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Facilitation

Hattie & Timperley Feedback Model

Hattie and Timperley's model says effective feedback reduces the gap between current and desired performance by answering three questions (Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next?) at four levels: task, process, self-regulation and self. Feedback at process and self-regulation levels supports deeper learning, while praise directed at the person is least effective.

7 phasesFacilitation
When to Use This Framework

When a few voices dominate or quieter people don't contribute

Your group discussions aren't balanced, you need better ways to include everyone, or conversations go in circles.

When designing practice rounds, peer feedback, coaching conversations or assessment in any session.

The 7 Steps
Follow this sequence to apply Hattie & Timperley Feedback Model
1

Feed up: Where am I going?

Make the goal and success criteria clear before or at the start of an activity, so feedback has something to refer to.

2

Feed back: How am I going?

Give information about progress towards that goal, compared with the criteria or with earlier attempts.

3

Feed forward: Where to next?

Point to the next step, strategy or challenge. This is the question that most drives further learning.

4

Task level

Feedback on how well the work is done or whether it is correct. Useful early and when combined with process feedback.

5

Process level

Feedback on the strategies used to do the task. Helps learners improve beyond this one task.

6

Self-regulation level

Feedback that builds learners' ability to monitor and direct their own work, such as prompting self-assessment.

7

Self level

Personal praise ('well done, you are smart'). Hattie and Timperley find it the least effective and it can dilute task feedback.

What You'll Achieve

Ensures every voice is heard and the group's collective intelligence is unlocked.

Build feed-up, feedback and feed-forward moments into practice activities, and brief facilitators and peers to aim comments at the process and self-regulation levels rather than personal praise.

Practical Tips
How to get the most out of this framework
  • 1
    Use structured turn-taking to balance voices
  • 2
    Start with individual reflection before group discussion
  • 3
    Create safe spaces for minority opinions
  • 4
    Summarize and synthesize regularly
Best For
  • Skills practice with feedback rounds
  • Peer review and coaching
  • Assessment design
  • Facilitator and trainer development
Key Principles
  • Feedback closes a gap to a clear goal
  • Three questions: feed up, feed back, feed forward
  • Aim at process and self-regulation
  • Avoid mixing praise with task feedback
Watch Out For
  • Feedback only helps if learners understand and act on it; build time to use it.
  • Developed mainly from classroom research; adult and workplace settings add power and relationship dynamics.
  • The effect sizes come from meta-analyses with large variation; the model says when feedback works, not that it always does.
Related Frameworks
Other Facilitation frameworks you might find useful
Belbin Team RolesThe Belbin Team Roles framework identifies nine distinct behavioral clusters that contribute to effective team performance. By understanding these roles, facilitators can build balanced teams, leverage individual strengths, and mitigate potential weaknesses to enhance collaboration and achieve team objectives.
Liberating StructuresA repertoire of more than 30 simple interaction patterns, such as 1-2-4-All, Troika Consulting and 15% Solutions, that replace presentations and open discussion with structured formats where everyone contributes. Each structure is specified by five design elements: invitation, space and materials, distribution of participation, group configuration, and steps and timing.
Six Thinking HatsEdward de Bono's method of 'parallel thinking' in which a whole group adopts the same mode of thinking at the same time, signalled by six coloured hats: facts, feelings, caution, benefits, creativity and process. It reduces adversarial debate because everyone looks at the issue from the same angle before switching.