| What you think: “I want to say something positive, but they need work on their edging.” What you said: “You are making a lot of improvement in your edging – keep it up!” What they heard: “Yay!I don’t have to work on edging anymore.” |
How do you strike the right balance between constructive criticism and encouragement with students? Both new and experienced skiers need feedback to understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Effectively providing feedback can also help manage expectations of progress and performance as part of CSIA. As Ombuds, we hear from visitors who complain, “the feedback I got was unfair. ” We must delve into this perception of unfairness by asking questions to understand what the visitor truly means.
Here are some common challenges and suggestions for ways to provide effective feedback:
Be clear about the purpose. Helping students understand why feedback is provided in a particular setting is important. For example, feedback throughout a course may aim for learning and development, while feedback after an exam day or on an evaluation form may explain performance (pass/fail/needs improvement) and provide direction for future attempts. Refer to the CSIA materials for guidance and ask questions to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Choose your timing wisely. Course conductors must select the right moment to offer feedback. Feedback should be timely and relevant, ideally provided soon after the performance to ensure it is fresh in the student’s mind. However, it can also be important to reinforce and debrief that feedback at the bottom of the hill or on the chair lift. Repetition allows feedback messages to resonate with learners who may learn “on the go” and those who prefer to “sit with it”. Additionally, when feedback is shared with ample time for the learner to ask questions, you engage them in the feedback process, which may help to build buy-in.
Practice your delivery. We all respond differently to coaching, and how we say something often matters as much or more than what we say. Some people are open to direct, critical feedback, while others may need more indirect, positive reinforcement to stay motivated. Your background, experience, and personality may impact how you give and receive feedback. One way to manage expectations of students of different ages and levels is to ask them directly at the start of the course what type of feedback they hope to receive from you. On exam days, be upfront at the beginning about when and how you will provide feedback. This additional transparency can help promote a culture of fairness and respect.
Our feedback? If you need more information, reach out to your CSIA education leaders!