Feedback is a regular part of teaching PE. It is also one of those things that can feel like it is not working as often as it should. Students hear it, go back in, and not much changes.

Most of the time, it comes down to one thing: the teacher is doing the thinking, not the student.

When we tell students exactly what to do and how to do it, we solve the problem for them. They follow the direction, but the thinking stays with us. For feedback to actually move learning forward, students need to be the ones doing something with it.

Here are two approaches that can help make that happen.

1. Who's Doing the Thinking?

A lot of feedback in PE is directive. The teacher watches, processes, and hands the student an answer. That is not always wrong, but when it is the only way we give feedback, the thinking stays with us.

Take Sam, playing defense in a zone game (or a territorial game). You notice Sam is standing beside their check instead of in front of them, leaving a clear path to score or pass.

Here are two possible ways to offer feedback in that moment.

Directive feedback: "Sam, when your check has the ball, stand about an arm's length in front of them, between them and the net. That makes it harder to pass or score."

Benefit: clear and specific. Sam knows exactly what to do.

Drawback: the teacher does the thinking. Sam is following a direction, not working out how to improve.

Suggestive feedback: "Sam, I noticed you were close to your check when they had the ball. When you're back in, think about where you could position yourself to make it harder for them to score or pass."

Benefit: Sam has to figure something out. The thinking is theirs, not yours.

Drawback: it can take longer. Some students will need more time and/or guidance before they work it out on their own, but that is part of learning.

The trade off is real, but suggestive feedback puts the student in the role of problem solver rather than direction follower. And when they work it out, it sticks differently, and students notice this.

2. Using Peer Observation to Support Student Thinking

The second approach takes this further. Instead of giving Sam feedback at all, you send them to watch.

"Sam, watch Kim playing defense for the next minute or two. Pay attention to where she stands when her check has the ball, and how she moves when they don't."

The intention here is to give Sam something you cannot provide with words: a visual. They are watching with the success criteria as a lens, looking for the specific thing they were working on, in an activity that is still happening. That is a different kind of processing than hearing a cue and trying to apply it.

A quick check-in after is worth the thirty seconds it takes. "What did you notice Kim doing?" helps you understand what Sam actually saw and brings their thinking to the surface before they go back to playing. It also allows Sam to see what they can try differently while keeping the focus on their learning, not on comparing who is better.

After Sam's next attempt, a short follow-up about what they noticed they did differently can go a long way. It helps Sam see that they can improve and that the thinking came from them. It also opens the door for you to add what you noticed, turning feedback into a two-way exchange.

Neither of these approaches changes how your lesson runs. They fit inside the natural flow of a PE class. Students participate, you pull someone aside, you send them back in. The difference is in what happens in that moment, and who is doing the thinking when it ends.

One Thing to Try

In your next lesson, pick one student who could use some feedback on whatever you are focusing on. Instead of telling them what to do, give them one thing to think about or one thing to watch for in a peer. Then follow up with a single question before they go back in.

Feedback on its own does not move learning forward. Students need to use it to guide their thinking and what they do next. That is what these two approaches are designed to do.