Making the most of Feedback Chris Doye Institute for Academic Development University of Edinburgh 2012
Your questions Write one question on the card that you want this workshop to answer and then put your card in the box.
Individual task Answer the questions on the hand-out Nobody else will read what you have written although you may share your answers if you wish
What might it mean?
Group questions What is feedback? What is it for? Can you give some examples? When is it most helpful?
Working definition How happy are you with this definition? Feedback (or forward) is input that helps us to assess where we are right now and to see how to move forward. Is there anything you would add, delete or change? We can come back and do this at any time.
Be active about feedback Think about what kind of feedback you need Think about all the ways you might get it, e.g. Prepare for a lecture – what do YOU need from it? Prepare for a tutorial What do you want to understand better? What ideas do you want to explore? If they dont come up, can you ask someone? Use peer support, friends, study groups Use self-feedback techniques
Do you understand it? What can you do if you dont understand the feedback you get?
Carrying feedback forward Keep a brief record of your feedback, target actions as relevant, look at the record before a new assignment /course: What will and wont be useful for the new assignment/course? Look for what you did well Why was it good? What other contexts will/wont this be helpful in? Where you had problems or weaknesses Is it a major or a minor concern? Are there suggestions for how to improve? (This may be given to the whole class if its a common problem) Do you understand what you can do?
Making the most of feedback How would you define or explain feedback? What is helpful to continue about the way you gain and use feedback? In what new ways might it be useful to try to get feedback? In what new ways might it be helpful to try to use feedback? For more advice about feedback, go to the Enhancing feedback pages of the university website: