What to do with assessment feedback?

How do you handle negative feedback?

Feedback. We all need it. We all get it. We don’t always like it.

I remember writing my NT2 essay and coming to a very independent conclusion that I thought was well-founded. My lecturer thought otherwise. In my pride, I decided two things: First, he couldn’t handle an unconventional answer, and second, he didn’t understand my position. Some decades later, I now realise that my arguments weren’t all that robust. And if he couldn’t see my conclusions, I hadn’t communicated clearly enough.

I could have done better at accepting the feedback that I needed. So let me share with you a few tips on making the most of the feedback on your assessments.

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What do you do with feedback?

So, how do you receive feedback on your assessments? And when it is unflattering feedback?

As a student, you want to learn content, develop skills, learn to think, and become a man or woman of God. Your lecturers also want that for you, and so they give feedback.

I have been a student and a teacher. I have received and given feedback. I finally understand enough to know how to respond well to it. So now, I pass on to you how to make the most of feedback in your studies, life, and character.

These are my tips on receiving feedback as a student:

1. Want it.

2. Accept it.

3. Act on it.

1. Want it.

I have to want feedback. If I get defensive and ‘put up my affective filters’ (ie, get upset and reject it or decide it is misguided and wrong), I’ve scuttled myself and cannot benefit from it.

First, feedback is a means to growth, and don’t let your emotional reaction hinder your growth. Yes, negative feedback is hard to receive gracefully. But the person you become in your studies is the same person you will become in ministry and relationships. If we don’t grow to take feedback, we will stunt our growth, be of limited usefulness, and be hard to work with. But if we listen, we can expect to grow as students and as people of God.

Second, your markers know what they are talking about. They have marked hundreds or thousands of papers by now. Almost always, they give accurate grades and feedback. They know what good work is, and they want to help you do better work. We are foolish if we refuse to listen to those who are wiser and more experienced than us.

So, want their feedback, even when it is hard.

2. Accept it.

Your tutors know their subject area, so fight the temptation to flatter yourself and assume they got it wrong and your grade should have been better. Resist telling yourself that the feedback was harsh and therefore invalid.

You are a student and a servant of the Lord in formation – in your knowledge and intellect, in your skills and character. Studies are just another area where we show our character.

Feedback typically has two parts:

Feedback on the work you did and an explanation of the grade you earned.

AND

Tips for future improvement – tips from an expert. This is the most important part; this is also the part students most often miss.

Read it. Read it again. If you still don’t understand it, ask your lecturer (with humility) or contact me.

Ask yourself the most essential points:

• What did I get right? How can I continue with that?

• What do I need to improve on? How can I do that?

Make a note of what you can improve next time. And go back to your note before you start your next assessment.

You can only implement one or two changes at a time, so choose and work on the most important. If you consistently make small improvements on most assessments, you will make great strides in one, three, or four years.

Confident students, don’t fool yourself that you are so good you don’t need to improve.

Struggling students, don’t fool yourself that you cannot improve. Don’t give in to the lazy answer, “I’m not academic, so I can’t improve.” Improvement is not just for the academic elites; it’s for all of us, and you can grow, too.

So, accept it, process it, and plan to act on it. You can grow. It takes humility and work, but every Christian should keep growing in these.

3. Act on it.

Finally, you have decided you need feedback, accepted it as valid and as help, and noted a couple of action points.

Now the wise woman or man will take time to review that action plan before their next assessment. I know you are very busy, but the wise consider their ways, while the foolish just rush headlong into the next thing.

Time invested will repay you richly. Time listening, considering, and planning before starting that urgent next assessment will pay dividends in your studies and your character.

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A personal note

The way I responded to feedback at College was the way I responded to feedback in ministry, marriage, and work. I’ve consciously had to struggle to want feedback, accept it, and act on it. Because I’ve usually thought through my positions, I think I am right, and I don’t take kindly to negative feedback. But when I am doing well, I listen to my teachers, to my bosses, and to my wife and children and friends. I know that the wounds of a friend are faithful, and a rebuke uttered in love gives life.

Feedback should shape you as a student, a minister of God’s grace, and a growing saint. Let it do its work.

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