Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback

We are continually receiving and giving feedback. ... If you disagree with the feedback, consider asking for a second opinion from someone else. Follow up. Skiptomain Skiptofooter CentreforTeachingExcellence Informationfor CentreforTeachingExcellenceResourcesTeachingtipsAssessingstudents ReceivingandGivingEffectiveFeedback Wearecontinuallyreceivingandgivingfeedback.Whetherexplicitthroughoralorwrittenlanguage,orimplicitingesturesortoneofvoice,feedbackconveysinformationaboutbehavioursandoffersanevaluationofthequalityofthosebehaviours.Whileitiseasytotakefeedbackpersonally,strivetoperceiveitasalearningopportunity.Feedbackcanreinforceexistingstrengths,keepgoal-directedbehaviouroncourse,clarifytheeffectsofbehaviour,andincreaserecipients’abilitiestodetectandremedyerrorsontheirown.Usethetipsbelowtoreceiveandgivefeedbackeffectively. Receivingfeedbackeffectively Listentothefeedbackgiven.Thismeansnotinterrupting.Hearthepersonout,andlistentowhattheyarereallysaying,notwhatyouassumetheywillsay.Youcanabsorbmoreinformationifyouareconcentratingonlisteningandunderstandingratherthanbeingdefensiveandfocusingonyourresponse. Beawareofyourresponses.Yourbodylanguageandtoneofvoiceoftenspeaklouderthanwords.Trytoavoidputtingupbarriers.Ifyoulookdistractedandbored,thatsendsanegativemessageaswell.Attentiveness,ontheotherhand,indicatesthatyouvaluewhatsomeonehastosayandputsbothofyouatease. Beopen.Thismeansbeingreceptivetonewideasanddifferentopinions.Often,thereismorethanonewayofdoingsomethingandothersmayhaveacompletelydifferentviewpointonagiventopic.Youmaylearnsomethingworthwhile. Understandthemessage.Makesureyouunderstandwhatisbeingsaidtoyou,especiallybeforerespondingtothefeedback.Askquestionsforclarificationifnecessary.Listenactivelybyrepeatingkeypointssothatyouknowyouhaveinterpretedthefeedbackcorrectly.Inagroupenvironment,askforothers’feedbackbeforeresponding.Aswell,whenpossible,beexplicitastowhatkindoffeedbackyouareseekingbeforehandsoyouarenottakenbysurprise. Reflectanddecidewhattodo.Assessthevalueofthefeedback,theconsequencesofusingitorignoringit,andthendecidewhattodobecauseofit.Yourresponseisyourchoice.Ifyoudisagreewiththefeedback,consideraskingforasecondopinionfromsomeoneelse. Followup.Therearemanywaystofollowuponfeedback.Sometimes,yourfollow-upwillsimplyinvolveimplementingthesuggestionsgiventoyou.Inothersituations,youmightwanttosetupanothermeetingtodiscussthefeedbackortore-submittherevisedwork. Givingeffectivefeedback Prioritizeyourideas.Limityourfeedbacktothemostimportantissues.Considerthefeedback’spotentialvaluetothereceiverandhowyouwouldrespond–couldyouactonthefeedback?Aswell,toomuchfeedbackprovidedatasingletimecanbeoverwhelmingtotherecipient. Concentrateonthebehaviour,nottheperson.Onestrategyistoopenbystatingthebehaviourinquestion,thendescribinghowyoufeelaboutit,andendingwithwhatyouwant.Thismodelenablesyoutoavoidsoundingaccusatorybyusing“I”andfocusingonbehaviours,insteadofassumedinterpretations.Example:“Ihaven’tseenyouinclassinforaweek.I’mworriedthatyouaremissingimportantinformation.Canwemeetsoontodiscussit?” Insteadof:“Youobviouslydon’tcareaboutthiscourse!” Balancethecontent.Usethe“sandwichapproach.”Beginbyprovidingcommentsonspecificstrengths.Thisprovidesreinforcementandidentifiesthethingstherecipientshouldkeepdoing.Thenidentifyspecificareasofimprovementandwaystomakechanges.Concludewithapositivecomment.Thismodelhelpstobolsterconfidenceandkeeptheweakareasinperspective.Example:“Yourpresentationwasgreat.Youmadegoodeyecontact,andwerewellprepared.Youwerealittlehardtohearatthebackoftheroom,butwithsomepracticeyoucanovercomethis.Keepupthegoodwork!”Insteadof:“Youdidn’tspeakloudlyenough.However,thepresentationwentwell.” Bespecific.Avoidgeneralcommentsthatmaybeoflimitedusetothereceiver.Trytoincludeexamplestoillustrateyourstatement.Aswell,offeringalternativesratherthanjustgivingadviceallowsthereceivertodecidewhattodowithyourfeedback. Berealistic.Feedbackshouldfocusonwhatcanbechanged.Itisuselessandfrustratingforrecipientstogetcommentsonsomethingoverwhichtheyhavenocontrol.Also,remembertoavoidusingthewords“always”and“never.”People’sbehaviourisrarelythatconsistent. Ownthefeedback.Whenofferingevaluativecomments,usethepronoun“I”ratherthan“they”or“one,”whichwouldimplythatyouropinionisuniversallyagreedon.Rememberthatfeedbackismerelyyouropinion. Betimely.Seekanappropriatetimetocommunicateyourfeedback.Beingpromptiskeysincefeedbacklosesitsimpactifdelayedtoolong.Delayedfeedbackcanalsocausefeelingsofguiltandresentmentintherecipientiftheopportunityforimprovementhaspassed.Aswell,ifyourfeedbackisprimarilynegative,taketimetopreparewhatyouwillsayorwrite. Offercontinuingsupport.Feedbackshouldbeacontinuousprocess,notaone-timeevent.Afterofferingfeedback,makeaconsciousefforttofollowup.Letrecipientsknowyouareavailableiftheyhavequestions,and,ifappropriate,askforanotheropportunitytoprovidemorefeedbackinthefuture. Resources Dempsey,J.V.andG.C.Sales(Eds.).(1993)InteractiveInstructionandFeedback.EducationalTechnologyPublication.NJ:EnglewoodCliffs London,M.(1997)JobFeedback:Giving,Seeking,andUsingFeedbackforPerformanceImprovement.Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates McGill,I.andL.Beaty(1995)ActionLearning.2ndEd.London:KoganPageLtd. ThisCreativeCommonslicenseletsothersremix,tweak,andbuilduponourworknon-commercially,aslongastheycreditusand indicateifchangesweremade.Usethiscitationformat: Receivingandgivingeffectivefeedback. CentreforTeachingExcellence,UniversityofWaterloo. CELEBRATE!2022TEACHINGAWARDRECIPIENTS! SUBSCRIBE!TOCTE'SMONTHLYNEWSLETTER MAY2022LITEGRANTRECIPIENTSCONGRATULATIONS! 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