Choosing versus Receiving Feedback: The Impact of Feedback Valence on Learning in an Assessment Game

Studies examining feedback in educational settings have largely focused on feedback that is received, rather than chosen, by students. This study investigates whether adult participants learn more from choosing rather than receiving feedback from virtual characters in a digital poster design task. We employed a yoked study design and two versions of an online game-based assessment, Posterlet, to compare the learning outcomes of N=264 Mechanical Turk adults in two conditions: when they chose the feedback valence versus when they received the same feedback valence and order. In Posterlet, players design posters and learn graphic design principles from feedback. We found that the more the participants chose critical feedback, the more time they spent designing posters, but there were no differences in learning, revision, and time spent designing posters between conditions. In each condition, critical feedback correlated with performance and revision, suggesting that feedback valence is important for performance, regardless of being a choice.