Learning cannot happen without feedback, and that means learners need a clear picture of the progress that are (or are not) making. When assessments and feedback do not inform instruction or when they are not given to the students in a timely manner, learning cannot change because students do not know what to do differently. This lack of knowledge about what to improve can make some learners seem “perseverative,” careless, or unmotivated. For these learners all of the time, and for most learners some of the time, it is important to ensure that options can be customized to provide feedback that is more explicit, timely, informative, and accessible. Especially important is providing “formative” feedback that allows learners to monitor their own progress effectively and to use that information to guide their own effort and practice.

• Ask questions to guide self-monitoring and reflection
• Show representations of progress (e.g., before and after photos, graphs and charts showing progress over time, process portfolios)
• Prompt learners to identify the type of feedback or advice that they are seeking
• Use templates that guide self-reflection on quality and completeness
• Provide differentiated models of self-assessment strategies (e.g., role-playing, video reviews, peer feedback)
• Use of assessment checklists, scoring rubrics, and multiple examples of annotated student work/performance examples

It cannot be assumed that learners will set appropriate goals to guide their work, but the answer should not be to provide goals for students. Such a short-term remedy does little to develop new skills or strategies in any learner. It is therefore important that learners develop the skill of effective goal setting. The UDL framework embeds graduated scaffolds for learning to set personal goals that are both challenging and realistic.

• Provide prompts and scaffolds to estimate effort, resources, and difficulty
• Provide models or examples of the process and product of goal-setting
• Provide guides and checklists for scaffolding goal-setting
• Post goals, objectives, and schedules in an obvious place