Feedback is an essential element of any fieldwork experience. Proper feedback establishes clear expectations between the student and educator, facilitates the development of new skills and behaviors, guides the student toward entry-level competence, and enhances the overall fieldwork rotation and experience for the student.
There are many factors to consider when providing effective feedback. First, when giving feedback, you must ensure the student understands the feedback you are giving. Students may misinterpret feedback, creating negative feelings and experiences (Snyder, 2018). Additionally, non-verbal communication can affect feedback acceptance, interpretation, and application (Snyder, 2018). Consider your tone of voice, attitude, eye contact, and body language when giving feedback, so that positive feedback comes off as positive!
Your expertise and guidance matters to students. Listed below are some suggested methods to deliver feedback. It is important to keep in mind that there is no right way to give feedback and your method can change depending on the person, the place, or the scenario. You may use different approaches for the same student.
Six Common Feedback Models
- Feedback Sandwich: The educator provides two doses of positive feedback, with one dose of corrective feedback in between
- Strengths: highly structured and easy to apply in a busy environment and is typically more accepted by the student as the corrective feedback is cushioned by positive feedback
- Weakness: false-positive encounter if it is too focused on positive feedback
- Pendleton Rules: educator asks what was good about the student’s performance and provides positive feedback, then asks what could have been improved and provides corrective feedback
- Strengths: dialogue between educator and student is established and supports reflective practice for the student
- Weakness: recommended for formal feedback encounters when there is time to reflect on both the positive and improvements
- One Minute Preceptor: The educator receives a commitment from the student, such as a treatment plan or differential diagnosis, probes the student for their rationale, teaches general rules, and discusses reinforcement and correction
- Strengths: easy to apply in a busy environment and facilitates clinical reasoning and decision-making skills
- Weakness: informal form of feedback and does not allow for much detail
- SET-GO: educator asks student what they observed, what the student thinks of the observation, and what goals the treatment was trying to achieve
- Strengths: focuses on descriptive feedback in a non-judgemental approach, encourages peer feedback and joint problem-solving, and facilitates reflection
- Weakness: unsuitable for informal feedback and it is not recommended for individual feedback (better in groups)
- R2C2: The educator builds rapport with the student and explores their understanding of their assessment and performance report to stimulate reflection and self-assessment of the student
- Strengths: effective when providing performance-based feedback through formal assessment, provides a framework for feedback in defensive-stance situations, and empowers students to develop self-reflection skills
- Weaknesses: requires insight from the student and a non-judgmental approach from the educator, the educator must be prepared for negative reactions, and this method takes up a lot of time
- ALOBA: The student reflects on learning needs and objectives, the educator encourages problem-solving, both student and educator discuss suggestions to reach objectives, and the educator checks for feedback
- Strengths: supports student clinical reasoning skills and focuses on their needs
- Weakness: requires insight and reflective skills
(Orsini et al., 2022)
The REAP Method:
- Reflection: the student’s ability to understand the impact of self, acknowledge personal strengths and areas for growth, be accountable for mistakes, and have an overall awareness of individual learning styles
- Activities: encourage student self-reflection through journaling or incorporating research articles into practice
- Education: didactic and clinical knowledge gained before entering fieldwork
- Activities: (1) review resources available to the student and encourage them to create an e-portfolio; (2) encourage the student to locate textbooks or research articles, and reach out to faculty and peers for ideas and information
- Autonomy: the student possesses the ability to be self-directed in the learning process, set clear goals, and demonstrate confidence
- Activities: (1) discuss preferred learning styles and make a personalized plan to reach goals; (2) have the student communicate what readiness for challenge looks like to them (i.e., caseload, specific skills)
- Professional Behaviors: clinical competence, ethical practice, good communication and interpersonal skills, adaptability, responsibility, collaboration with the fieldwork educator, and time management
- Activities: (1) provide clear expectations and orientation to the site; (2) have students provide examples of professional behavior expectations (culture and age can influence this)
(Steen & Menninger, 2023)
Other suggestions for providing feedback
- Be specific in regard to each situation
- Give feedback in a private area
- Be honest
- Provide suggestions for improvement
- Provide feedback as quickly as possible (for a specific situation)
- Ensure the student understands the feedback
- Focus feedback on the behavior
- Base feedback on first-hand experience
- Allow time to respond
- Relate to learning or fieldwork goals
- Be non-judgemental and avoid assumptions
(University of South Alabama, n.d.)
Written by Gianna Martello, OTS
References
Orsini, C., Rodrigues, V., Tricio, J., & Rosel, M. (2022). Common models and approaches for the clinical educator to plan effective feedback encounters. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions, 19(35). https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2022.19.35
Snyder, K. (2018). Exploring student’s use of feedback during occupational therapy level II Fieldwork experiences. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2018.020204
Steen, L. & Menninger, B. (2023). REAP the rewards: A successful level II fieldwork experience for supervisors and students. OT Practice, 28(9), 26-28. https://www.aota.org/publications/ot-practice/ot-practice-issues/2023/in-the-classroom-reap-the-rewards
University of South Alabama. (n.d.). Remediation ideas: Accepting feedback. Retrieved September 13, 2024, from https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/alliedhealth/ot/fwsupervision/remediation.html