myQuest AFT Learning Model - Importance of Feedback

The AFT model is a powerful learning model that divides the learning process into three simple steps: Action, Feedback, and Trigger. In this article, we’ll focus on the importance of feedback, and how it can drive success and create meaningful results in online learning programs.

Why is feedback an important part of the learning process?

Feedback is an essential part of education and online courses. It helps learners to maximize their potential, raise their awareness of their strengths, and identify where they need to put more effort to improve performance. In addition, positive feedback can increase student motivation and engagement, and lead to a stronger sense of self worth and self confidence.

There are several things instructors need to take into consideration when preparing to give students feedback. Some of the most meaningful things include the following:

• Students need to receive feedback as close as possible to the time they completed an action or a lesson.
• Feedback is most effective when the student is still engaged in the subject matter.
• Give students feedback when there’s still time to use it towards the end goal.
• Provide both constructive feedback and positive feedback, allowing students to improve but also feel good about their progress.

Feedback in an online environment

Meaningful feedback allows the online learner to assess their progress and understand which areas need improvement.  In an online environment, feedback is crucial, as it alleviates feelings of isolation and boredom. There are two types of feedback that can be given to students during an online learning process:

Instructor feedback

Instructor feedback helps learners meet their course goals and has a lot of impact on the learning outcomes. Most online learning platforms fail to provide an effective way for instructors to give feedback to students, and often students have no idea how they’re doing and what they need to improve. When delivering content online, it is very important to check on students and let them know what they do well and what areas need to be improved.

Feedback from peers

Online courses usually include more than one student, however, most of the time there is no interaction between students. When designing an online course, it’s highly recommended to create a safe environment for students to interact and give feedback to one another. Such environment allows students to share thoughts, ideas, comments, and grow together as a group.

How feedback is given on the myQuest platform

The myQuest platform, which is based on the AFT learning model, includes a variety of features that allow learners to receive feedback from their instructor and peers. The system is built in a way that creates an effective feedback loop for learners:

Follow-up questions

To provide effective feedback, we need to understand the world and the experience of the student. To achieve that in automatic way, instructors can set up a follow-up question that appears right after a ‘Mission’ is completed. The follow-up question, defined by the instructor, encourages students to share their experience and thoughts about the Mission and tell the coach or the community how it went. After the students writes an answer to the follow-up question, the answer is automatically recorded in the 1:1 coaching section or in the Community section, making it easy for the student to receive feedback from the coach or from other participants.

1:1 coaching feature

myQuest’s 1:1 coaching feature enables instructors to give personalized feedback to each one of the students in a matter of minutes. The feature includes a designated board that consists of questions, messages, and inquiries from students. When accessing the board, the trainer can respond directly to each one of the pending messages, and resolve it when done. The system is easy to use and enables the instructor to personally support 100 students in just 30 minutes a day.

Learners community and teams

Each Quest (program) has one or more teams of learners who participate in the program. Students can post messages and answers to questions to their team, and receive feedback from their peers, as well as from their coach.