Pttls_Feedback

You may have had different experiences of having received feedback and it would be good to share some of those with us - and say what you found good or bad about the way that feedback was given. My previous employer who I worked for over 20 years I was on the receiving end, delivered and observed many feedback sessions that were one way verbal from instructor to student that culminated in the glazing over of eyes and in some cases total switch off. Why' In mitigation but by no way of excuse, that was the way the institution did business and its instructors were indoctrinated into behaving that way. With some relief this all changed drastically in the early 1990s when instructors attended external teaching courses and the success of courses improved markedly. I personally prefer to receive and give verbal feedback as it allows for the opening of the two way communication process and enables the teacher to ensure the student/s understand and the student/s to ask questions. Where possible this should be supported in written form to enable evidence and enable the learning point can be revisited by the teacher and student. The process I prefer to follow when giving feedback is: 1. Ask the student how they think the exercise went or how they did' 2. Would they do change or do anything different the next time' I have found this method to be particularly successful as it places the recall of the work/exercise into the students hands and usually leads to them ticking off the majority of the points I would have informed them they could/must do differently the next time. When the student misses a point there will usually be an opportunity to feed it into the feedback when replying to what they have said. This method of feedback does of course call on all the effective listening skills and the close monitoring of body language to ensure no barriers are put up. I also consider whether the feedback should be, one to one, in pairs, groups or peer feedback. I most definitely end on a positive. I am very keen when it involves practical exercises to use Video playback or taped playback for verbal exercises. There is in my opinion no more powerful a tool than the student/s seeing for themselves exactly what has happened. The majority of the courses I have attended or taught on recently also contain a feedback document for the student to complete at the end of each session/day. This ensures that we monitor how successful our sessions are and allow changes where necessary. It also empowers the student to have input into their learning.