'Ghosting' is Not Cool

Leave Feedback for the Students Constructive feedback helps give the student insight. Yes and no, or right and wrong is no longer enough. Do you remember the difference between a college professor who didn’t give feedback on a paper, report, or assessment and one who did? How did you as a student grow or learn from the feedback or lack of? The Science I Explored According to David Rock, founder of the Neuro Leadership Institute, we respond positively to constructive feedback (i.e.,that is, “Here’s what you did wrong”) only one out of 13 times. The reason is that our brain has five times as much real estate devoted to dealing with threats (e.g.,for example, negative feedback) as it does to dealing with rewards. And anything that lays blame likely triggers our brain’s highly reactive threat response, launching a cognitive resource-intensive defense mission. As a result, our coping mechanisms – and responses – focus more on proving than improving ourselves. Now, imagine feedback that is more brain-friendly. If our defenses help us survive by protecting us from threats, our strengths help us thrive. So, let’s shift the emphasis of the feedback by drilling down on what went right, what the person did well, and what he or she should do more of. According to Marty Seligman, one of the fathers of positive psychology, imagining the future is a central, organizing function of our brain. We thrive on considering our prospects. Research shows that feedback that builds on what we did right causes us to put more energy into that behavior, increasing our self-efficacy. Just helping Carly envision a better approach reinforces that positive behavior.[1] A Situation An educator takes time to prepare a series of educational experiences in a certain topic. The educator included miniprojects, cooperative learning, exploration opportunities, and literature responses—all related to one topic such as Native American life in New York State. This work, along with an overall assessment will determine the grade the educator gives at the end of the marking period. Student Feedback Method Giving students feedback is certainly about seeing the best in a student and encouraging it. Within your established time period, schedule short meetings with each student. Have questions ready to assess their understanding and needs during each meeting. Keep a check list of your questions and their answers for each student. Listen to their ideas. Encourage and praise progress and good student practices: great attention to detail, good focus, and so on. Now ask the student, “Are you ready to hear my feedback? Let's look at what went right.” Share and note your teacher suggestions with the child so you can follow up later. Add ideas of what you can do as an educator to support their learning. Keep this information in a “Student Meeting” file. When the educator is organized with regard to time and meeting agendas, these meetings can be regular and quick, but meaningful. Are you able visualize the student’s head nodding in understanding as you chat with them about their work? Say it with me: “I know good feedback is important to my student’s growth.”

[1] Jennifer Marshall Lippincott, “Our Brains are to Blame: The Neuroscience of Feedback,” Training Industry, updated February 9, 2018, https://trainingindustry.com/articles/performance-management/our-brains-are-to-blame-the-neuroscience-of-feedback/.