Giving and Receiving Feedback
It can be difficult to give and receive feedback. As givers, we worry about hurting the feelings of other people or giving advice that might make something worse. As receivers, we worry about getting criticized harshly or needing to disregard all the hard work we put in.
Here are some things we can keep in mind –
Our goal is to use feedback to improve!
When giving feedback, we should want to help the receiver improve.
- Start with observations. Observations are objective reports from our senses. Starting with this helps to keep the feedback focused on the output instead of the person. (Ex: “I noticed that the video you chose has a lot of graphic elements.”)
- Articulate where the feedback is coming from. How does the observation make you feel? What theories support your observation? (Ex: “The elements make it difficult for me to focus. I think Mayer said something about cognitive load too.”)
- Be as specific and actionable as you can. Help the receiver act on feedback by focusing on what can be changed. (Ex: “Maybe you can replace this with a video with less graphic elements?”)
- Give kind and empathetic feedback. Be generous with praise when it’s deserved. (Ex: “I like this article that you included – short, but sweet!”)
When receiving feedback, we should want to improve our work.
- Focus on actively listening and understanding the feedback. Don’t think about how you might respond as the giver is talking.
- Ask questions and ask for examples. Clarify comments and help them be as specific as possible. (Ex: “Can you tell me more about what you meant by this?”)
- You decide on which feedback to act on. You can go back to the rubric, or what you know about the learner to decide which feedback to keep and which ones to park for now.
If you want to know more about giving and receiving feedback, as well as some frameworks that you can use, check out these resources: