On feedback

I recently posted the article I wrote with MAPP DTP alumni Rose Payne about feedback. We talked about the post in some discussion group conversations. The article talks about feedback being transactional – going between student and teacher (two-way). Not just given to student from teacher (one way). The feedback is not to tell you if it is good or not but to stimulate further thought. The further thought is going be present or not yet activated in all your work. For instance, if you get feedback on an AOL that you should use more literature to support your points. That is going to be the same across all your writing or if it isn’t the same across all your writing then have a look at the essays you have done where you have used more literature and apply it to all your work. You must already know how to do it so do it for all the work then.

Or if you have used even less in all your other work. Have at look at the AOL where you got the feedback (even though you used more literature than your other essays) and think about what you did to use for literature and do more of it.

Helen and I are going to flag up and let you know URGENTLY if we think something will fail. We are not giving feedback to tell you pass or fail. The feedback is not to say yes this is good you don’t have do any more to this!!!

The point of sending the draft

1)    Time management: The main point was that we had noticed people were leaving writing all their AOLs until the last minute and sometimes not getting them done in time. By giving you a draft deadline it meant you had to commit of all the AOLs you would be writing and also have thought about each of them

2)    Staring a conversation: On getting the drafts I have read them all – I have chosen one that can produce feedback that resonates across all that were sent. I have not marked each one as if I was marking a school paper – it is not summative feedback that ends with you knowing if you passed. That has everything to do with the emancipation of learning from the teacher instructing to the teacher facilitating and partnering in the learning journey we have spoken about in discussions etc…

3)    Stimulating your ideas: The feedback provides ideas to think about. I don’t understand why more people don’t then want to take up the opportunity to discuss it. – that is part of the transaction of feedback. It is a two-way conversation.

I am worried you are suffering in silence – or feeling your are in the deep-end alone. There needs to be a trust that Helen and I are not setting you up. We’ll let you know any major problems. There needs to be a feeling of interaction, discussion and ownership through talking about the feedback. Maybe you don’t agree with some comments, maybe you don’t follow some comments. Maybe you have written something else and want to know if you have addressed a particular observation in your feedback. You could send it saying –

After your comment about use of Literature: ‘please can you look at my use of literature in these four paragraphs of my new draft of AOL 3. It is not the AOL you feedback on but I felt of all my AOLs I use literature lease in this one. So I thought I would work on this one for that. I feel I have xxxxxx and I wonder if your think I need to xxxxx“ then we can read look at that specific point and give further feedback.

So, it is not just you sending things until you get an good job well don’t comment. It is about dialogue challenge and interaction.

Adesola