Feedback strategies: Applying theory to practice

Feedback is a cornerstone of the learning process, as evidenced by extensive educational research on enhancing its process and impact. However, learners consistently rate the quality of feedback lower compared to other aspects of teaching. Over the past decade, feedback models have shifted from a traditional, one-way transmission from educator to learner toward more learner-engaged approaches that position learners as active participants, perhaps even drivers of the conversation. This shift emphasizes the importance of students' engagement with feedback that targets their own meaningful learning and performance improvement. However, fostering a student-driven feedback culture requires recognizing the affective dimensions of feedback and sociocultural factors that influence how learners receive, accept, and act on feedback. Feedback literacy is a newer concept that focusses on learners' appreciation of feedback as a fundamental factor that promotes their ability to accept and enact action plans for improvement. This communication explores how incorporating concepts such as self-determination theory, sociocultural theory, feedback literacy, and coaching principles into the feedback conversation can enhance student motivation to engage with feedback. Practical strategies for applying these principles in anatomy education will be discussed, with a focus on fostering a feedback culture that promotes a growth mindset, enhances student performance, and prepares learners for self-reflection and lifelong learning.