Feedback Strategies
The biggest thing that stood out to me about the Feedback Gallery was how specific the suggestions were. It was clear that the critics had read and paid close attention to the stories they were critiquing. The critiques were also focused primarily on how the author conveyed the story - comments related to word choice and grammar were explained in a way that focused on the reader's understanding of the message and didn't seem nit-picky.
How to Give Feedback Without Sounding like a Jerk
This article explains how to give sincere, helpful feedback without being overly direct or overly indirect. One of the suggestions is to explain why the feedback is being given. I can see that being very helpful in this course. Critiques like "I am commenting on the dialogue because the story is very strong, and this is one area where I think there could be some improvement" may be helpful, because they explain why the critic is focusing on a particular element.
Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback
I love the idea of feedforward. The idea of focusing on improvements that could be made to future work (or future drafts of the same project) seems much more practical than dwelling on previous mistakes. It may also feel less personal, seeing as it isn't a direct comment on something that exists... Just a suggestion for things that don't exist yet.
This is particularly useful in an online class, because it doesn't require the back-and-forth discussion that feedback can lead into. I may also choose to take advantage of the blog format by leaving a comment on my own posts where I address the parts of my writing that I am most unsure about, so that people can focus their feedback/feedforward on that area.
I think that often, giving feedback is more challenging than receiving feedback. I hope that I'm able to be helpful to my peers in this class. Maybe we'll need feedback sessions on giving feedback. Ha ha.
How to Give Feedback Without Sounding like a Jerk
This article explains how to give sincere, helpful feedback without being overly direct or overly indirect. One of the suggestions is to explain why the feedback is being given. I can see that being very helpful in this course. Critiques like "I am commenting on the dialogue because the story is very strong, and this is one area where I think there could be some improvement" may be helpful, because they explain why the critic is focusing on a particular element.
 |
| books by Borkur Sigurbjornsson via Flickr |
Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback
I love the idea of feedforward. The idea of focusing on improvements that could be made to future work (or future drafts of the same project) seems much more practical than dwelling on previous mistakes. It may also feel less personal, seeing as it isn't a direct comment on something that exists... Just a suggestion for things that don't exist yet.
This is particularly useful in an online class, because it doesn't require the back-and-forth discussion that feedback can lead into. I may also choose to take advantage of the blog format by leaving a comment on my own posts where I address the parts of my writing that I am most unsure about, so that people can focus their feedback/feedforward on that area.
I think that often, giving feedback is more challenging than receiving feedback. I hope that I'm able to be helpful to my peers in this class. Maybe we'll need feedback sessions on giving feedback. Ha ha.
Hey, Natalie!
ReplyDeleteI think your points on explaining why you're giving criticism are spot-on. It's not always easy to hear negative feedback, but if we know why it's being offered -- and we can identify that it's being given with the intent of making our work stronger -- it makes it a bit easier to receive. Furthermore, when you say, "I'm focusing on A because B is already engaging," you communicate specific positive praise that the writer can use to replicate the strong work in the future. It's a win-win.
Hi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you agree that feedforward is a really neat idea! I was really intrigued once I read about it the first time. I even went so far as to look into different examples of what feedforward really looks like and how it realistically works in the workplace. This definitely gave me more insight into how feedback is not the only way to communicate to others on how they can improve.
Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of explaining why the feed back or social criticism is being given and not just giving it with no explanation. When giving feed back it is very important you don't stunt the creative thinking of the other person but want to help get them where they are going in the best way possible. If we all took the time to explain why we thought the things we do, I think we would have a better understanding of the other's view of things!