Providing Effective Feedback
Constructive feedback, in the form of comments or suggestions from instructors or peers, plays an important role in participants’ mastery of learning outcomes. Without feedback, participants are unsure if they have grasped a concept or are performing a task correctly. Instructor feedback can be either informal, like clarifications after a class discussion, or formal, like final exam results or notes on a checklist or rubric. Refer to Assessing Learning for more information on assessment activities and tools.
However, participants may not always perceive feedback positively. You need to provide effective feedback to avoid damaging participants’ morale and negatively impacting their job performance.
Research has shown that to be effective, feedback must be:
- Specific and objective—The feedback must provide participants with exact details on what they have done correctly and the areas that still require improvement. It can also be useful to tell participants what they are doing differently than before.
- Immediate—The sooner you can provide feedback to participants, the more successful they will be in improving their performance.
- Outcome oriented—The feedback should be based on a goal that participants are working towards. It should provide clear information to help participants improve their performance to achieve that actionable goal.
- Noncompetitive—Participants should be aware of the purpose of all observations and assessments and that the feedback is intended to guide their improvement. It is also important to clarify that the feedback is not meant to create competition between participants.
- Transparent—Participants should have access to information about their performance. This knowledge helps them develop self-awareness about their own learning. It also improves their ability to identify their own mistakes and to develop long-term strategies for addressing their weaknesses.
- Limited—Too much feedback can be hard to process and, therefore, can be counterproductive.
Peer feedback can be as effective as instructor feedback. Participants all have different perspectives and their feedback can supplement feedback from the instructor. Peer feedback can have another advantage. Sometimes receiving feedback from a peer can be less intimidating than receiving it from an instructor.
However, you need to manage peer feedback well. You need to train participants to observe and objectively measure peer performance based on clearly defined standards. They also need to be trained to provide specific details in their comments. As with instructor-delivered feedback, peer feedback should include comments both about what participants did well and suggestions for improvement. To help participants to be receptive to feedback, explain that their role is to listen and not try to justify any choices or actions.
Instructions
How to provide guidance on peer feedback:
- Explain the purpose of peer feedback.
- Emphasize that feedback should be objective, not personal.
- Describe participants’ responsibilities during the observation process.
- Explain that positive feedback will be delivered first and suggestions for improvement will be shared afterward.
- Share a peer assessment tool that details performance criteria.
- Ask participants if they have any questions about the feedback procedure.
- Remind participants that, when it is their turn to receive feedback, they are to listen and not try to justify their choices or actions.
- Once participants have gathered observational data on a peer’s performance, ask for one or two volunteers to provide feedback.
- Prompt the volunteers to first provide positive feedback and then provide constructive feedback.
- Ask all participants to share their completed assessment tool with comments with the performer.
- Continue the observation and feedback activity for the next participant.
Example
Every few years, the FHWA Discipline Council conducts peer reviews. The disciplines represent 22 technical fields including construction, safety, environment, human resources, etc. The peer review assessments evaluate the health of the discipline—identify its areas of strength, challenge, and improvement—and any best practices or lessons learned that should be implemented by all disciplines. The peer assessments feature a rating system and data collection form. To provide a wide perspective, representatives from the disciplines are assigned the roles of both reviewers and receivers so they are exposed to the practices of at least two other disciplines. Peer reviews can be conducted virtually using SharePoint Online and MS Teams platforms. The FHWA Discipline Council uses the results from the peer reviews to inform its action plan and strengthen its overall Discipline Support System.