Feedback from teacher and peers is necessary for a student to confirm that s/he is on the right track.  Quick feedback is usually brief, and I may ask a student to read certain sections in a text book or get some info from a website.  Quick feedback may not provide sufficient details on how a student may improve.  I do not see anything wrong in delaying feedback and asking students to come to discuss the topic to be learned, after the day's classes are over, when we can have sufficient time to discuss thoroughly.

Ulana:

I can speak to my experience in the online environment, which adult learners embrace due to its flexibility. They "love" the immediate feedback, even though it may not always be possible as it allows them to move forward with completing assignments both formative and summative in the limited time they have for studies, work, and family. I hope this answers your question.

Many thanks,

Debra

Thank you. I can appreciate your observation, as an adult learner myself. And yet, there remains the issue of leaving (making) room for reflection, notwithstanding time or other restraints. Perhaps it is a matter of overlapping the types of feedback, in order to deepen the opportunities for learner thoughtfulness.

After I read the article understand that, in general, results are better when the feedback is given later (so why did I rush to answer here :)? ). Yet I believe that the answer for that question is in the Columbia University study: the speed feedback is given by the type of the problem that must be solved.

But in education I think the answer is simple if we formulate it another way: superficial learning of a large number of concept or solid learning for few concept?

Feedback from teacher and peers is necessary for a student to confirm that s/he is on the right track.  Quick feedback is usually brief, and I may ask a student to read certain sections in a text book or get some info from a website.  Quick feedback may not provide sufficient details on how a student may improve.  I do not see anything wrong in delaying feedback and asking students to come to discuss the topic to be learned, after the day's classes are over, when we can have sufficient time to discuss thoroughly.

@Christian, @Miranda You draw important attention to the layers of feedback a learner receives, and how to avoid superficiality, which is an important learning lesson.

"Is immediate feedback always best?" What are your experiences and reflections?

Following are merely my personal view.

Benefits of Immediate Feedback:

Disadvantages of Immediate Feedback

@Han Pig Fung - you raise an interesting point about the emotional reaction to feedback as a factor its success.

I'm pleased to see "formative" and "summative" terms applied to feedback issues. Formative feedback might be a discussion between the learner and instructor. It's purpose is to improve learner performance. The quality and tone of the feedback is vital to its success in improving student learning.  Learners appreciate a chance to edit their work without fear of an immediate "summative" grade.  Timing is important but relative to the learning environment and the degree to which the feedback must be incorporated in subsequent assignments.  Too many student efforts receive little or no feedback.

@Thomas Phelan. Not only is time used as an excuse to dispense with highly valuable formative feedback, as you've described, but also an habitual mindset on the part of both the teacher and learner when thinking about the goals of feedback. I agree, many opportunities are overlooked, resulting in virtually no chance for improvement. So much depends on purposeful design.

I do not think any teaching, learning or assessment strategy is ever 'always' best. Every learnber, every subject discipline, every cultural group, etc etc will come together to make a unique set of circumstances that a teacher will respond to according to the range of strategies she or he has at their disposal. That is not to say that some strategies are less helpful than others, but I just would not want to generalise.

@Fran - you are absolutely right. Yet, we often fall into the habit of treating groups of learners, and the dynamics of the group, in the same way. I have found that eliciting feedback variously and regularly helps to define the particularities of the learners and their interactions, so that I can adjust along the way. But it takes some time, as not everyone is always or immediately forthcoming.

In my opinion, feedback should be immediate if it is a positive reinforcement and delayed or indirect if its a negative one.

@Mool - but then it begs the question how to build critical thinking and resilience?

It warries....Sometime immediate perception and feedback should be incorrect base on the certain conditions.....Some feedback need critical thinking approaches for productive feedback.

In differentiated instruction feedback mechanism would vary from student to student. Whereas confident students may improve right away with immediate feedback in the form of both positive and negative reinforcement it may not work equally well with less confident students. Delayed feedback based on students needs  would be equally helpful. 

@Ayesha, it sounds like scaffolded feedback, which is very useful, helping the learner to adapt to the process.

feedback good way for assess learning outcomes

Sometimes it is better for the teacher to reflect and take some time before giving a detailed feedback to the students.