The Three Myths about External Feedback - Part 2

What helps people learn from experience? If you guessed reflection, you are on the right track. (You may have noticed that we gave you a clue in the post on reflection as a necessary ingredient of learning.) Here is what research showed with student learners.

Research Exploring Children's (9 - 10 year olds) Capacity for Self-Assessment
Demonstrates the Impact of Feedback

At the beginning of the study, the average child could not report accurately on his/her own behavior and instead would vehemently defend the rightness of his self-observation, even in the face of non-arguable evidence such as film and recordings.

The study formed two groups:

Group 1: Worked with instructors who used video and recordings to improve the students' accuracy of observation. They quickly came to depend on the recorded material before making their own declaration.

Group 2: Instructors never gave any feedback, but continually asked for each member's own reflections on how well his or her behavior matched the stated procedure. In time, the students increased their capacity for self-assessment. In the beginning their accuracy was very low. The instructors did not correct or provide outside evidence. After a few weeks, the students reflections became increasingly accurate.

THE KEY DISCOVERY: EXTERNALLY INTRODUCED FEEDBACK SEEMS TO SHUT DOWN PROGRESSION TOWARD SELF-MANAGEMENT VIA SELF-ASSESSMENT.

Check back for future posts which show how a business is using this finding to benefit their employees by building capacity for self-reflection and self-assessment.
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