Feedback Strategies

Feedback Strategies: Learning as I Go

By Maria Dawson

I loved this picture because it gives ways one can learn. I believe learning throughout our entire life is very important. Picture by: Giulia Forsythe

I am a person that thrives on positive feedback the most and feel like I am not doing a good job when I get any constructive criticism. This is something I am trying to grow through and learn how to do better in the future. I have noticed that I will not even look at the comment to a discussion post just in case someone will not like my work. This is where I want to start on this journey and learn how to effectively take criticism.  

To start this journey of growth I was curious on what was the best way for preschoolers to learn and then maybe I can adapt this into my learning. I read an article by Deborah Farmer Kris titled,  "Preschoolers and Praise: What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow?" In this article, she states to stay away from praises that are easy to give such as a good job or nice work and instead give more constructive and specific feedback. Such as commenting on the way the child was able to do something, for example, saying "You did such a good job helping out with the laundry" or "I am so proud of you for sharing with your brother".  Deborah also talks about how stories and the way we talk to kids will help shape their future. I believe we can use these tactics to anyone at any age to help their growth mindset. 

The other post that caught my eye is by, Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman in an article named,

"Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?". I am curious about this post because my current boss gives us comments at the end of each week during our team meetings and I am wondering if this is helping or hurting us. In this post the authors say "be specific, rather than a general remark of “good job,” and ideally occurs soon after the praise-worthy incident". In my situation, with my boss, she gives us very specific feedback however she waits until the end of the week to give it to us instead of immediately telling us what we did well. Using the tactics described in the article the boss is more likely to come across as if they have their back and truly understand what their workers are going through.

Feedback Thoughts

Feedback Thoughts

By: Maria Dawson

This picture I found from Inkscape shows how feedback is more of a cycle to your story instead of a one-time thing.

The first post I read about was called, A fixed mindset could be holding you back — here's how to change it. I decided to read over this post because I know I suffer from having a certain thing in mind and sometimes do not know how I can change. In this post by Anna Kelsey-Sugg and Ann Arnold, they share ways on how you can change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Some examples they gave include "acknowledge and embrace your weaknesses and view challenges as opportunities". These are two I struggle daily with because I feel like I should try and hide my flaws when instead I need to express them and know it is okay to have flaws. I also struggle with the second example because I often shut down or thing badly about myself when it comes to setbacks or challenges. This is the main thing I want to work on while taking this class because I know there will be challenges to writing stories and some days I will not know what to do. But once I finish I know I feel accomplished and ready to tackle a new problem. 

The second article I read was by Maria Popova called, Make Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s Advice on the Creative Life, Adapted by Design Legend Chip Kidd. While I did not choose this article because the author and I share the same name, while it might enhance the experience, I choose this because I want to learn how to be more creative. In my life, it is sometimes hard for me to come up with new ideas especially when I have never done this thing before such as writing stories in this class. This article says that you should not be scared to take new risks and take this opportunity to be more artistic in new ways. Since this is a new form of art for me I and scared but also excited to see what I can create.