Feedback loops and the longer-term: towards feedback spirals
Open accessAbstract
A key challenge for feedback practice involves promoting student uptake through the closing of feedback loops. This paper investigates feedback loops by using the concepts of single and double-loop learning to interrogate student responses to feedback. Single-loop learning tackles an identified problem or task, whereas double-loop learning additionally re-evaluates how the problem or task is approached. Evidence from a five-year longitudinal enquiry into four undergraduate students’ experiences of feedback is used to analyse feedback loops. Students reported a variety of experiences: failing to engage significantly with end-of-semester comments; short-term uptake within modules which had two assignments; and longer-term efforts at improving their learning strategies. A model of long-term student engagement with feedback is proposed, including single-loop feedback processes, double-loop feedback processes and unresolved learning puzzles. Whereas feedback loops are mainly focused on the shorter-term, it is suggested that feedback spirals represent an alternative way of analysing complex, iterative longer-term learning processes. Implications for practice focus on student self-regulation and the development of student feedback literacy.
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Feedback loops show a trajectory of how students engage in the feedback process, reflect, and make ongoing adjustments during learning to enhance learning strategies.
“e concept of feedback loops is discussed which shows a trajectory of how students engage themselves in the feedback process, reflect and make ongoing adjustments during their learning process to enhance learning strategies [78].”
From Artificial Intelligence for Assessment and Feedback to Enhance Student Success in Higher Education (2022) · cites this paper as [78]
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Artificial Intelligence for Assessment and Feedback to Enhance Student Success in Higher Education
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“)e concept of feedback loops is discussed which shows a trajectory of how students engage themselves in the feedback process, reflect and make ongoing adjustments during their learning process to enhance learning strategies [78].”
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“It is, however, challenging for teachers to monitor the closing of feedback loops within the short time-frames of courses, and longer-term dimensions of feedback uptake also need consideration (cf. Carless, 2019).”
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Taylor, J. A., & Collins, D. J. (2021) · Journal of Applied Sport Psychology · doi:10.1080/10413200.2021.1894505 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Finally, given that the most impactful feedback is that which provokes deep reflection, considered action and engagement over time (Carless, 2019) it would appear that the affective state of the performer is a critical variable to be used by the practitioner when making decisions about what, how and when to say.”
BackgroundCarless, D. R., & Young, S. (2024) · Studies in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/03075079.2024.2389436 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“I didn’t want to face my flaws, and I was afraid of the reality that I might not be able to meet my high aspirations (reflective journal, August 2019).”
InfluentialSelf-citationLu, Q., Yao, Y., Xiao, L., Zhu, X., & Yin, H. (2026) · Computer Assisted Language Learning · doi:10.1080/09588221.2025.2605541 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Learner-centred Analytics of Feedback Content in Higher Education
Lin, J., Dai, W., Lim, L.-A., Tsai, Y., Mello, R. F., Khosravi, H., Gašević, D., & Chen, G. (2023) · International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) · doi:10.1145/3576050.3576064 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Feedback has been acknowledged as an effective component in promoting students’ learning in higher education [5, 11, 17, 41].”
BackgroundPaul, R., Imam, M. H., & Mou, A. J. (2023) · American Journal of Scholarly Research and Innovation · doi:10.63125/61pqqq54 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
O’Connor, A., & McCurtin, A. (2021) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-021-02914-2 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Underuse of feedback may be due to the learner’s inability to understand how such feedback can assist in improving performance during their programme of study and onward into future learning contexts [9, 10].”
BackgroundResultDelahunty, T., & Kimbell, R. (2021) · British Educational Research Journal · doi:10.1002/berj.3706 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“There is ample evidence from the discipline, particularly research studies exploring portfolio assessment in design and technology, to support their utility in achieving contemporary skills and dispositions (e.g. Kimbell & Stables, 2008; Seery et al., 2012, 2019).”
BackgroundDesigning Immersive Gamified Experiences in the Metaverse for Enhanced Student Learning
Damaševičius, R., & Sidekerskienė, T. (2023) · International Conference on Intelligent Metaverse Technologies & Applications (iMETA) · doi:10.1109/imeta59369.2023.10294971 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“The puzzles and challenges should also gradually increase in difficulty, an implementation of the spiral to mastery concept [34], keeping students engaged while avoiding frustration.”
BackgroundDaumiller, M., & Meyer, J. (2026) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2025.102390 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Assessment as a locus for engagement: priorities and practicalities
Sambell, K., Brown, S. A., & Race, P. (2019) · Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) · doi:10.7346/sird-1s2019-p45 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Feedback for student learning in higher education
Carless, D. R. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-818630-5.14066-7 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationZhang, E. D., Liu, C., & Yu, S. (2023) · Innovations in Education and Teaching International · doi:10.1080/14703297.2023.2254275 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“It focuses on how learners could make the best out of the feedback by recording, organising, and retrieving inputs (Carless, 2019), and it also requires the setting, monitoring, and modification of learning goals (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).”
BackgroundNuuyoma, V. (2021) · Curationis · doi:10.4102/curationis.v44i1.2147 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“The purpose of feedback is to help learners develop their future performance or learning strategies (Carless 2019:705–714).”
BackgroundHickman, A., Johnson, R. L., & Lawler, S. (2022) · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · doi:10.1002/hpja.648 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Weaving personal reflection together with external feedback given by teaching staff, students developed skills in evaluative judgement to support future tasks.(20,21) Nested assessments provided a foundation built through discursive reflexivity to support students' planetary health research and action.”
BackgroundGaray-Rondero, C. L., Castillo-Paz, A., Gijón-Rivera, C., Domínguez-Ramírez, G., Rosales-Torres, C., & Oliart-Ros, A. (2024) · Cogent Education · doi:10.1080/2331186x.2024.2392424 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“Nevertheless, various studies validate that the effective utilisation of feedback to enhance the teaching-learning process only assures future success when this developmental process is iterated (Carless, 2019).”
Student Learning Approaches: Beyond Assessment Type to Feedback and Student Choice
Clack, A., & Dommett, E. J. (2021) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci11090468 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“For example, the impact of feedback is known to be dependent on student feedback literacy with the most useful feedback considered to be fluid and interactive [30], and the process of improvement is dependent on students active and ongoing engagement with feedback [62], which was not the case here.”
BackgroundCapturing student feedback literacy using reflective logs
Coppens, K., den Broeck, L. V., Winstone, N., & Langie, G. (2023) · European Journal of Engineering Education · doi:10.1080/03043797.2023.2185501 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The feedback I want versus the feedback I need: Investigating students' perceptions of feedback
Boekel, M. V., Hufnagle, A. S., Weisen, S., & Troy, A. (2023) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.22928 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Spooner, M., Larkin, J., Liew, S. C., Hasif, J. M., McConkey, S. J., & Pawlikowska, T. R. B. (2023) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04842-9 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
““Closing the loop” describes moving from the learner’s current standard to a higher level via actively implementing feedback [19].”
BackgroundRad, H. S., & Mirzaei, A. (2024) · Studies In Educational Evaluation · doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2024.101354 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
A conceptual model for program-level assessment
Charlton, N., & Newsham‐West, R. (2024) · Higher Education Research & Development · doi:10.1080/07294360.2024.2364094 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Exposing students to a range of regular assessment methods helps facilitate the sequential application of knowledge and skills, facilitating the feedback spiral processes (Carless, 2019).”
Prior experience with online feedback: its influence on students’ engagement
Espasa, A., Guasch, T., Saíz, R. M. M., & Melo, M. M. (2022) · Distance Education · doi:10.1080/01587919.2022.2088480 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Improving Student Feedback Literacy in e-Assessments: A Framework for the Higher Education Context
Wongvorachan, T., Bulut, O., Tsai, Y., & Lindner, M. A. (2022) · Trends in Higher Education · doi:10.3390/higheredu1010002 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Zhang, E. D., Zhou, N., & Yu, S. (2023) · Language Teaching Research · doi:10.1177/13621688231217665 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“…to make sense of information and use it to enhance work or learning strategies’ (Carless & Boud, 2018, p. 1316), which is pivotal to maximizing the learning potential of feedback processes in L2 education (Carless, 2019; Chong, 2021; Han & Xu, 2021; Yu, Zhang, & Liu, 2022; Zhou et al., 2022).”
McConnell, M., Boyer, J., Montplaisir, L. M., Arneson, J. B., Harding, R., Farlow, B., & Offerdahl, E. G. (2021) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.20-09-0218 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“This freedom to adapt allows instructors to maintain student engagement by employing a variety of assessments while at the same time collecting and responding to student understanding about the content (Carless, 2019).”
BackgroundInfluentialMarei, A., Yoon, S. A., Yoo, J.-U., Richman, T., Noushad, N. F., Miller, K. M., & Shim, J. (2021) · Systems · doi:10.3390/systems9010010 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“The coding scheme guiding the categorization process drew from the theoretical frameworks of Yang and Carless [42] and Sterman and colleagues [30].”
BackgroundInfluentialWu, P., & Lei, C. (2023) · Assessing Writing · doi:10.1016/j.asw.2023.100759 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
The Development and Validation of the Feedback in Learning Scale (FLS)
Jellicoe, M., & Forsythe, A. (2019) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2019.00084 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Developing approaches that extend beyond immediate learning which support learners into employment would appear an appropriate aim if learners are to become effective graduates (Ajjawi et al., 2018; Carless, 2019).”
BackgroundEvaluation of a Mobile Web Application for Assessment Feedback
Ada, M. B. (2021) · Technology Knowledge and Learning · doi:10.1007/s10758-021-09575-6 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
ElShaer, A., Casanova, D., Freestone, N., & Calabrese, G. (2019) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.12881 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Works from different authors (Carless, 2019; Carless & Boud, 2018; Winstone, Nash, Rowntree, & Parker, 2017) support this active role given to the student during the feedback process which necessarily involves the student making use of information to effect change, and thus improve their assessment…”
BackgroundTowards faster feedback in higher education through digitally mediated dialogic loops
Willis, J., Gibson, A., Kelly, N., Spina, N., Azordegan, J. M., & Crosswell, L. (2020) · Australasian Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.14742/ajet.5977 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“When it occurs within multiple feedback loops or spirals of interaction it enriches short-term and long-term development across a cohort (Carless, 2019) and is associated with enhanced student engagement and self-regulation (Boud & Molloy, 2013).”
BackgroundTwyford, E. J., & Dean, B. A. (2024) · Journal of Accounting Education · doi:10.1016/j.jaccedu.2024.100931 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Tan, J. S. H., Chen, W., Su, J., & Su, G. (2023) · International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning · doi:10.1007/s11412-023-09390-4 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Frattarola, A., Leong, A. P., & Hsieh, Y.-C. (2024) · RELC Journal · doi:10.1177/00336882241269632 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Educators are understandably concerned that giving students feedback that is too speci fi c during the writing process may be ‘ spoon-feeding ’ students rather than giving them the tools to revise their writing on their own (Boud and Molloy, 2013; Carless, 2019).”
Li, X., Li, F., Chen, X., & Wang, L. (2024) · Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research · doi:10.1186/s43031-024-00114-8 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Dialog feedback assists in analyzing the correlation between static PCK and teaching situations, comprehending the process of pedagogical reasoning, and fostering the integration of situated and dynamic PCK (Carless, 2019; Molloy et al., 2020).”
BackgroundCostley, J., Zhang, H., Courtney, M. G. R., Shulgina, G., Baldwin, M., & Fanguy, M. (2023) · Computer Assisted Language Learning · doi:10.1080/09588221.2023.2233573 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“…of online peer editing that allow students to discuss ideas and questions, as well as review, critique, and edit each other’s work by making suggestions and responding to them, all of which have been associated with activating these key cognitive processes (Carless, 2022; Zhu & Carless, 2018).”
Bergsteedt, B. J., & du Plessis, A. (2025) · Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10734-025-01517-w · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“…is framed as a dynamic, systemic, and iterative process—aligning well with Heracleous’ distinction between strategic thinking and planning (Carless, 2019; Heracleous, 1998; Messina et al., 2008); transformation emerges through feedback loops, emergence, and adaptive cycles, not…”
Digital Twins and Virtual Prototyping for Industrial Systems
Yazdi, M. (2024) · Springer series in reliability engineering · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-53514-7_9 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
- Authors
- Carless, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Carless, David
- ORCID
- Carless, David
- Venue
- Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-11-14
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 705-714
- ISSN
- 0260-2938 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-297X
- OpenAlex
- W2901943084
- Cited by
- 328
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 56 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 15
- FWCI
- 62.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Student Assessment and Feedback
- Social Sciences › Education › Evaluation of Teaching Practices
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Practises and Engagement
- Keywords
- feedback loops, single-loop learning, double-loop learning, student engagement with feedback, student self-regulation, feedback literacy, learning strategies, undergraduate students
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