A developmental perspective on feedback: How corrective feedback influences children’s literacy, mathematics, and problem solving

Research in psychology and education indicates that corrective feedback can be a powerful learning tool. We provide a developmental perspective to focus specifically on how corrective feedback influences learning in childhood (∼ages 3–11). Based on a systematic search, we review 44 empirical papers published between 1990 and 2022 examining the effects of corrective feedback on children’s performance in the domains of literacy (n = 18), mathematics (n = 14), and problem solving (n = 12). Across these domains, we synthesize research on how children respond to lessons and practice with, versus without, corrective feedback to provide theoretical and practical insights into (1) the effectiveness of corrective feedback in early childhood, (2) the features of effective feedback messages at different ages, and (3) the role of individual learner differences. We make several novel recommendations with some focused on future research questions and others focused on ways teachers can provide effective feedback to children.