Infographic: A Making Reflection

I found this graphic at a blog post by Jackie Gerstein: The Mindset of the Maker Educator. The cycle of production and reflection that is a natural part of the making process is a great example of the growth mindset in action!

A Making Reflection

(visit the blog post for full-sized version)

• Was I resourceful in terms of finding information, resources, and materials?
• Did I ask other people for feedback and information, to collaborate?
• Did I share my work and findings with others?
• Did I learn something new?
• Did I play and have fun?
• Did I try to either make something better or create something new, rather than just copy something that already exists?
• Did I approach learning as an open-ended process, open to new and all possibilities?
• Did I accept failure as part of the process and use it to inform my learning?

What Great Listeners Actually Do

This infographic is inspired by research presented in this article from Harvard Business Review: What Great Listeners Actually Do by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman.

Here are the four main conclusions emphasized in the article:

• Good listening is much more than being silent while the other person talks.
• Good listening included interactions that build a person’s self-esteem.
• Good listening was seen as a cooperative conversation.
• Good listeners tended to make suggestions.

Be sure to read the article for many more valuable observations!

The sketchnote is by Tanmay Vora: Leadership and The Art of Effective Listening.

What Great Listeners Actually Do
Jack Zenger, Joseph Folkman
1. Ask questions that promote discovery and insight. Two-way dialog. Constructive.
2. Interactions that build self-esteem. Create a safe environment.
3. A Cooperative Conversation. Feedback flows in both directions. Challenge/disagree without making other person defensive.
4. Make suggestions skillfully. That open up alternative paths.
Good listener is not a sponge that absorbs, but a trampoline to bounce ideas off.
Levels of Listening:
1. Create a safe environment to discuss.
2. Clear away distractions and make eye contact.
3. Understand the substance. Ask questions. Confirm.
4. Observe non-verbal clues. 80% of communication.
5. Understand emotions and feelings about topic. Empathize.
6. Help other person to see issue in different light.

* One disclaimer: I am not a fan of these faux statistics like "80% of communication is non-verbal." All components of communication are important, and any mindfulness you can bring to bear in communication is valuable, no need for faux percentages.

Optimizing Feedback

There's an article by Katie Dunn that accompanies this infographic at DailyGenius: The teacher’s guide to optimizing student feedback. The article is focused on specific advice for teachers, but it is something useful for all learners to think about: how can you make yourself an active participant in the feedback that you are receiving? How can you use the feedback in order to guide your own learning and development?

Here is a great quote from the article:

Feedback should encourage students to be active in taking the feedback and making their work better, not just consuming teacher comments or correct answers.

I've transcribed the infographic below.

Optimizing Feedback: Putting the Ball in the Student's Court

• Help students be active in their feedback instead of passively consuming it
• Give less feedback; get better results
• Develop critical thinking and problem skills
• See feedback as opportunity, not negativity / criticism
• Involve and engage students in learning from their mistakes
• Expand on ideas, collaborate with peers

Transformation #1. Rather than writing a number of comments on the student's work, the teacher writes one overall comment identifying general areas of improvement. The student then reads those comments and must go back through their work to identify specific areas that need improvement.

Transformation #2. The teacher writes multiple notes in the student's work, but does not offer an overall comment or specific items to be changed or improved. The student then summarizes the teacher's commentaries and uses that to identify specific areas of improvement.

Transformation #3. Identify the "great" parts of a student's work without identifying specific reasons why it was great, elements it included, etc. The student then must identify the "why" in each instance.

Transformation #4. Rather than giving a correct answer or solution to a student's incorrect response, identify that the response is incorrect, and have the student correct it. Give hints if necessary.

Transformation #5. Create a group or pair peer assessment activity. The teacher will give some general comments about the work, and the peers should identify some specific areas where that feedback would apply, and the students all work together to improve upon the work.

How to Craft Constructive Feedback

Below I've provided a transcription of How to Craft Constructive Feedback, an infographic at Jenn Gibbs' Invisible Sun (no relation!).

This is feedback in the context of writing workshops, so it is very relevant to my classes, and it is also good advice that can be translated into general teaching terms also.

There's apparently no larger size available, so all the more reason to transcribe. :-)

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

Great things happen when creators and critics synch their expectations for the workshop experience.

When the purpose is self-expression...

Just sharing, thanks. BE A WITNESS. The root of art is a soul talking out loud. Sometimes even advanced artists don't need a critic; they just need a respectful witness for their work. Just listen and say thanks for being trusted.

How's it coming across? BE A MIRROR. When a creator wants more than a smile yet less than a full critique, two questions can open discussion of the audience experience while still focusing on a work's expressive function: "What stood out for you?" and "Was there anything you wanted more of?"

When the purpose is to craft a performance...

BE A GUIDE. Lay it on me. I need to create an experience for an audience and am willing to work for it. *
* And I promise not to sulk if I don't hear what I want to hear.

1. OBSERVE a feature of the work and give examples, using neutral language.
"Ina is dynamic character; you never know what she's going to do. On page 2 she gives the homeless guy $20 but on page 5 she yells at the dishwasher for taking rolls for her kids."

2. DESCRIBE the effect(s) this feature has on you, the audience.
"I didn't know what to expect from Ina next, which was interesting, yet distracting, as I couldn't tell if it was part of her character or an oversight."

3. SUGGEST what the creator might do in revision.
"Having other characters respond to Ina's inconsistency might make this feature a clearer part of who Ina is."

Daring Greatly

This infographic is adapted from Brene Brown's book Daring Greatly, and you might also enjoy her video on empathy.

Here is a transcription:

Daring Greatly

Engaged Feedback Checklist

I know I'm ready to give feedback when:

1. I'm ready to sit next to you rather than across from you.

2. I'm willing to put the problem in front of us rather than between us (or sliding it toward you).

3. I'm ready to listen, ask questions, and accept that I may not fully understand the issue.

4. I want to acknowledge what you do well instead of picking apart your mistakes.

5. I recognize your strengths and how you can use them to address your challenges.

6. I can hold you accountable without shaming or blaming you.

7. I'm willing to own my part.

8. I can genuinely thank you for your efforts rather than criticize you for your failings.

9. I can talk about how resolving these challenges will lead to your growth and opportunity.

10. I can model the vulnerability and openness that I expect to see from you.

from Daring Greatly by Brene Brown.

21 Components of Effective Feedback

This is an infographic for employee feedback, but it works for a school setting too. That is one of the things I believe we should teach students about the feedback process. Learning how to both give and receive feedback is a skill they will need in the workplace where the focus is on continuous improvement, not on final exams and grades.

You will find the transcription of the infographic below, and you will find a discussion about each component in this very useful blog post at Talkdesk by Shauna Geraghty: 21 Components of Effective Feedback.  If you like this infographic, definitely check out the article!

Effective feedback can have a major impact on employee performance. In order to be effective, feedback must be:

appropriate
credible
recurring
appropriate amount
descriptive
proactive
collaborative
tied to performance
guiding
tailored
nonjudgmental
easy to understand
based on data
embedded in the culture
specific
based on behavior
focused
from multiple sources
based on a plan
in many forms
timely

The most effective feedback will contain many (or all) of the aforementioned components. Managers seeking to increase performance with effective feedback should incorporate them into their feedback processes.

Kinicki, Angelo and Kreitner, Robert (2006). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills, and best practices. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Talkdesk.

Seven Things to Remember about Feedback

There are some very useful ideas here! Re: item 2, I personally don't think it's practical to separate praise from feedback (I'm more of a believer in Carol Dweck's notion of "process praise"), and re: item 6, I know students can learn to give excellent feedback (although that takes practice, too, like any kind of skill). Read through the items transcribed below and see what you think.

1. Feedback is not advice, praise, or evaluation. Feedback is information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal. (Grant Wiggins, page 10)

2. If students know the classroom is a safe place to make mistakes, they are more likely to use feedback for learning. (Dylan Williams, page 30)

3. The feedback students give teachers can be more powerful than the feedback teachers give students. (Cris Tovani, page 48)

4. When we give a grade as part of our feedback, students routinely read only as far as the grade. (Peter Johnston, page 64)

5. Effective feedback occurs during the learning, while there is still time to act on it. (Jan Cappuis, page 36)

6. Most of the feedback that students receive about their classroom work is from other students - and much of that feedback is wrong. (John Hattie, page 18)

7. Students need to know their learning target - the specific skill they're supposed to learn - or else "feedback" is just someone telling them what to do. (Susan Brockhart, page 24)

Source. The collecdtive wisdom of authors published in September 2012 issue of Educational Leadership, "Feedback for Learning" (Volume 70, issue 1).