Hi Everyone, I'm Holly - the Vice President Academic and whilst I was pondering on what to write my article on, I figured I should do something slightly related to my role. Feedback is important to me generally, not just in the context of academic study. So, I came to the conclusion to focus this article on feedback and use this as an opportunity to explore what feedback is, and why it’s important.
WHY Care about feedback?
Hi Everyone, I'm Holly - the Vice President Academic and whilst I was pondering on what to write my article on, I figured I should do something slightly related to my role. Feedback is important to me generally, not just in the context of academic study. So, I came to the conclusion to focus this article on feedback and use this as an opportunity to explore what feedback is, and why it’s important. Feedback is a vital process we’re lucky to participate in as students. It's important because in many ways it’s actually the driving force between our learning.
According to a quick Google search 'Feedback' is defined as 'information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement'. In other terms, feedback is essentially an opportunity to provide advice on areas for enhancement or to note how well something has been done. Now that we’ve defined what feedback is, it is also crucial to understand the types of feedback that we may expect to receive (1):
It's also worth noting that, feedback is something that exists beyond the academic world and is something we will use in our day-to-day lives – both professionally and personally. So why is it important?
Essentially, when you boil it down, feedback is about learning (2). It provides a learning opportunity to gain further insight into our strengths, behaviours, areas for enhancement, as well as, how our actions can have an impact on others. Receiving feedback gives us a precious chance to reflect, review and reset (where necessary).
Making feedback a key tool for us to improve in both our professional (career-focused) and personal development.
Specifically at Heriot-Watt, there has been the creation and introduction of the Action Feedback Protocol (AFP). The AFP has been designed to inform, empower and encourage students to make the most of the feedback they receive by helping them understand what feedback is all about.
The academics leading the AFP project are busy studying data from students all around the UK and they’ve found that when students engage with educational materials on feedback students usually realise that there is more to feedback than they first thought. They also realise that there are key messages they should be looking out for in their feedback to help them learn.
So, what should we be looking out for when we receive feedback, according to the research? It boils down to three key things (3):
For students, it’s valuable to understand the behind-the-scenes process on how you can expect your feedback to be delivered. Actually, the AFP is being adopted at universities across the UK and academics are being helped to deliver their feedback in such a way that supports students to make sense of and take action on their feedback.
To support YOUR feedback, there is a wide range of resources that is available; Making the Most of Feedback
The page linked above provides a range of tools and materials that you can use to better understand feedback, and how to take the next steps to act on it (4).
Now to wrap up this article, you might still be wondering why bother to look at feedback? According to recent research, feedback can have a significant impact on your own learning, BUT only if it is used by students (5).
On a more personal note, and (I hope it is evident throughout the article) – feedback is something that should be expected and sought after, it is absolutely crucial that it is made available. We all have a key role to play, within the University and Student Union in ensuring that you, as students, feel well supported in understanding and acting on your feedback provided.
References
1 - https://www.betterup.com/blog/types-of-feedback / https://leaders.com/articles/business/types-of-feedback/
2 - https://www.sussex.ac.uk/organisational-development/leadership-management/giving-feedback
3 - https://heriotwatt.sharepoint.com/sites/CADToolkit/SitePages/The-Action-Feedback-Protocol.aspx
4 - https://heriotwatt.sharepoint.com/sites/skillshub/SitePages/Making-the-most-of-feedback.aspx
5 - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2015.1130032 / https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1469787419872393#bibr56-1469787419872393)