Etym. 1920, in the electronics sense, “the return of a fraction of an output signal to the input of an earlier stage,” from verbal phrase, from feed (v.) + back (adv.). Transferred use, “information about the results of a process” is attested by 1955.
Definition
- An activity where information is relayed back to a learner; feedback should be constructive, address specific aspects of the learner’s performance, and be focused on the learning objectives (Society for Simulation in Healthcare).
- Information transferred between participants, facilitator, simulator, or peer with the intention of improving the understanding of concepts or aspects of performance (Meakim et al., 2013). Feedback can be delivered by an instructor, a machine, a computer, a patient (or a simulated person), or by other learners as long as it is part of the learning process.
Compare: ADVOCACY AND INQUIRY, DEBRIEF/DEBRIEFING, GUIDED REFLECTION