As an instructor and designer, I agree that feedback is a powerful tool that helps create great content that is tailored to end-user's needs. However, there are a few important things we should keep in mind as the ones who often give feedback and get it as well.
As we grow as designers we enhance our empathy and become more mindful of other people's needs and wants. It also makes us more efficient in giving feedback as we learn to use the tools and techniques that allow us to come up with constructive feedback and not make it sound or look offensive. Using feedback capture grid is one of the tools that are perfect for providing useful feedback as it focuses not only on what should be changed or improved but also allows to appreciate the good things about some project. Such a grid usually includes 4 questions which are answered by testing teams, focus groups, or individuals who are asked to share their feedback:
What went well?
What questions about the project do I have?
What needs to be changed?
What new ideas can I suggest?
Here is a video that explains how this tool can be used in online learning and give learners the opportunity to collaborate and share their thoughts online.
I must say there is another aspect related to feedback that is still extremely challenging for me. As a designer and instructor, I know how much time and effort we put into creating something. Whenever I am asked to share my feedback it becomes hard to see those intelligent failures which should constitute the teaching moment of this experience behind the hard work that was done by a designer. While practicing giving feedback in my grad class I noticed how different people are in terms of the time they need to come up with something that can actually help designers. Some people are so fast to pinpoint those details that should be iterated. In my case, it takes twice as much time because I have to first put my emotions aside regarding all the research and work that was done by someone else, and only after that, I can start seeing something that might be improved. If you have the same kind of "unconscious approach", there is one piece of advice I can share here. If you know that you are going to participate as, for example, a referee in some event which requires asking questions and pointing out the areas for improvement especially if the agenda is not the area of expertise, spend some time researching the topics which will be presented. It is great if you are provided with brief descriptions of presentations beforehand. If you are not, there is still a big chance there is a program or agenda description that can give you a clue of what you know about the topics and what requires some research.
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I almost forgot about practicing mindfulness this week. Exhaustion? Deadlines? The end of the academic year coming soon? Maybe... However, this week I am grateful for the nice walks I took in the park, the summer internship that seems to become real, connecting to my family that keeps me sane.
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