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The decision between feedback (FOB or FOA) and BELL (BEst Learned Later) can be complex, as we are deciding on the best use of the teacher’s and learner’s lesson time.

If the learner made errors/didn’t answer a recently taught topic, usually we will use the correct feedback symbol.

However if the learner made errors/didn’t answer a topic they’ve had feedback on a few times already, then it’s useful to decide “shall I BELL this layer?”

The question isn’t about just whether the teacher and learner can use the feedback process to “get the learner to be able to ask similar questions in the layer” but also about balancing the cost in lesson time allocated and the cost to the learner’s limited supply of motivation.

Questions which might help decide are

• does the learner still have some motivation for the feedback process?

• given the number of learners in the class/group - and how much time the teacher normally has to give each learner feedback - is giving more feedback on this layer sensible? e.g. a tutor with fewer learners in their group, might give choose feedback whereas a teacher with a larger class might choose best learned later,

• thinking about the next fortnight, will there be enough time to embed the feedback into the learner’s long term memory? e.g. if there is only 2 days before a 2 week holiday, then the learner is unlikely to retain the benefits of feedback but if there is more than 2 weeks before the next holiday, the teacher might want to try to give a bit more feedback.