Feedbacks always need not be negative ones. Usually feedbacks are considered as negative remarks only. Effective feedbacks should be life changing and motivating to many. A feedback session must bring a positive change and promise to create a better student. It can be very discouraging and result in negativity within the student if the given feedback is a negative one always.
Good or effective feedbacks pave way for a good learner. The teacher or mentor holds a special place in the student’s heart forever. Encouraging the student with an effective feedback is the duty of all teachers. A proper feedback gives the feeling of victory in a person; it leaves a sense of goodness. An effective feedback should be such that it highlights the essence of the work. Complementing the work should be the priority. Correcting the mistakes done is also effective feedback.
A feedback should be spontaneous one; a delayed feedback has no proper effect on the work. Each one of us is different when it comes to our choice of work. Considering this point, a feedback should be tailor made to suit the individual student exclusively. Some students are very sensitive and some hardly care for any feedback. It is up to the mentor to identify the exclusive requirement of the student and give a proper feedback. Precautions should be taken to make sure there is no damage to self-esteem. Proper boost is the most essential with a balance between not wanting to hurt the feelings of the student.
A one to one meet is the most sought after kind of feedback. It eliminates humiliation and thus keeps the confidence of the student intact. An open feedback is usually embarrassing unless it’s a positive one. In a one to one feedback session, the student is open to clarify his doubts and work on them for better results in the future. Though it is not possible to have a one to one meet for feedbacks, it is the efficiency of the mentor to identify which student needs one. It is better to time such sessions to avoid too long feedbacks. It is good if the mentor makes a note of the points he/she needs to pinpoint and give a feedback on.
The mentor should keep a check on his body language and facial expressions. The students tend to observe these two qualities and can assume a whole lot of things from the gestures. The assumptions can be right or wrong at times. The positive points should be first brought forward to be followed by the negative remarks. Keep the feedback session an interactive one. This will make the feedback effective and engaging. Preplan the feedback session so that students can prepare themselves mentally and come up with any questions if they want to ask. It is not necessary that only the mentor gives the feedback to the student. The fellow students can give an effective feedback to each other. This will create awareness and bring responsibility amount the students.
