How do you deal with feedback overload or conflicting feedback in active learning?

Feedback serves various purposes including offering information, guidance, encouragement, or evaluation, and can be categorized as formative or summative, descriptive or prescriptive, and positive or negative, among others. When faced with an abundance or conflicting feedback, understanding the purpose behind each piece of feedback and its relevance to your objectives is crucial. For instance, peer feedback might be more geared towards formative and descriptive aspects, whereas feedback from an instructor could lean more towards summative and prescriptive insights.

Clarifiez d’abord l’objectif de chaque retour. S’agit-il de conseils constructifs ou d’évaluations finales ? Pour éviter la surcharge et les conflits, hiérarchisez selon l’impact sur vos objectifs d’apprentissage. Priorisez les feedbacks instructifs et formatifs des pairs pour progresser, et ceux plus normatifs des instructeurs pour évaluer vos acquis. Scott Belsky, expert en productivité, conseille de filtrer les retours selon leur pertinence immédiate pour rester efficace et focalisé.

Once you put something out there or you stand in front of a group and make something known, whether you are teaching kids, training new recruits or even speaking with friends. Every time we communicate we get feedback so I suggest 1st thing is assess what you are putting out there vs the kind of feedback you might receive. Brace yourself mentally to remove all emotional barriers to the feedback so that you can be objective enough to extract the parts that actually serve the purpose of which you intent the feedback to give.

The Power of Feedback Feedback serves a multifaceted role in learning, providing information, guidance, encouragement, or evaluation. The type of feedback required depends on its purpose: formative or summative, descriptive or prescriptive, positive or negative, and qualitative or quantitative. To navigate feedback overload or conflicting perspectives, it's essential to discern the purpose of each feedback source and how it aligns with your learning objectives. For instance, peer feedback often offers formative and descriptive insights, while instructor feedback may be more summative and prescriptive. By understanding the intent of different feedback sources, learners can effectively leverage them to enhance their learning and growth.

Utilisez Trello ou Notion pour trier et hiérarchiser les feedbacks. Créez des catégories par pertinence, validité et utilité. Classez-les selon leur importance, urgence, et difficulté. Priorisez les commentaires impactant directement vos objectifs d'apprentissage. Comme le souligne Nir Eyal, expert en productivité, un bon triage des informations vous permet de rester focalisé et de maximiser votre efficacité.

In previous project, this step was the most crucial. Segmenting and classifying feedback reduce noise signals and increase the accuracy of further learning. Topic modeling, similarity metrics and other statistical techniques can be used here.

Organizing and Prioritizing Feedback Once the purpose of feedback is established, it's crucial to organize and prioritize it based on relevance, validity, and usefulness. Tools like tables, charts, or matrices can aid in sorting and comparing feedback from various sources. Ranking feedback by importance, urgency, or difficulty can further streamline the process, ensuring that the most relevant and valuable feedback takes precedence. By effectively organizing and prioritizing feedback, learners can avoid distractions from less important or contradictory information and focus on the insights that will truly enhance their learning.

Utilisez l'analyse SWOT pour structurer les commentaires : identifiez les forces, faiblesses, opportunités et menaces. Analysez les écarts pour comprendre les divergences. Recherchez des thèmes récurrents et des modèles. Intégrez ces analyses pour optimiser votre apprentissage. Reid Hoffman, co-fondateur de LinkedIn, recommande de tirer parti des feedbacks en trouvant des tendances et en agissant rapidement pour s'adapter et progresser efficacement.

Analyzing and Synthesizing Feedback Once feedback is organized and prioritized, it's essential to analyze and synthesize it to gain valuable insights. SWOT analysis, gap analysis, and reflection questions can be employed to examine feedback from various perspectives. By identifying patterns, themes, or discrepancies, learners can gain a deeper understanding of the feedback and its implications. This process facilitates the integration of feedback into the learning process, leading to improved performance and growth.

Acting on Feedback: The Final Step The culmination of the feedback and reflection cycle lies in the implementation of actionable steps. Utilizing SMART goals, action plans, or revision checklists, learners can transform feedback into concrete actions and track their progress. Seeking additional feedback or support from peers, instructors, or other resources can further enhance the improvement process. By actively incorporating feedback into their work, learners can cultivate their skills, knowledge, and overall performance, ultimately maximizing the benefits of active learning.

I use the Communication Model in class to drive home the importance of feedback and how to effectively reflect and make changes for the following "input" or class work.

The Power of Reflection The feedback and reflection cycle is incomplete without the crucial step of reflecting on the feedback received and its impact on learning. Journals, portfolios, or self-assessments can be employed to document and evaluate the feedback experience and outcomes. Sharing these reflections with peers, instructors, or others can provide additional insights and perspectives. By reflecting on feedback, learners can learn from their mistakes, celebrate achievements, and identify future goals, ultimately enhancing their active learning journey.

Active learning is all about encouraging feedback, but as stated, this could sometimes lead to feedback overload. So, how do we mitigate the risk of feedback overload? One effective strategy would be to set constraints on the quantity of feedback or contributions allowed for a specific question. e.g. "Only 3 answers per question". Additionally, it would be beneficial to diversify participation by avoiding consistently choosing the same learners to respond. This approach fosters a more inclusive environment, encouraging even the overshadowed learners to actively contribute.