Giving and receiving feedback
What should you bear in mind when giving feedback? What is the best way to receive feedback?
The Feedback Ladder
The feedback ladder illustrates how feedback can be received in different stages: reject, defend, explain, understand, change.
Both the person giving and the person receiving feedback need to listen. The person receiving the feedback must understand it in order to decide whether they want to make changes and, if so, how.
The person giving the feedback needs to be attentive to whether the person receiving it is spending a great deal of time defending and explaining themselves. If that happens, there is a risk that the “understanding stage” will not be reached.
Basic rules
There are a few simple ground rules, principles for good feedback. Although the advice is basic, people may have different views on what matters most and how it should be applied in more detail. Just as there are certain ground rules for those who give feedback, there is also advice for those who seek feedback, often students.
We asked teachers and students
What advice would you give about giving or seeking feedback?
(Video in Swedish)
Pitfalls
There are some pitfalls (based on Boud and Molloy’s book) that anyone giving feedback should watch out for:
- Not starting by asking the person receiving the feedback what they thought themselves
- Forgetting to mention what was good/positive
- Waiting (too long) before giving “negative” feedback. Many people find it difficult/uncomfortable to talk about what was not good enough
- Giving too much feedback, which can become unmanageable for the person expected to deal with it
- Not finding out how the feedback has been perceived
- Not offering suggestions for improvement
Feedback in the multicultural group
Today, the multicultural element at the university is greater than ever. Jennifer Valcke, educational developer at the Unit for Teaching and Learning, offers tips and advice on what to consider when working with groups/individuals in multicultural contexts.
Exercise examples
What do you think made this situation turn out well? What were the success factors? Do you see any opportunities to further develop/improve the situation?
(Video in Swedish)
Producer: Thomas Nixon
Feedback takes time, but it does not need to be seen as something separate from other activities. Consider:
- How can you build feedback into the learning activities?
- How can you help students understand that they have a responsibility to seek feedback?
Resources
- Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: The article is based on a constructivist view of learning in which the student must create their own knowledge and become a self-directed learner. Formative assessment is the same as feedback, and the seven principles presented provide good guidance on how feedback can effectively support self-directed learning (D. J. Nicol & D. Macfarlane-Dick, 2005).
- Self-assessment in Lifelong Learning and Improving Performance in Practice (F. Daniel Duffy, MD; Eric S. Holmboe, MD, 2006