Digital re-attributional feedback in high school mathematics education and its effect on motivation and achievement

Background :Students often show unfavourable attribution: they attribute poor school performance to stable factors such as lack of ability and good school performance to variable factors such as effort. However, attribution can be influenced by individualized digital re-attributional feedback leading to positive motivational effects and higher learning outcomes. This is very promising, but it still is unclear, whether this digital re-attributional feedback can also be successfully integrated in everyday classroom activities.Objectives :The present field experiment investigated how integrating digital re-attributional feedback into classroom instruction affects student attribution, motivation and learning outcomes.Methods :In the experiment, 8th-10th grade high school students (N = 322) worked with a digital mathematics learning program which was integrated in a three-week teaching unit. Half the students in each classroom received only standard feedback after each practice task (SF group); the other half received additionally an individual re-attributional feedback (RF group) after every third task. Attribution, mathematics self-concept, and self-efficacy were measured by an online questionnaire twice a week; learning outcomes in mathematics were measured weekly.Results and Conclusion :Hierarchical analyses showed that re-attributional feedback led to a more favourable attribution in case of success on stable factors. Especially low-performing students benefited from this feedback. No effects on attribution in case of failure, self-efficacy or learning outcomes could be found. Further research could investigate if certain adaptations to the digital re-attributional feedback is more effective in a real classroom setting and has a broader impact on different students.