Sixth doctoral commandment: learn from the feedback
by Constance Davis | February 1, 2010
Too often (and once is too often) I see learners who become quite upset over the feedback they receive on their comprehensive exams or their dissertation chapters. Those learners do have a choice: they can choose to ignore the feedback and make the process more difficult, or they can learn from the feedback (even embrace the feedback) and improve their writing skills.
I have told more than one advisee to grow a thicker skin and to change their attitude about the feedback. We can all improve our writing – no matter how well we write. Writing comprehensive exams and dissertations requires everyone to step up their level of writing. Everyone gets feedback on their comps and their dissertation chapters. The question is what do they do with that feedback? Do they acknowledge that the feedback is a fair comment on their writing or do they become defensive and refuse to accept the suggestions offered for improvement?
A few years ago I taught a series of writing classes. I have never believed in grade inflation, so some of my learners were astonished that the highest grade in the class for the first assignment was a C. Unfortunately, some of the learners in that first class had routinely gotten an A on all of their papers – and the only feedback had been “good job.” If I had graded writing papers like that, I would not have been working 60 to 90 hours a week to provide serious feedback. But I would not have been trying to help my learners improve their writing, either.
The learners in that class responded to the feedback in a variety of ways. Some thought I could not have possibly known anything because I was failing them rather than giving them the A they had been used to. Those learners also failed to apply the feedback to future assignments, so their failing grades remained failing grades.
Some responded to those parts of the feedback where they could make a quick fix, but chose not to respond to all of it.
And the third group was exemplified by the learner who showed up in my office after my final grades had been submitted one term. He told me bluntly that when he got that C in his first class with me he had hated me. His feedback in previous classes had never gone beyond “good job” and he routinely got his A. But, he actually read the feedback I had provided, and saw that if he applied it, he really would improve his writing. He took the feedback seriously and he got better and better grades on his assignments. He then took additional writing courses from me and kept applying the feedback.
He built himself a “cheat sheet” in which he noted the kinds of mistakes he had been making. Yes, the list kept growing, but the important thing was that he was not repeating the same mistakes in each subsequent assignment. Pretty soon I was having a harder and harder time finding ways to help him improve his writing – which is the position all who teach writing want to reach. The learner thanked me profusely for the feedback that had turned him into a very solid writer. I thanked the learner for actually reading and applying the feedback.
Are you defensive when you get feedback? Or do you look forward to the next round of feedback because you know every suggestion from your mentor or committee members is going to help you improve your writing?