Students Receiving Feedback

We have identified the student's greatest needs for growth, we have given them actionable steps to improve, and we have given them enough time to do so before upcoming assessments and challenges. What more can we do? Respond with effective feedback for improvement and creating an atmosphere and mindset that there is not "failure;" only opportunities to improve. Mistakes need to happen and feedback is part of the process.

- Effective feedback outlines a process for growth by providing learning advice, strategies, or opportunities.
- Effective feedback leverages a warm, supportive teacher-student relationship that encourages the student to grow and be receptive to advice from the teacher.

Receipt Upon Delivery

Even the best feedback can be misunderstood, ignored or rejected by our students. Perhaps you can think of a time when you were not receptive to feedback from someone else. Maybe it was on a course evaluation, or a comment from a family member or partner. Most likely you felt that the feedback was in error, and maybe you even felt attacked on some level. It is human nature to judge the validity of feedback we receive about ourselves and ignore what is untrue. You will likely encounter students who respond to any perceived criticism with defensiveness and denial. Students can even feel discouraged when we deliver positive feedback. "Yes, that's right. Good job," can come across as patronizing, signaling that you don't care enough about their education to challenge them or think critically about their work. Feedback should encourage further exploration by asking questions or pointing students in the direction to discover the answers or look at the problem from another perspective.

In person, we would be able to glean some of these things from body language, tone, and our relationship with the speaker. Online, we might lack all of those things, making it is very easy for your message to be received differently from your intention!

So how can we help students to receive our feedback "correctly" rather than with misunderstanding or defensiveness?

Feedback + Relationship

Most all feedback is received through the context of your relationship with the student. How students receive your feedback depends greatly on how they perceive you. The relationship you develop with your students will determine how they interpret your feedback. It is important to be mindful that there is a power relationship already embedded between student and instructor. You can foster a relationship with students in an online class and develop ways to minimize the power structure in how you design instruction and allow students to take the lead in their learning. Even with this pedagogy in self-directed student learning, it is important to be mindful of the power structure and how that may impact some students.

While some disciplines are natural spaces for allowing students to share about their life experiences, other courses like science and math may find it a stretch to relate the course content to the students' lives. As you learn and practice teaching online, you will develop your presence and take advantage of the audio, video to establish a more personal connection, develop a writing voice for your style and use the tools in Canvas to reach out to students.