Learning from feedback

Think about the feedback you received on your most recent project. Was it helpful? Could you have made it more helpful by asking for clarification? Could you have done something about it like reading and responding to the feedback? Or was it one of these common forms of frustrating feedback? Let’s discuss a few feedback situations.

"Feedback was overwhelming and felt negative"

Remember:

Your marker is pushing you to do the best you can. Marking is very time-intensive and there isn't always room to consider your feelings.
Academics critique their colleagues' work in the same way, to raise the standard for publication. The priority is to get it right.
It's not personal! It may feel that way, but the marker is probably concentrating on the content, not the author. Learn to take criticism for what it is: a signpost and invitation to doing even better.

Reflect on the feedback you have received and consider how to deal with it and use it in the future.

"I got a disappointing mark, but all the feedback was positive"

What you've written is good, but the marker would probably like to see more:

Depth
Analysis
Development of ideas
Structure

Have a careful look to see where you are not providing these. If you're still unclear, make an appointment with your marker (if possible) or tutor and ask how you can do better next time. Learn to put yourself in the marker's position.

"Plenty of feedback, but I'm struggling to convert it into actual changes"

Very often you may be too close to your own work to step back and recognise where you went wrong. Leave some time, and then look again or get a friend to review it for you.

It also helps to prioritise changes if you find the feedback overwhelming:

Try to identify two or three general points you can learn from.
Create an action plan around these and expand it as you get more feedback.
Consider common pieces of feedback and how you might address them.
Explore a system for categorising your feedback.