What if I have them keep a feedback journal?
Been reflecting on feedback. Actually, it is something I spend a lot of my “reflection reserves” on, for I think it is the sweet spot between teacher and student, so I think about it a lot. It is the place where growth can happen. Can? Yes, can. Why not does? Because it depends. On the response. They respond to my tASK (I call assignments “asks”). I respond to their work. They respond to my response. I respond to the response of my response. And they respond to the response of my response to their response of my response. And I respond…okay, I’ll stop.
My point? It’s about response. Teaching is responding. Learning is responding. That’s the process at its simplest. It’s a shared experience of back and forth between teacher and learner. But, as we know, simple is not simple. Feedback and the response process is nuanced, messy, complicated…it’s human. And it is with this humanness in mind that I approach my work and my students, focusing on the “how” of my say as much as the “what” of my say. I figure I have about 3 seconds to get and keep their attention, not in the compliant, pay-attention-to-me sense but rather in the committed, trust-my-intention sense. So, I watch my words.
But doesn’t that take too much time? Yes and no. Yes, practicing the pause before I write to consider the human on the other side and pausing again to consider the same before I send, takes time. But no, there are ways to streamline common comments and hand them off with a simple “please” to begin and a sincere “thank you” to end. Generic, then? Yes, when I can be. But we can still be sincere, and I find that most people young and old respond to please and thank you. But it still takes time? Yes, of course it does, and the time it takes is largely guided by the learner. For some kids, respond4 is sufficient. But for others it can be respond10. But regardless what “power” it takes, response fatigue can occur, because kids don’t have much response fitness, they are conditioned for completing transactions for grades, not responding for learning. I spoke to this a bit yesterday, as I felt their fatigue setting in.
We are learning to live with each other in the learning process. In person, I can help the human side of it more easily with constant reassurance, but at a distance, this “help” comes a little harder. And I have to find ways to encourage and reassure as we find our feedback fitness.
Okay, so I began with the question, “What if I have them keep a feedback journal?” but I never got there, and now I am out of time, so I will pick it up tomorrow. Sorry. That’s the problem sometimes with early AM reflections. Tomorrow the journal. Promise.
Happy Tuesday, all.
Do. Reflect. Do Better.