Leaving a Legacy through Appreciative Feedback

Morning Breakout Session I

Feedback: some call it “constructive criticism”; or “just telling it like it is”; or “speaking the truth”. Regardless of what it’s called, feedback is a vital component to growth, but many of us have a complicated relationship with it. Regardless of our role in higher ed, in or out of the classroom, and regardless of what it has been called, feedback is part of the legacy that has shaped us and therefore becomes part of the legacy we leave for others.

Giving and receiving feedback is an art, and art is best achieved with the right tools for the job. Jenny Masana, Academic Advisor and adjunct faculty member from the UNH College of Professional Studies Online, shares how she has adopted the feedback and teaching philosophies of Joni B. Cole (Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive) and Catherine Denial (A Pedagogy of Kindness), and subsequently adapted the Appreciative Advising framework to giving and receiving feedback. From the first steps of disarming and discovering, to helping others dream, design, and deliver, and the final step of don’t settle, feedback becomes not a necessary evil, but a powerful tool for shaping our shared legacy in higher ed, showing how an appreciative approach to feedback can transform teaching, advising, and workplace interactions.