Primary school students’ engagement in the formative feedback process in mathematics

Engaging students in formative feedback practices is a significant aspect of mathematics teaching, but students do not always take an active part in the process. Factors contributing to the lack of engagement could be the design of the learning context and the nature of the subject. In this study, the engagement of Grade 2 students in the formative feedback process, focusing on their mathematics reasoning, is analysed to gain knowledge about the relationship between the learning context and students’ engagement in the formative feedback practice. Students’ engagement was observed during a feedback event, followed by stimulated recall sessions and semistructured interviews, and later analysed and discussed in terms of socio-mathematical norms. The study revealed a main focus on performance and producing correct answers. In addition, different views of the purpose of the formative feedback event
were identified as norm conflicts, acting as barriers for the involvement of students in the formative feedback practice.