How to Give Academic Feedback
Academic feedback is the foundation of turning your B into an A. In fact, proofreading may be your saviour when magically transforming your dead friend into your dear friend, your bother into your brother, or your naked files into your named files. Slight errors occur all the time, and it often takes a second pair of eyes to make your work a little easier to digest. Sometimes though, our errors are much larger than spelling; we require valuable academic feedback to revamp our big concepts into solid academic work. This article will serve as a crash course on how to be an academic rescuer to your peers - share it around to receive that same feedback in return!
Step One: Be Specific
In order to provide the best feedback possible, it is important to be specific. Specific corrective feedback allows others to know exactly where they are lacking in order to improve in the future. Some examples:
You said: Great job!
You should say: I love that you maintained an audible volume throughout the presentation and provided biblical examples for your thesis that Narnia reflected the story of Christ.
You said: I didn’t really understand what you were saying.
You should say: Your point stating that “the letter ‘c’ should only exist to make the ‘ch’ sound because it can be replaced in all other circumstances by ‘s’ and ‘k’” was unclear to me because you didn’t provide any examples of words that could replace ‘c’ with ‘s’ or ‘k’.
Step Two: Don’t Keep Them Waiting
One academic journal, Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, has come forth in favour of immediate as opposed to delayed feedback- and, honestly, who could disagree? Studies have shown that, when feedback is given to others immediately, it is easier to comprehend and apply to the work they have completed. Let’s keep things fresh, everyone!
Step Three: You’re Not Here to Attack
This one may seem straightforward, but it is likely the most important. In a world that is now almost entirely online, it is crucial to ensure that your feedback isn’t being perceived as mean-spirited or offensive. The key to making others feel comfortable when showing their work to you is to create an academic environment that is free from personal judgement. Psychologist Edward Deci has presented three scenarios that you should avoid:
Do not strictly monitor the learner. When a person feels that there is always someone looking over their shoulder in hopes of criticizing, they are likely to become nervous and self-conscious about their work. Give them space and trust that they are doing well- they’ll come to you for feedback.
Do not make learners feel as though they are being controlled. There is a big difference between “you can’t write about that” and “maybe this subject could be more inclusive of relevant topics”. Never try to put a lid on others’ creativity, instead offer suggestions to improve their work overall.
Do not create a sense of competition. When learners are forced to compare work in a group setting, they may become discouraged. Ensure that learners feel they are competing against their own personal best and not the work of others.
In other words: let the learner have their freedom! Even academic writing takes an element of personal touch, and the best way to find your own flair is to experiment.
Step Four: Taking Feedback on Your Feedback
If you’re going to correct others, you had better be open to correcting yourself! The key to giving great feedback is to be able to listen to others and correct your mistakes. For example, if an individual states that your feedback makes them feel like their work is inadequate or unintelligent then it is your responsibility to adjust your feedback to make it more reassuring. No one is perfect, but with continuous self-correction we can come close.
SOURCES:
Ferdinand, Mecklinger, and Opitz. “Timing Matters: The Impact of Immediate and Delayed
Feedback on Artificial Language Learning”. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 5,
iss. 8, 2011. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3034228/
Stenger, Marianne. “5 Research-Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback”.
Edutopia, 2014.
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tips-providing-students-meaningful-feedback-marianne-stenger