Week 3: Feedback Strategies

I am many things; a student comes in about third.

     I am a parent first, which is why I chose to read the article written by Deborah Farmer Kris, “What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow?”. This article resonated with me because I have been trying to follow the “Growth Mindset” method with my children without knowing it is an actual thing. I don’t let them say “I can’t do it” or allow them to give up on something, especially when I know they can do it. What I had not incorporated prior to being introduced to the “Growth Mindset” ,was inserting the word, “yet”.

     “Yet” has made a huge difference in how my kids have approached a challenge. I can see this concept related back to my college studies as well as within my personal and professional development. In relation to understanding a reading, “I don’t understand it, yet, but I will re-read and re-evaluate what I am reading until I do.” In relation to my writing abilities, “I haven’t quite made it to an advanced level writing, yet, but with practice I will.”

     Do I feel confident giving people useful feedback? I think I do! I hope that anyone who is on the receiving end of my feedback has a full understanding that it is feedback and not judgment. I feel even more confident with providing useful feedback after reading TeachThought Staff’s article, “How To Give Students Specific Feedback That Actually Helps Them Learn”. The article outlines useful feedback with the following basic bullet points:

       ·       Goal-oriented

·       Feedback is actionable

·       Understandable, Specific

·       Timely

·       Consistent

     I instantly thought of the similarity between these guidelines those of a SMART goal:

·                            Specific

·                            Measurable

·                            Achievable

·                            Relevant

·                            Time-Bound

     Having a clear understanding of a SMART goal helps in providing useful feedback. Producing a quality piece of work is likely the subject’s goal, therefore, understanding and taking into consideration that our feedback is aiding the subject in achieving their goal will help the reviewer in providing goal-oriented, actionable, specific, relevant, consistent and time-bound feedback. 

     To tie this back into parenting, I have learned that it is important to provide similar feedback to our children. While adding the word, "yet", can be powerful, we also need to help guide them with the how, when and why to reach their goals.