Teacher feedback, rubrics, and annotated exemplars: examining the effects on Italian psychology university students’ performance on writing assignments

Despite the critical role of feedback in improving learning and performance, providing high-quality feedback in higher education is a complex and time-consuming task for instructors. Therefore, it is essential to explore alternative feedback approaches that are both effective and sustainable. This experimental study examined the impact of rubrics, annotated exemplars, and teacher comments on college students’ writing performance. Participants were 71 second-year Master’s students in Clinical Psychology (56 women) from an Italian university. Students completed a writing assignment in class and submitted it via Moodle platform before being randomly assigned to one of three feedback conditions: rubric, annotated exemplars, or teacher comments. They then revised their assignments in class using the feedback received. Findings revealed no statistically significant differences among groups (p = 0.654), suggesting that rubrics and annotated exemplars can produce performance improvements comparable to those achieved through teacher feedback.