Only Good Feedback Allowed!

What is a growth mindset?  Dweck, (2026) describes the growth mindset as: individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning.  After reviewing several peer ePortfolios, I realized I have a growth mindset.  I’m mindful of the feedback I provide by asking myself, “Would this be helpful to me?”  If the answer is no, I don’t discuss that information, but if the answer is “yes,” I want to elaborate on the feedback.  I want the reader to fully understand how they can improve in a particular area to master the skill, and I’m also providing the best constructive feedback. In the past, I’ve been provided negative feedback that didn’t do much for my learning process.  

When the feedback is negative and has no explanation, I try to find the reason behind it.  In several cases, the person providing the feedback gave information that was utterly irrelevant to what was happening in the situation.  I once had an assistant principal who stated that not all students were engaged in the lesson, so she counted points from my observation.   The student in question was sitting beside her, and her pencil lead was broken.  Instead of distracting the class by sharpening her pencil, she got a pencil out of her backpack.  I noticed the student but didn’t stop the lesson since she was not distracting the class.  She quietly got another pencil and proceeded to engage with the class lesson.  However, points were removed from the observation.  I tried discussing this with my appraiser, but the result was permanent.  Needless to say, this was one of many negative feedbacks that I received from this school.  I ultimately moved districts the following year because one doesn’t want to receive negative feedback constantly.  

Now I’m at a district that understands the value of their employees.  I’m appraised not only by my administration but also by the Early Learning Department.  I love getting feedback from the Early Learning Department.  They come in, don’t care how loud the class is (which always seems louder with visitors), and engage with the students.  They monitor their movements within the room, push into centers with them, and check for understanding.  Ultimately, I received a note from the Pre-K Specialist, with one praise and one constructive criticism.  Sometimes they're based on what's happening in the classroom and how long they stay.  I love hearing how I can improve the centers for the theme’s and love it more when they take pictures of the centers and post them on the newsletter.  I take constructive criticism and see how to rework the item to reflect their vision.  There was only one time when I disagreed with the results, “not enough vocabulary posted around the classroom.”  This immediately got my feathers going, and I wondered if she had overlooked for it.  So I took pictures of all the vocabulary in the centers, emailed it to her, and asked what I could do differently.  Her response was simple, “keep up the good work.”  The vocabulary was everywhere, and I met all the requirements.  

Feedback like this has helped me understand how I would want to receive feedback and how to provide it.  Since I’m the team lead, I constantly go into the other Pre-K classrooms and provide constructive feedback.  After doing this for many years, I feel qualified to help other Pre-K teachers.  I have very different thoughts when giving feedback for the ePortfolio.  I barely know what I’m doing, so telling someone else how they can improve feels wrong.  I’m underqualified for this task; there’s no question about that.  

The first thing I always start with is praise. I’ll commit to a page that stood out to me or something I didn’t know was needed. Then, I look for items in my notes that need to be in the portfolio and give suggestions. Whether it’s common mistakes that were overlooked or items missing completely,  I would like to know these things on my ePortfolio, so I will provide the details in the peer review. I want to give positive feedback that is helpful for the reader to succeed.  

The feedback that I received so far from my ePortfolio has all been positive.  However, there’s no constructive criticism.  Of course, I love hearing that others like my work but I also thrive on feedback so I can improve in areas.  I tend to overthink while doing projects, so I’m constantly concerned that I’m not doing enough or missing important information.  During projects, I’ll check in with team members to verify that everything is coming together and no details are missing.  I would like to have this done when my ePortfolio is being reviewed by peers.  

Reference

Dweck, Carol. “What Having a ‘Growth Mindset’ Actually Means.” Harvard Business

Review, 6 Apr.2023, hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means.