Personalized Feedback as a Strategy for Improving Motivation and Performance among Middle School Students

Feedback is a powerful means for promoting learning, but not all forms of feedback are equally effective. Guided by a large body of feedback research, we argue that personalized feedback provides a particularly important opportunity for enhancing motivation and achievement among middle school students. In this article, we review the extant literature on personalized feedback strategies and discuss four recommended feedback principles. We provide specific examples for applying them in middle school classrooms to promote student motivation and achievement. In addition, we discuss how each recommended principle aligns with the developmental needs of middle school students. We conclude with an example of how technology can facilitate the personalized feedback process.