32. Feedback Research

Edna Holland Mory

University Of North Carolina At Wilmington

32.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the use of feedback in the facilitation of learning will be examined according to various historical and paradigmatic views in the research literature. Most of the research in the area of feedback has been completed with specific assumptions as to what purpose feedback serves. Feedback may have various functions according to the particular learning environment in which it is examined and the particular learning paradigm under which it is viewed. In fact, feedback is incorporated in both behavioral (see 2.2) and cognitive (see Chapter 5) learning paradigms and is an essential element of theories of learning and instruction (Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik & Morgan, 1991). The use of feedback will be discussed according to the way in which it is to function and to what purpose it is to serve.