The key seems to be to make college courses challenging but not threatening. Both too little and too much stress inhibit learning. Stress is difficult to define because individuals react to it very differently, and a situation that is stressful for one person may not be for another. Further, stressed individuals vary widely in the effectiveness of their coping. Some college students, when stressed by academic demands, use ineffective mechanisms for coping.
Feedback is information about current performance that can be used to improve future performance.
When given properly, feedback can encourage positive stress that motivates students to action and can discourage the negative stress that inhibits action. Having a personal sense of control is an important factor in reducing stress. When students do not know what to expect in their courses, they feel out of control. Teachers can help students have a greater sense of control by using requests rather than commands, giving students choices in course requirements, explaining assignments so students know their purpose, involving students in the design of examinations, and soliciting and using feedback from students to improve courses and teaching. College teachers who can effectively use feedback and control in their classroom create a climate ripe for learning.