Today one mother showed me a corrected test, which her son received from his teacher.
Underneath the summary of points and the mark she wrote for him the following:
“Why did you not study for this test? You have wasted all the time and effort that I have put into my lessons, because you were so lazy. If I tell you to write a text as an exercise, just do it. Next time if you again did not listen to me, I will not even take the time to read your answers of your test.”
Besides totally missing the point of giving feedback in order to improve, the teacher has violated numerous rules of communication with students.
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Give positive feedback before criticizing
Surely there were some things done right, tell them first! This can open a door that might critic to be accepted easier. Even if a test was failed completely, it must be possible to start off encouragingly (minimum: “dear…”)
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Do not ever jump to conclusions.
How does he or she even know that the student did not study for that test? Maybe the student did not understand something and had sat there for hours to try and figure things out. If this was the case, the accusation of the teacher could easily be taken by the student as an excuse to not study at all, as the effort went unappreciated (“why should I sit and study, it doesn’t matter anyways”).
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Do not judge
Even though we are living in judgmental times (#likes) such judgments like being lazy, not having studied and so on, are statements that usually drive people away, ask for defensive action and close up communication. Instead of judging, clear unevaluated observations could be made (vocabulary not correctly used, specific operations not applied etc)
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Do not ever build your interaction on guilt
Let’s take it very plain here. To put effort and time in lessons is part of the job of a teacher. The same goes for giving constructive feedback. It is important to understand any test or exam as a feedback for the teacher also. If one thinks that a student failed a test because of not being motivated to study for the test, what does that mean to the professional understanding of the teacher? Guilt like judgment changes the position of the person that gives these on. It makes the person feel superior. How will a partnership for the learning process be established if the two “partners” are not communicating from the same ground?
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Do not threat
Beside a threat in any way being unacceptable and always being a half way to psychological coercive forms of abuse (if not already there), it also shows the complete helplessness of this teacher. Like with the guilt here it gives clear signs that the teacher has some unfulfilled needs (appreciation, less pressure at work etc.) that he or she is projecting into the students. The problem here is: The teacher is the adult. If there are unsatisfied needs laying underneath a certain set of feelings, the teacher should address them at appropriate places/persons.
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Show empathy
Sometimes I wonder, as most of the teachers once have been students themselves, this could be rather easy, couldn’t it? Before giving feedback, a good teacher should always rethink the points to be mentioned in regards to how does it feel to receive such feedback? What could the bad mark by itself already mean for the student? Is there any help that could be offered? Might there be any background information to this student that needs to be considered? Students – as teachers- are human beings with feelings and needs. To acknowledge this fact can be a start to an empathic professional relationship.
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Give solutions
While it is one thing to point out the mistakes -this should go without saying- that the intention of any feedback must be showing a way out. Pointing out answers to the question “what next?” can be a start to help wiping out this bad mark. Offering help or an appointment to discuss the result might also be a possibility.
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Giving feedback is teaching
What could a student learn from above mentioned feedback? Is this really what I want to teach a student? A teacher is always teaching in all matters and circumstances. That means giving feedback is a technique that we teach our students also every day. It is a skill they will need and use for their entire life. Understanding that here is given an excellent learning opportunity by using positive communication skills in order to teach respect, empathy and constructive criticism.
Teaching is leadership. First and foremost it is self -leadership, that will enable to guide the students. It is essential to consciously build and maintain a positive relationship with the students, by understanding their needs and being aware of own needs and a respectful way of communicating both.
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