Feedback Strategies

The first article I read was called Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job. The article contained some information that was new to me. It suggested that saying "good job" and other forms of praise are generally not good for the children we say it to.

The main points of the article were about the negative effects of constant praise. For example, when a child receives praise all the time, they become dependent on the praise to maintain their self esteem and interest in the activity. If the the praise stops they tend to become disinterested in the activity, and often need emotional support. Also, praise tends to be a conditional support. When you say "I'm proud of you", that implies that a poor performance would make you not proud of the child. This tends to have negative effects.

The second article I read was Be a Mirror. As the title implies, it suggests that we should provide feedback in a way that truly reflects what we are providing feedback about.

One of the main points from this article is "taking yourself out of the feedback". I think this is really valuable because so often we are giving feedback that puts the spotlight on us. We should keep the spotlight on the person seeking feedback. Another point was to focus on what the content HAS, not what it doesn't have. Basically, just provide feedback on what the person wants feedback for.

Quality advice for those receiving feedback - dietjustice blog