentence to check clarity, then rework paragraphs that seem unclear.”

You could build feedback action steps right into your teaching by designing engaging and effective lesson plans that directly incorporate your feedback methods—simple, actionable tips to improve course outcomes.

Here’s an easy-to-follow guide to creating lesson plans for beginners if you’d like to start implementing clearer action steps and more organized feedback into your teaching style.

Students who clearly understand the next steps know exactly what to do, making it easier for them to take action and earn measurable improvement.

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