Giving Feedback to Foster Revision
by Beverly Grose

Mistakes Lead to a Process called Revision!

How do people learn? I have found no real learning occurs without making mistakes.

Yet, people in our competitive culture don't like making mistakes. How can you encourage the learner to venture into the new and unknown learning experience and still foster a feeling of safety? How can you encourage a joy for learning while maintaining high expectations from your learners?

The UTD Rhetoric department has embraced several innovative methods that enhance the difficult path of learning something new and difficult. The Learning Record Online offers a well-researched method that provides an innovative writing process between learner and instructor. The Learning Record Online Teacher's Tour

When the instructor and student meet at a conference to discuss the student's paper, this meeting offers the student an opportunity to learn that mistakes only lead to a process called revision. With the instructor's help, the revision process is enriched with appropriate feedback. In addition, the instructor can encourage the learner with strategies that improve the writing and revision process.

During this learning process, how do you help your students handle negative evaluations?

First, instructors need to realize a learner can interpret evaluative comments in a hurtful and unhelpful way as a reflection on him or herself as a person (I'm a failure; I can't do anything right; why did I decide to go to college?). Even if the instructor tells them, “This is not about you;” well, it is about them to a certain extent. You may even consider how you handle less than positive feedback. More than likely you don't jump for joy.

We're going to assume, of course, that the instructor's comments were offered from an attitude of trying to teach and not an attitude of disdain for the learner. We are also going to assume that the learner has worked hard, and did the best work possible with his or her current abilities.

Often, a learner who has worked hard on a project will be unpleasantly surprised to learn that their work wasn't as good as he or she expected. In some cases, no matter what you do, the learner may initially be disappointed, discouraged or displeased.

How can you minimize the hurtful reaction and maximize the quick bounce-back effect for learners within the framework of the excellent and innovative Learning Record Online process?

First, always point out the strong points of the learner's project before you mention the weak areas. Once you and the learner have discussed the weak aspects of the paper, again point out more strong points from the learner's paper or classroom activities. As Mary Poppins said, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!"

As often as you can, give the learner a Positive - Negative - Positive feedback. Hopefully, this will minimize the negative reactions and maximize a quick bounce-back effect for learners.

When learners make mistakes, occasionally compliment them! Wow, you made a mistake! Now you are on your way to really being a pro at writing! When you compliment the mistakes of your learners, you may hear a surprised laugh.
Try to approach the disappointed or discouraged learners empathetically. For example, the University of North Carolina 's excellent Writer's Tips web site offers the following comments to learners:

Your history professor just handed back your essay on the Civil War. Next to your introductory paragraph, she's written in red ink, "What is your argument??" Sound familiar?

Your English T. A. seems to be obsessed with something called a "thesis" and the lack of one in your papers. Confused?

Welcome to the world of college academic expectations! Gone are the days when a well-written summary of a novel or an accurate description of a historical event earned a favorable evaluation from your teachers. Now they expect more from you. The hallmark of a college education is the ability to think critically, and the proof of this ability lies in your successful construction of argumentative essays that stake out and support a position persuasively. Fine, but what does that mean, exactly? How do you "stake out" a position? What is a "thesis statement?" Constructing Thesis Statements

The instructor who wrote this information helps by sincerely commiserating with the frustrated learner and then offering helpful information that will teach them how to write a better argument paper the next time. Notice that empathy is combined with high writing standards. The writer of this article also makes the point to learners that they're not alone in receiving a less than stellar evaluation. This is liberating to discouraged learners.

When you create a coaching partnership with the learner, you can conclude the semester with a comment that will make learners leave your class with a smile and with the knowledge that they did, indeed, learn something of value. "Dear learner, your final project was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"

Your learners may compliment you by saying, "Wow, you actually taught me to write a great argument paper! You're hard but fair!" Five stars for you!

Three Excellent Writing Web Sites

• University of North Carolina
  The University of North Carolina has one of the best and most sympathetic writing sites for struggling academic writers. These articles coach and encourage the writer with detailed information along with practical examples and models of excellent writing.
• Essays and Arguments: A Handbook on Writing Argumentative and Interpretative Essays by Ian Johnston
  Johnson's free e-book book offers a multitude of short examples of arguments and interpretations ranging from excellent to poor that he has gathered from essays and research papers. He has demanding views of what is excellent. In addition, his examples of poor writing will make many writers groan a bit as they recognize some of their favorite techniques.
• Writing Arguments about Literary Works
  Johnson's chapter on writing arguments about literary works is helpful.

Provided by:
Beverly Grose, a M. A. student at The University of Texas at Dallas where she specializes in Studies in Literature. She earned a B. A. in English and Secondary Education from the University of Charleston. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, health educator, multimedia training developer and currently, teaches Introduction to Multimedia at Richland College.