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

Feedback Thoughts

The first article I read was A Fixed Mindset Could be Holding You Back. I read it because I really enjoyed the articles over fixed and growth mindset last week. I found myself guilty of having developed a fixed mindset. In reading this article I was hoping to find a little bit more detail about the different mindsets in order to aid my conversion back to a growth mindset.

This article explained how a fixed mindset can cause those who have it to struggle with accepting criticism. I understand how this has manifested in my own life. At one point criticism was not a problem for me, but it has become more of a problem as of late. The article stated that those who are generally successful in their early education are more likely to develop a fixed mindset because everyone praises them for their performance in those stages. It made a lot of sense to me, and I understand now that criticism does not have to be a bad thing. In fact, it should be encouraged as a way to develop myself through the growth mindset.

The second article I read was Why Rejection Hurts so Much. When I initially clicked on this article, I assumed it would be more about business - because I am a business student. After reading a few lines I realized it was regarding a social context, though it could be applied to business as well. The article stated that rejection causes the same mental reaction as physical pain, so it is not surprising that rejection hurts so much. Going further, it suggested that the best way to help when rejection happens is to put yourself around other friends, or call someone who loves you. Also, don't be overly self critical. It is fine to analyze how you could have been better, but self hate is not acceptable, and it is destructive to your mental health.

All in all, both articles were very interesting. I learned from both about how to help myself handle criticism, rejection, and continue developing a growth mindset.

Islam Abudaoud

I love this "feedback cat". I feel like so often we are discouraged from creativity and innovation by rules. Obviously rules are a good thing, but when they limit your creativity it is a problem.