“Acing” the Feedback: The A²CE Framework for Generating Impactful Interactions with Students about Their Approaches to Learning

To help students become better learners, educators need to be able to provide feedback to students on their learning processes. However, this can be challenging for educators due to the customized nature of such feedback. To that end, we have created and evaluated the Acknowledge, Affirm, Challenge, and Encourage (A²CE) framework as a practical and scalable way to provide formative feedback for engineering students. The A²CE framework was: 1) developed through a research project focused on developing metacognitive skills in engineering students, and 2) evaluated for functionality in a workshop setting where we taught educators how to use the A²CE framework. Within the workshop, we collected participants’ feedback on the framework in the form of open-ended surveys. Analysis of responses revealed that workshop participants believed the A²CE framework was useful as a method for having caring conversations with students about their learning, while giving constructive feedback that students can use to improve their learning in and out of the classroom; prior to the workshop, participants indicated a need for more support in having meaningful conversations with their students about learning processes. We conclude that the A²CE framework is an accessible tool educators can leverage to help students improve as learners.