Feedback Strategies

For this feedback strategies assignment, I browsed through some of the previous feedback comments in the Diigo Library and read the article The Trouble with "Amazing." What I realized was that some of the opinion I mentioned in my previous post about feedback thoughts, such as being very specific and constructive, are actually very popular and common. From what I read in the gallery, it seems that previous students agree that specific comments are the most productive, regardless of whether they are pointing things to improve or some that are already perfect. The fact that they are specific makes it easier for us to either replicate what works or change what doesn't, rather than having to decipher and overly vague comment. I also really enjoyed the article about the trouble with using the word amazing. The article did cover some of the same ideas, as it does mention that general praise is unspecific and therefore unproductive, but it also made some other really good points, such as the fact that it praises the person and not the effort. 

This idea is very linked to growth mindset, which we have previously explore din this course, but it also reminds me of an article I was recently reading. The article talked about how depressed young adults that struggle with procrastination are often kids that were once considered a little genius or "advanced for their age." This is because academic work and other skills usually came easy to them as kids, thus the tasks required very little effort. This therefore meant that any praise these kids received was mostly about how smart they were and "oh my goodness you are such a great student!" creating the idea that they had been born that way rather than worked for it. Now, as young adults, whenever something does not come naturally easy and actually requires work and effort, these previously-gifted-kids find themselves unable to work and putting it off because "if it didn't come easy then I am not good at it." These kids never developed good coping skills or a way to work through their issues because (and here is the connection to the new article) parents and teachers praised them as kids, not their effort. Well, that was a long rant, can you tell that this is something I deeply relate to? In any case, I love some good and specific feedback as long as it is truly well-intentioned and will help the person get better. 

Growth Mindset Memes