Whenever two terms are juxtaposed like Feedforward Vs. Feedback the natural tendency is to ask which is better, or which term or related method will give us what effects or lead to what consequences. I am going to argue that we want to move toward feedforward rather than fall back on feedback. Why? Feedforward is the formative process of providing educative (Fink, 2013) or forward-looking perspectives (Goldsmith, 2009 & Hattie, 2009) that one can use to build on or improve. Feedforward points to opportunities and provides pathways for improvement and growth. In contrast, feedback is summative because it is backward-looking at what was wrong. It doesn’t generally provide pathways to improvement. At least in the more traditional way that feedback is applied.
We are recommending a move from feedback to feedforward that will include the following :
- Consider the receiver not just the giver of feedback
- Equip the receiver with a growth mindset
- Build a culture of trust
- Adopt a “What worked & What can you do better” approach to feedforward
- Create a significant learning environment that promotes choice, ownership & voice through authentic learning opportunities
Feedforward Vs Feedback Overview
Download and view the Feedforward Asynch.pdf
What evidence is there to support this claim and the recommended process?
We have one of two options when exploring the credibility of these or any claims. The first is to read all the related literature and conduct a detailed analysis that will inform a conclusion and related pros and cons. The second is to find someone who has done this analysis and has summarized the analysis in a tutorial, or a synthesis post like this one.
Considering the Receiver First
The Science of Receiving Feedback
Helping your Learner Adopt a Growth Mindset
Fixed VS Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
The power of believing that you can improve | Carol Dweck
The Power of belief — mindset and success | Eduardo Briceno | TEDxManhattanBeach
Growing a Growth Mindset
In the post How to Grow a Growth Mindset, I point to the key factors and research that show that promoting a growth mindset like one would promote a positive mental attitude will not work and that the growth mindset requires modeling and a significant learning environment that promotes this perspective both in spirit and in structure.
You will find a very useful Fixed vs Growth Mindset graphic and a short comparison of how the Fixed Vs Growth Mindset is equivalent to the Print Vs Digital Information Age on the blog post Fixed Vs Growth Mindset = Print Vs Digital Information Age
Obviously Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is definitely worth the read and should be one of those books that all educators have on their bookshelf or in their Kindle or Audible library.
Learner’s Mindset
Learner’s Mindset – a state of being where people act on their intrinsic capacity to learn and respond to their inquisitive nature that leads to viewing all interactions with the world as learning opportunities. This state enables one to interact with and influence the learning environment as a perpetual learner who has the capacity to use change and challenges as opportunities for growth.
To fully explore the Learner’s Mindset and see how it is different than the growth mindset or the Innovator’s Mindset consider the following:
Learner’s Mindset Explained
Reignite Your Learner’s Mindset
Going Deeper…
Growth Mindset | Never vs Not Yet
Feedforward: Coaching For Behavioral Change
How to Give Feedback to Students
Feedback & Feedforward
Why CSLE+COVA
CSLE+COVA Research
References
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Penguin Random House.
Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass.
Goldsmith, M. (2009). Take It to the next level: What got you here, won’t get you there. Simon & Schuster Audio/Nightingale-Conant.
Goldsmith, M. (2003). Try feedforward instead of feedback. Journal for Quality and Participation, 38–40.
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(81), 81–112.
Hirsch, J. (2017). The feedback fix: Dump the past, embrace the future, and lead the way to change. Rowman & Littlefield.
Stone, D., & Heen, S. (2015). Thanks for the feedback: The science and art of receiving feedback well (even when it is off base, unfair, poorly delivered, and frankly, you’re not in the mood) (Vol. 36). Penguin.
Interesting compilation of information. I must say I have spent many moments thinking about fixed mindset and growth mindset. Without all the research that you have, I just instinctually thought of it as, people who are interesting and people who aren’t. I cannot imagine somebody having a standup jetski, and not taking them up on a chance to ride it. Or somebody who knows a boardgames that they say are awesome and not wanting to try it. What about those who are told there is a free macrame class at the university tonight and deciding the same ol same ol night at home is better. How about people who say they were “bored at home”. How is that even possible? Now I know what the actual term is for these “uninteresting” people. I am also realizing my 8 year old has a growth mindset and my 6 year old is fixed. This course came at a good time! Thanks for the great layout.
Glad you are enjoying the information and seeing how the fixed and growth mindsets are manifest in those around us and even in ourselves.
In this course, I have been introduced to feedforward compared to feedback for the first time, and I am enjoying learning more about this process. I was also surprised when the sandwich method was identified as a nonviable feedback method.
Glad to hear you are finding the ideas we are exposing you to useful.
I found this information to be so impactful. I always considered the sandwich technique of feedback to be best practice, but after learning about feedforward, I’ve reconsidered. Even the language Feedforward instead of feedback gives so much power. This technique can be beneficial in personal and professional relationships.
Glad to hear you are considering looking at feedforward as a new best practice.
This is my first time to be exposed to feedforward vs. feedback, and I really enjoyed learning about this process. I was very excited to see the sandwich technique called out for what it is, a nonviable source of feedback. When introduced to PIPS, my thoughts traveled to thinking it was the same as the sandwich technique, then it was pointed out that these are similar techniques. By taking a real look at these techniques, it really helped me to appreciate what feedforward has to offer. I realized that I unconsciously have used feedforward throughout my career, without realizing there is a designated name for this strategy. This approach would promote more of a growth mindset in individuals which would enhance a positive culture and climate on any campus it is utilized on.
Encouraging people to grow an develop is a much more effective way to help people learn. I like to refer to this as part of the Learner’s Mindset.
I love these “huh, I never thought about it that way before moments”. This is the first time I have been given an opportunity to examine feedback vs, feedforward, and I would be interested seeing or experiencing more examples of feedforward in practice. Also, relieved to set down the sandwiching approach (everyone knows when they are sandwiched!) .
I have a course I am almost finished developing on Feedforward and I also have a book in the works.
As I contemplated the difference of Feedback vs. Feedforward I have come to the conclusion that both are applicable and beneficial under different circumstances. Both concepts are beneficial in terms of reflection and can be used to feed growth. However, I believe the real issue lies with the mindset we approach them. In my classroom, I always provide feedback by pointing out positive aspects along with specific improvements that can be made. I try to set a glow & grow environment that accepts mistakes but feeds growth.
I agree, setting the right context and environment for feedforward and feedback is crucial.
I’ve had to change the feedback that I was giving to students in class. In the past I’d tell them ‘good job’ or ‘that’s not correct’ instead of being specific with what they’ve actually done. When I critique the students’ work on the board, I’ve learned to be more specific with my praise for correctly solving a problem: “I like the way you wrote that out instead of assuming that we just knew what you were thinking.” And when I criticize, I would say, “Well that’s not terrible what you’ve done, but if you reduce your fraction, that would save a lot of calculations later in the problem.”
Giving good feedback or feedforward has changed because of what our students know when they enter the 9th grade has changed. But I do like the idea of providing input to students that is beneficial to help them find their way instead of just saying, “that’s nor correct.”
Making adjustments to the way we provide feedback/feedforward is so important. The power of words from a trusted coach/mentor can make all the difference in the world.
Feedback vs. feedforward is partly a mindset shift. I think there is still a place for feedback. In fact, I feel that in education, there is more and more emphasis put on teacher reflection. That is what I think of when I think of feedback. It is really a reflection on what has already been finished or accomplished. I feel that feedforward is a term that many would consider grouping with a growth mindset. It is the idea that there is always room for improvement in growth, no matter the application.
Yes, you are right; having a mindset shift is key. This is why I advocate for the Learner’s Mindset. I like to view “room for improvement in growth” as simply opportunities for growth.
Having a growth mindset and feedforward goes hand in hand. By receiving information beforehand, you are given the opportunity to vet ideas and plan using best practices while learning as you go; on the other hand, feedback is most beneficial for reflective purposes only. Reflection is good but going in with the expectation and the plan beforehand alleviates the backwards walk and provides true data that can be used to support findings. This article was well written and I learned so much as I have never heard of the term feedforward.
Glad to hear that we are exposing you to new and useful ideas.
Feedforward is an excellent way to build a growth mindset. Instead of looking back and figuring out what is wrong, a person is provided guidance at the beginning to make sure that they have a path for their information. For instance, in one of my college classes, we have an end project, and at the very start, they are providing tools and activities to help build up to the project so that we have a guide to make sure we are going in the right direction. This is so much more helpful so that we are not at the end of the project and not on the right page.
Getting projects to work well is challenging and I agree that getting people on the same page as soon as possible is necessary.
I have always struggled with giving feedback as it usually sounds “Pollyanna”. I prefer to have constructive feedback myself so i can use it to grow. I have noticed that the way it lands on me is based on the respect I have for the person giving the Feedback.
Great Videos Thank you for sharing
Bryan
Hopefully using Feedforward will enable you to move beyond being just overly optimistic and help you to provide ways that folks can actually move forward and make positive improvements. Respect is a key factor and we know from research feedback or feedforward from a trusted source is one of the most important factors in student achievement.
I really appreciate this topic. I have taken training in coaching and Neuroscience, this is what we learn. It’s interesting hearing it from the perspective of education because it reminds me that having a growth mindset is applicable in all areas of life and work. While watching the videos I thought about areas in life where I have a “fixed mindset,” and what the impact has been. I also see that I can use this approach in my different committees as to move conversations forward in a productive way.
I am glad that you found this post useful. I also appreciate how you plan to use this growth mindset thinking when you work with people and are planning to move conversations forward in a productive way. Sometimes all it takes is one positive or encouraging voice to point to the opportunities that are available if we are willing to see them.
This is really great topic to dig into. I would like to see how changing my own mindset would allow me to grow and be a better facilitator. Looking back at my own learning, I tend to get better at something when i started by not limiting my ability from the start. However, I do feel that sometimes we switch from the fixed to the growth mindset. I am interested in learning more about “how” to remain in the growth mindset.
I think we all switch in and out of the growth and fixed mindset. Rather than trying to remain in the Growth Mindset, you may want to look to adopting the Learner’s Mindset – check out the post Learner’s Mindset Explained for more details – http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8705
Love these videos .very informative .
Glad to hear you find these resources useful.
Wow! Sheila Heen’s video really hit home! Imagine what our workplace could be like if we practiced this idea of feedforward and focusing on the receiver. I never realized, until she articulated it, that corrective feedback tells the receiver that somehow they aren’t okay; that they need to be better! It’s no wonder that individuals sometimes get defensive when receiving feedback! Starting with a nurturing attitude of “I value you and I appreciate you” prepares the ground for seeds of improvement!
Sometimes a change of focus can make a world of difference. Preparing the learner by getting them to move toward a Growth Mindset and then move onto developing their Learners Mindset could radically change the learning environment.
This is a very interesting approach to giving encouragement to students to challenge themselves to dig deeper into the subject material, no matter what their current level of understanding is. I am grading a course of group projects this weekend and will consciously use this in my online feedback section as a feedforward challenge to the students for clearer understanding and deeper learning.
When you combine feedfoward with the Growth Mindset and then move toward the Learners Mindset you can get your learners to not only go deeper but take ownership of their own learning.
Wow! It was great to see the importance of feed forward so beautifully and concisely articulated and how it fits into my model of having and inspiring growth mindsets. What really struck me was how I can transfer something I use every single day in my private life (5 minute journal) to my teaching practice. As a reflective practice I write down what goals I want to achieve each day. At night I review what made today great and what would make today even better. Sometimes I realize that this can involve the smallest of tweaks and that is also important in building these trusted learning environments.
Thanks again for all your insightful tools for your army of adult educators!
Tara.
Glad to hear you are finding this information helpful. Inspiring and influencing are the key to helping people learn how to learn.
Very informative video. Sometimes the “feedback” is also consider as biased because of it’s uni-directional nature i.e. what feedback “giver” thinks about the past performance of “receiver”. “Feedforward” can (to some extent) minimizes that bias. In addition, I also think, the receiver would be more interested in looking forward to improving future tasks rather than seeking feedback about what has happened earlier!
I teach HR and have worked as HR professional for many years. To review employee performance, we are moving away from supervisor led appraisals (which were feedback driven) to 360 degree appraisal where peer and self appraisals are mostly feedforward driven. In my experience, this move has definitely improved trust between the employee and the employer.
Most of the feedforward perspective is coming from the business setting. It is good to see that we are starting to borrow from the real work and incorporate these ideas into a more traditional educational setting.
What a powerful message! I can look back and see times in my life where I embraced the growth mindset and improved, and others where I gave up. My goal is to change my internal narrative to keep growing. I also plan to work on my message to learners as much as possible by focusing on the process of learning and not on the result.
Great insight. Changing our mindset (personal narrative) is the step to being able to share this way of thinking with your learners.
I teach leadership and I love the parallels between the conversation about whether you are born a leader or can learn to become a leader and the conversation about whether you are born a good student or can learn to become a good student, by using the concept of growth mindset. And just like becoming a good leader “…the only way I know to change the type of person that you believe that you are — to build a new and better identity for yourself — is to do so with small, repeated actions.” (James)
Supporting our learners to move from the “I can’t do it” to the “I can’t do it yet” referenced in the introduction to this Module is a powerful technique to encourage growth, engagement, and future success. And like many others have noted, I think back on some of the feedback I have given to both employees and students in the past, and shake my head!
James Clear. “Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset: How Your Beliefs Change your Behavior.” James Cleat, An Elite Cafemedia Lifestyle Publisher, 2 Oct. 2017, jamesclear.com/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset.
I agree that helping our learners to move toward a growth mindset is very important. Keep in mind that for us to do this effectively our slogans “I can’t do it Yet” must be supported by the learning environment. You can talk the growth mindset talk but if your learning environment and learning culture is promoting the fixed mindset then your learners will not move toward the growth mindset.
Pretty cool concepts.
I really like the concept of growth mindset. The explanations make sense to me. Thank you.
Glad you find this useful. The ideas have been around for a long time. Living and modeling the Growth Mindset is the best way to promote it.
I love the concept of feedback vs feedforward. In my field of teaching both are necessary. The feedback reveals the weak points so the student learns to identify that and can have it top of mind for other assignments, but the feedforward is crucial so they know what things to consider to making the work better or how to implement the instructions in other similar projects. I have found that feedback needs to be straight to the point, clear and without saying, respectful and compassionate, but without beating around the bush, as that becomes a point of confusion and most likely misunderstandings.
I think that well-implemented feedforward will take care of what you are referring to as feedback, or recommendations for improvement. If the recommendations are made in the context of improvement going forward rather than fixing what was already done, the subtle shift toward a solitary feedforward methodology can be made.
I will be teaching my first two on line courses this fall. I am both excited by this and terrified. I’m excited to have the opportunity to share material that I really enjoy thinking and talking about, but I feel quite clueless in how to transform my courses to an on line mode and do everything else that I have on my plate. The concept of “not yet” reminds me that while I may not be able to do it yet, there is hope that I will be able to do it after taking this course 🙂 It also reminds me that students taking my courses likely often feel the same way I do and it makes me want to figure out ways to decrease their anxiety when they first look at the course syllabus of one of my courses that they are about to take. After this module one thing that comes to mind that could help is providing clearer instructions, objectives, and explanations of the assignments etc. right off the bat instead of saving it closer to the due date. There are more, but I will leave it at that 🙂
I also cringe at some of the feedback I’ve given students in the past 🙁
Transforming face2face courses to the online format is challenging but with the right design, planning, and implementation plus LOTS of work you will be able to do it. Don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for help and support. I think most educators can think back to times when we have all given feedback that we now know wasn’t as helpful as intended. There is always room for improvement and the notion of not yet is something we should also apply to ourselves.
I can totally relate to what is being said in these videos regarding feed back. I was cringing at some of the mistakes I have made as a coach by not fully understanding how the learner is receiving the feedback.
I have coached multiple competitions and when I reflect on how the individuals received their feed back, it was most definitely them that was making the decisions. I have swallowed some tough pills in that department but come back or more. I found this section very useful.
Thank you
Glad that you found this section useful. I too will cringe when I think back at how I handled and dealt with feedback. We are always learning and adjusting.