3.3 Quiz: Receiving the Delivery

We have identified the student's greatest needs for growth, we have given them actionable steps to improve, and we have given them enough time to do so before upcoming assessments and challenges.  What more could anyone ask for?

Receipt Upon Delivery

Unfortunately, just because we have carefully articulated our message with a clear path to improvement does not mean that it will be received with great appreciation.  It does not ensure that the student will act upon that feedback, and what is the point of providing great feedback if it won't go to use?  Effective feedback is not a one-way street.  You could say all of the right things, but how will students interpret it?  Critical to giving effective feedback is understanding the ways that students will receive what you deliver.

Even the best feedback can be misunderstood, ignored or rejected by our students.  Perhaps you can think of a time when you were not receptive to feedback from someone else.  Maybe it was on a course evaluation, or a comment from a family member or partner.  Most likely you felt that the feedback was in error, and maybe you even felt attacked on some level.  All of these feelings can occur regardless of whether the person giving you feedback was right or wrong.  It is human nature to judge the validity of feedback we receive about ourselves and ignore what is untrue.  You will likely encounter students who respond to any perceived criticism with defensiveness and denial. Students can even feel discouraged when we deliver positive feedback.  "Yes, that's right.  Good job," can come across as patronizing, signaling that you don't care enough about their education to challenge them or think critically about their work.  

Consider the 4-Sides Model of Communication, which demonstrates how we can easily misunderstand the intended meaning of a message.  As an example:

What we actually say:

"The door is open."

What we might mean/what we are thinking:

"Look, the door is open.  How strange.  Do you know why?"
"You left the door open, dummy."
"Oh boy!  Are we going somewhere?!"
"Did you leave it open for someone?"
"Hurry up and close the door!"

All of these interpretations mean significantly different things, yet are all valid interpretations of the original statement.  So even though when you said "The door is open," you might have meant to express interest or excitement ("We're having company?!"), the person you were speaking to might interpret your comment as irritation ("I guess I have to close the door for you.")  In person, we would be able to glean some of these things from body language, tone, and our relationship with the speaker.  Online, we might lack all of those things, making it is very easy for your message to be received differently from your intention!

So how can we help students to receive our feedback "correctly" rather than with misunderstanding or defensiveness? 

Most all feedback is received through the context of your relationship with the student.  How students receive your feedback depends greatly on how they perceive you, so the relationship you develop with your students will determine how they interpret your feedback.  Fostering a relationship with students in an online class?  Yes, it can be difficult to envision having any kind of meaningful relationship with students in an online class.  While some disciplines are natural spaces for allowing students to share about their life experiences, other courses like science and math may find it a stretch to relate the course content to the students' lives.  Building relationships in an online course can be an incredibly complex subject, and we can only discuss it here briefly.  So, let's get right to our final principle of good feedback:

Principle #4: Effective feedback leverages a warm, supportive teacher-student relationship that encourages the student to grow and be receptive to advice from the teacher.

Quiz: Miscommunication in the 4-Sides Model

Take this short quiz on the 4-Sides Model.

You have two attempts for this quiz.