Written By: Tim Johnson
ESL + Business Instructor | Aston American University
Feedback from an instructor is an important process of learning. Without feedback, how would you know if you are on the right path? Particularly for an online student such as yourself, what you don’t want to be doing is just going through the motions. Granted, there are some instructors who think that doing a good job grading means that they must point out everything that is wrong with your assignment, without proper explanation. It is understandable that negative feedback can discourage some students as well as create some anger. But understand that instructors do have to provide negative feedback when necessary. If an instructor only provides positive feedback to you, it does your learning a disservice.
What should you do when you receive feedback?
It depends on the type of feedback you receive, but developing communication is key. By responding to feedback, whether it be positive or negative, your instructor will see that you care. In college, there were many instances when I emailed my instructors to both positive and negative feedback that I had received, and it created a dialogue between us. I do believe that in the end, instructors saw that I truly wanted to learn and be the best possible student. However, when you receive feedback from an instructor and do not reply to it, the instructor may think that you didn’t read the message which they tried to convey – especially if you keep making the same mistakes! Then you put yourself at a disadvantage because the instructor may grade you more harshly the next time around.
What should you do when you feel the feedback is too harsh or too negative?
When you respond, don’t get too angry and don’t let your emotions take control of the message you send back to your instructor. Maybe you are looking too much into the message and reading it with a bad tone in your mind. It is nearly impossible to really know through an email the “tone” that was in your instructor’s mind when it was written. You should though, do the following:
1. Open the email with a friendly greeting and acknowledge that you have read their feedback.
2. Ask for suggestions about what you should do if they didn’t tell you in their feedback.
3. Be brief and try to keep your response to a minimum and with clarity.
4. Tell your instructors you will try harder next time and mean it. They want to hear this!
5. Sometimes, it is good to simply tell your instructor what you were thinking when you made the mistake. It can help your instructor find out where you became confused to help correct your thought process. Or maybe your instructor may realize that their directions were not so clear and would need them to be changed.
What should you not do when responding to feedback?
Complain! Most instructors know what it takes to pass a class and get a degree. This is why they are there and teaching you now. If you receive negative feedback, don’t dwell on it. Process it, learn from it, and move on and do better for the next time. Respond every now and then to positive feedback as well. It also lets your instructor know you are reading what they write because positive feedback confirms what you should continue to do. But most importantly, it also helps you develop a professional relationship with your instructor.
