Impact of teacher feedback on the self-regulated learning of medical students: a chain mediating model of teacher-student interaction and sense of school belonging

Background Self-regulated learning is crucial for medical students’ lifelong learning and professional development. Research has found that self-regulated learning of medical students is influenced by teacher feedback. However, the mechanism by which teacher feedback affects the self-regulated learningof medical students has not yet been thoroughly explored. Methods The study utilized data from five rounds of the Student Survey of Learning and Development Survey at H University in China, with a sample of 6,546 medical students selected. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 were employed as data analysis tools to validate the relationships among variables such as teacher feedback, self-regulated learning, teacher-student interaction, and sense of school belonging. Results Teacher feedback was significantly and positively correlated with self-regulated learning ( r = 0.330, p < 0.01), teacher-student interaction ( r = 0.311, p < 0.01), and sense of school belonging ( r = 0.409, p < 0.01). Moreover, teacher-student interaction and sense of school belonging partially mediated the relationship between teacher feedback and self-regulated learning, with effect sizes of 0.116 and 0.045, respectively. There was a chain mediation model between teacher feedback and self-regulated learning that had a value of 0.009, accounting for 2.94% of the total impact. Conclusion The research has unveiled the relationship between teacher feedback and the self-regulated learning of medical students, confirming the individual and chained mediating effects of teacher-student interaction and sense of school belonging. Furthermore, the current findings offer fresh perspectives for exploring effective approaches to improve medical students’ self-regulated learning.