#  Feedback vs. evaluation: Getting past the reluctance to deliver negative feedback 

 



   ![Keith Baker](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/vpl/files/bakercropped.jpg?itok=Sa-0b3D6) 

 

When **Dr. Keith Baker, Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Anesthesia Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital,** gives medical residents feedback, he emphasizes a “learning orientation” (where the goal is mastery), rather than a “performance orientation” (where the goal is validation of abilities).

## The benefits

[Framing feedback with a learning orientation](https://youtu.be/BGLvyO72LVo?t=3m52s) creates a supportive learning environment where the instructor and student share the goal of improvement and believe that effort and strategy are the tools to achieve it. Feedback is diagnostic information used to know what and how to improve. “A learning orientation is critical for tolerating negative feedback and strongly influences how you give and receive feedback.”

## The challenges 

There is an obligatory “uncomfortableness” in giving and receiving negative feedback. “Think about it – how do *you* feel about giving or receiving negative feedback?”



 

##  Takeaways and best practices 

 



 ### Distinguish evaluation from feedback

Distinguish evaluation from feedback (and make sure students understand the concepts). Evaluation is a judgment, often compared to others, which does not inherently improve performance. Feedback is information delivered with the sole aim of improving performance, irrespective of the current level of performance.



 

 ### Feedback is more effective when delivered at the conclusion of a task when the learner can give it their full attention, rather than in the moment when their mind is occupied.

 

 ### Learners can mitigate the “mum effect” 

Learners can mitigate the “[mum effect](http://www.jstor.org/stable/2786156)” – a bias to deliver only praise – by asking the instructor what *they* would have done differently, or by asking how *they* would do it differently if *they* had to do it again next week.



 

  

 

 

 

### Bottom line 

Thoughtful, appropriately timed feedback designed to help the learner improve is critical because learners cannot rely on self-assessment. Training students to consistently seek and utilize feedback will improve their performance, whether in the medical field or beyond.



 

##  Related research 

 



  [### Use of a Social Annotation Platform for Pre-Class Reading Assignments in a Flipped Introductory Physics Class

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_2a22610bbac2444c8d335e9804bd22cd) In this paper, we illustrate the successful implementation of pre-class reading assignments through a social learning platform that allows students to discuss the reading online with their classmates. We show how the platform can be used to understand how... 

 

 

   [### Seven principles for good practice in midterm student feedback

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_proquest_journals_2462368977) Midterm student feedback is a common process in post-secondary institutions that can lead to enhanced teaching practices and thereby potentially to higher ratings of instructional skills in summative course evaluations. 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Research arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresearch) 

 

 

 

##  Related resource 

 



  [### Debate as Pedagogy

 ](/links/debate-pedagogy) Interested in learning more about how Harvard professors encourage debate in their classrooms? Read or watch these reflections from VPAL’s 2017 Debate as Pedagogy event featuring Charles Nesson. 

 

 

   [### Berkman Klein Center’s Nymspace Platform. 

 ](https://cyber.harvard.edu/projects/nymspace) Are you convinced and want to implement anonymous discussions in your classroom? Check out the Berkman Klein Center’s Nymspace Platform. 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Resources arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresources) 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ HMS ](/featured-faculty/hms)
- [ Into Practice Issues ](/practice-categories/practice-issues)
- [ Discussion ](/topics/discussion)
- [ Feedback ](/topics/feedback)