Teaching – Delayed vs. Immediate Feedback, which is better?

I always prided myself on returning feedback to students right away – usually by our next meeting. This required some forethought from me – collect on Friday to return on a Monday – but I thought it was pedagogically significant to get things back into their hands ASAP. Some recent studies show this might not be the case: Delayed and Immediate Feedback in the Classroom: The Results Aren’t What Students Think!

But be forewarned, students see things a bit differently –
Students still report that the immediate feedback feels like it is helping them whereas the delayed feedback feels like it is hurting them, even when they experience both in the course. In fact, 79% said they benefited a lot more from the immediate feedback.