Impact of Performance Feedback for Effective Use of Digital Badges

A recent educational trend has been the increasing focus on validating and credentialing learning taking place outside of traditional academic settings. Digital badges have the potential to address various concerns within formal education settings. Digital badges have been heralded for having the ability to show mastery of content, and more accurately reflect the actual knowledge and skills of learners (Mehta, Hull, Young, & Stoller, 2013). Digital badges have been shown to increase motivation (Light & Pierson, 2014; Lin et al., 2013), increased student learning outcomes (Newby & Cheng, 2019; Wonder-McDowell et al., 2011), and overall comprehensiveness of learning (Mettler, Massey, & Kellman, 2011). Formative assessment through instructor feedback is crucial to mastering content and displaying achievement. Feedback delivers important information regarding desired learning and perceived learning and affords opportunities to decrease that gap. A common misconception is that all digital badges are automated, however, in many teaching and learning settings, feedback is provided by instructors. The authors provide a set of optimal feedback suggestions to aid in Mastery Learning and digital badge instruction and consider the implications these actions in education.