Feedback and Feed-Forward

So whilst everyone is finishing up their exams, I thought I’d write a post about feedback and the importance of getting it whenever you accomplish a task.

Finishing a piece of work, an interview, an exam, brings with it so much relief and joy that it is near impossible to find the urge to remember it once it’s done. However, it is always important to think about improvement and moving forward. An example I would use was how I scrutinised most of my first year essays in order to enhance the quality for my second year. My coursework always came with feedback and it was interesting spotting some of the easy errors I had made. Most of the time, it was related to analyses and providing more relevant detail. This was something I kept in mind throughout the rest of my essays for the rest of second and third year and it allowed me to produce better quality work.

Similarly, I once completed an assessment centre and I contacted them for feedback. They highlighted certain skills or habits I could refine so I attended all my future ones with a better sense of where I was strongest and how I could adapt my weaker points. I have to say, this isn’t always easy, especially when the assessment hasn’t gone well. I do stress that it is even more important in that type of situation. Knowing your mistakes will make sure that you don’t make them again – so you can own them next time!

Fortunately, feedback is always available with most pieces of work being marked through the online system and comments being available for students to view. I do wish there was a way that exam feedback could be more transparent and comprehensive, but from my experience, my module convenors have always provided a breakdown of how the year group did as a whole after the exam is moderated. In terms of career-related feedback, it is always important to show progress, so seeing a shortage on your skillset and being able to demonstrate that it was something you recognised and worked on will certainly work in your favour during those interviews.

Back to revision I go. I hope you guys have a great week!