The Three Feedback Questions

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Why it works

In their influential synthesis The Power of Feedback, John Hattie and Helen Timperley argue that effective feedback answers three questions, from the learner's point of view. Where am I going (feed up): what is the goal or success criteria I am working toward? How am I going (feed back): what progress am I making toward that goal, and where do I stand against it? Where to next (feed forward): what is the next step that will close the gap between where I am and where I am going? Framed this way, the trouble with most classroom feedback becomes obvious. A grade, a score, or a corrected error answers only the middle question, and only partially: it tells a student roughly how they are going, but says nothing about the goal they are aiming at or the next step that would improve the work. It judges the last attempt without pointing to the next one. Hattie and Timperley find that the feed-forward question, where to next, is both the most powerful for learning and the most often missing, because it is the one that gives the student something to actually do. They also distinguish levels at which feedback can operate (about the task, about the process that produced it, about the student's self-regulation, and about the self as a person), and find that feedback about the process and about self-regulation tends to be far more useful than feedback about the task alone, and that praise directed at the self ('good girl', 'you're so smart') is among the least effective of all because it carries no information about the work or the next step. The practical upshot is a simple, demanding discipline: before giving feedback, be clear about the goal the student is aiming at; comment on how they are doing against that goal specifically; and always, always include a next step that points forward, pitched at the process or the learning rather than only the surface of the task. The workshop has teachers take feedback they recently gave, test it against the three questions, and rewrite it so it feeds up, feeds back, and above all feeds forward.

The research: Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. The Power of Feedback (Review of Educational Research).

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: test feedback against the three questions

The heart of the session is checking real feedback against the three questions and rewriting it to feed forward.

Feed up: be clear about the goal or success criteria the student is working toward.
Feed back: comment on how the student is doing against that goal specifically, not just a score.
Feed forward: always include a next step that closes the gap, pitched at process or learning, not only the task surface.
Retire self-directed praise ('so smart'); it carries no information about the work or the next step.

The next step is the question most feedback skipsA grade answers how am I going, barely. Feedback that moves learning also names the goal and, above all, the next step. Where to next is the most powerful question and the one most often missing.

Facilitator notes

Feed-forward is the lever; if a comment gives the student nothing to do, it has not yet done its job.
Feedback about the process and about self-regulation beats feedback about the task alone; aim higher than surface corrections.
Self-praise is the weakest feedback of all; it feels kind but teaches nothing. Say what the work did and what comes next.

Three questions, from the student's viewWhere am I going, how am I going, where to next. The student should be able to answer all three after reading your feedback, not just infer a rough grade.

Adapt it

Elementary: use simple, concrete next steps and model answering the three questions aloud.
Secondary: tie feed-up to success criteria and pitch feed-forward at the process, not just the error.
Any setting: build time for students to act on the next step; feed-forward only works if they use it.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Three Feedback Questions: up, back, forward

Aim feedback at three questions: where am I going, how am I going, and where to next, with the next step always included.

The goal the student is working toward (feed up):
How they are doing against that goal (feed back):
The next step that closes the gap (feed forward):
Is my next step pitched at process, not just the task surface?
Any self-praise I need to cut and replace with information:

Make it stick

The three questions become a habit with practice. Close by setting the follow-up:

Name a check-in: does your feedback now always include a next step?
Bring one piece you rewrote to feed forward.
Watch for feedback that only grades; add the where to next.

Common questions

Isn't 'where to next' just telling students the answer?

No. A next step is a direction for improving the work, not the corrected work itself. 'Add a piece of evidence to support your second claim' or 'reread your opening and check it answers the question' points the student toward what to do without doing it for them. The distinction matters: handing over the answer ends the learning, while a well-pitched next step hands over the responsibility for the next attempt, which is exactly where the learning happens. The skill is aiming the next step at the process, so the student can apply it again.

Do I have to answer all three questions every time?

The next step is the one to protect every time, because it is the most powerful and most often missing; feedback without a where-to-next rarely moves learning. The other two can often be brief or already established: if the goal and success criteria are clear and shared, feed-up may be a quick reminder rather than a full explanation, and feed-back may be a short statement of where the work stands. The point is not to write three paragraphs but to make sure the student leaves knowing the goal, where they are, and what to do next.

What are the 'levels' of feedback and why do they matter?

Hattie and Timperley distinguish feedback about the task (is this answer right?), about the process (what strategy produced it?), about self-regulation (how is the student monitoring their own work?), and about the self as a person (praise or criticism of the learner). Their finding is that process and self-regulation feedback tends to be far more useful than task-level feedback alone, and that self-level praise is the least effective. The practical move is to lift your feedback above the surface of the task toward the process and strategies the student used, because that is what transfers to the next task.