Did you know that 92% of people believe that constructive criticism is effective at improving performance? Giving feedback is one of the hardest tasks for an Assessor and can be very challenging. You need to get the balance right; letting the learner know how they need to improve, whilst providing them with motivation and support. Here are some of our top tips on how to give constructive feedback to your learners.
What is Constructive Feedback?
Constructive feedback is supportive feedback given to individuals to reinforce positive actions and offer support to correct any failings or identified areas for improvement. This part is really important, as it helps achieve personal and professional growth in both the feedback giver and the feedback receiver.
For the feedback receiver, constructive feedback can:
Improve their sense of well-being.
Set clear goals around expectations and current levels of performance.
Provide a new perspective and give valuable insight or alternative ways to address a problem.
Help them adapt or change their behaviour.
For the feedback giver, constructive feedback can:
Help to reinforce their knowledge and skills.
Allow them to reflect on their current levels of performance.
Provide the opportunity to develop their management or assessor skills.
Help them develop new or existing members of staff.
Top Tips on How to Give Constructive Feedback
Feedback Should Be Educative
Try to refrain from giving your learner vague feedback. You should explain what they are doing correctly, as well as what they are doing incorrectly. Remember the praise sandwich here to help guide your feedback – compliment, correct, compliment. It’s also a good idea to provide an example as to what is accurate and inaccurate about their work.
Educative Feedback Example
Next time you’re giving feedback, try taking this approach:
“I wanted to chat with you about your recent essay submission. First off, I want to acknowledge the effort you put into researching and organising your ideas. Your introduction was engaging, and you showed a strong grasp of the topic.
However, I noticed a recurring issue with citing sources throughout your paper. Remember, it’s essential to properly attribute information to its original authors to avoid plagiarism and lend credibility to your arguments. Let’s work on integrating citations more seamlessly into your writing. Here are a few resources that might help you understand proper citation methods better.
Additionally, I think your analysis could benefit from more depth. Try delving further into the implications of the concepts you discuss and consider incorporating counterarguments to strengthen your position.
Overall, your writing shows promise, and I’m confident that with some refinement, you’ll continue to improve.”
Give Feedback in a Timely Manner
Feedback is very important and as an Assessor, and you should not only be able to give feedback but accept it too. When you are giving your learner feedback, try and do this as soon as you can after they have carried out a task. If you wait too long, the moment is lost and your learner may not understand what you are referencing to.
Give Genuine Praise
If you are constantly telling your learner that they are doing a good job, it becomes meaningless over time. Try to only praise them when they are going above and beyond, as this will also help to motivate them to try harder. Acknowledging the efforts of your learner will really help to positively influence them and carry out their assessments to a higher standard.
Provide Examples
Communicating with your learner how they have performed in their assessment is sometimes not enough. They may not quite understand where you are coming from and what they need to do in order to improve. This is where it is useful to give them examples of how they can do better. There are lots of different types of assessment methods so try and provide your learner with an example relative to the particular method of assessment you are using.
Providing Examples Example:
If you’re struggling with providing an example in your feedback, here’s what we would do:
“I wanted to chat about the project you submitted. Firstly, I loved the creativity and attention to detail in your design concept.
However, I noticed that some parts didn’t look consistent. For example, the buttons on different pages were aligned differently. Imagine if a book had different fonts or sizes in each chapter – it might be confusing for readers.
To fix this, let’s create a guide for your design, so everything looks consistent throughout the project. It’ll make your work more polished and easier to understand.
Your work is great, and fixing these small details will make it even better. If you need help or have questions, just let me know.”
Support Your Learner
One of the main purposes of feedback is to improve your learner’s performance. By giving them feedback you are helping to identify their strengths and weaknesses, which will help to build their confidence. Be clear on how a specific grade was reached. Provide them with the tools they need in order to improve.
Provide Constructive Feedback
As well as highlighting what they did well and what they need to work on, feedback should set out ways in which your learner can improve. This will encourage your learner to think critically about their work; allowing them to reflect on what they need to do to improve it. Constructive feedback will also help them see their learning in a different light, which could really help to motivate them.
Constructive Feedback Example
Here’s an example of providing constructive feedback:
“I wanted to talk to you about the presentation you gave yesterday. First off, I want to commend you on your thorough research and the clarity of your slides. Your hard work really showed, and it made the content easy to follow.
Now, I noticed that during the Q&A session, there were a few moments where you seemed unsure of your responses. That’s totally normal, and it’s something we can work on together. I think taking some time to anticipate potential questions and practicing your responses could help boost your confidence in those situations.
Overall, though, I thought your presentation was fantastic. Your passion for the topic really came through, and I’m looking forward to seeing how you continue to excel in your role.
Keep up the great work!”
What is Destructive Feedback?
Destructive feedback often referred to as negative feedback has the sole purpose of putting people down. Destructive feedback points at faults and is a direct attack on the individual concerned. In destructive feedback, no advice or support is given. It has none of the benefits of constructive feedback and often damages both parties. Whilst in the short term it may make the giver of the feedback feel better about the situation, in the long term, this feeling is often reversed.
Examples of negative feedback often heard are;
“That’s wrong, we don’t do it like that.”
“Haven’t you learnt anything yet?.”
“It would be quicker if I did it myself.”
If you use any of these phrases or anything similar now would be a really good time to stop and learn how to give constructive feedback. Not only for your learners or employees but also for you.
The Main Objectives of Feedback
Final Tips on How to Give Constructive Feedback
It is important that when you are giving your learner feedback you are specific, and base it on facts rather than opinions. Your personal views are not going to be very useful when your learner reaches their End-Point Assessment and is assessed by an IEPA.
Once you have given feedback, it is important to outline the next phase of the assessment process. A learner can easily lose motivation if they feel they have finished everything and are not given a plan for the future. Be transparent – if your learner just has one final observation left before you they will have met all the criteria of the course, let them know. That could be the push that they need to reach the finish line.
Finally, make sure that you document the feedback you have given throughout the assessment. It is important that your learner can see how they performed and the areas that they need to work on. It is also good for them to have something to look back on. Your learner will be able to see how far they have come!
If you would like any further help on how to give constructive feedback, please give our team a call on 01205 805 155 and we will be happy to assist.
