It occurs
typically after instruction that seeks to provide knowledge and skills or to develop
particular attitudes. The model proposed in this article identifies three major feedback
questions: Where am I going? How am I going? and Where to next? The
answers to these questions enhance learning when there is a discrepancy between
what is understood and what is aimed to be understood. It can increase effort, motivation,
or engagement to reduce this discrepancy, and/or it can increase cue searching
and task processes that lead to understanding (thus reducing this discrepancy).
Feedback is among the most critical influences on student learning. A major aim
of the educative process is to assist in identifying these gaps (“How am I going?”
relative to “Where am I going?”) and to provide remediation in the form of alternative
or other steps (“Where to next?”).