Taking The Wind Out Your Sails

This week's post will probably not be as controversial as last weeks', but who knows really. Thank you to the 10K folk who read the post and for your kind words and responses. And to those who will now read this regularly, welcome, I hope I don't disappoint.

I have been thinking this week of the things that happen in academe to knock the wind out your sails. I had a meeting this week that did this, so much so that I had to take a day off the next day to figure out how to reposition myself in relation to all that was said and how what was said actually could be seen as antithetical to what my position is supposed to support. There are many of these instances that happen in academe to instructors and to staff. For example, when you present research that you are excited about at a conference, and someone, rightfully or not, notes all the gaps in your work. Or when you have a great idea for something and the powers that be say they don't have funding or administrative backing for that great idea. Of course these are set backs. And don't get me wrong constructive criticism really is important and will make research and ideas even better and inclusive. But sometimes these set backs sneak up on you. You are in a meeting and someone says something and you realize, well hmm, okay I guess I can't do this after all, now what.

It's those places of "now what" where community is so important. Reaching out to your people and talking it through can help guide you to the next steps, to figure out what the now what is. There may be pieces of your idea or framework that are salvageable and an outside perspective can help you find them. It's hard to have that perspective when something you really put time and care into is sort of taken away from you. Those moments of set backs can also give you more resolve to advocate for a thing more and in different ways (which is exactly what happened to me and I kinda feel sorry for folk who follow me on Twitter or have to be in larger policy meetings with me going forward to be honest).

This is an important thing to keep in mind pedagogically as well. When you give feedback to learners, it is important to reflect on the framing of that feedback, because it can have the same wind out of your sails impact on learners. This is mainly why that sandwich feedback model exists, you start with something positive and inspiring in the work, add in some places where there are gaps and improvement needed, and then end with something that will motivate them to act on the feedback. Scaffolding feedback can also help as well, with a series of drafts and progressive input. I know some will say, that sounds like a lot of work, and I have stopped doing this sort of feedback, I just tell them directly no sandwich. I also have read a lot of great threads on Twitter, like this thread from Karen Costa, about rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) and ADHD learners. So there's a lot to consider with feedback and it will be very individualized. You could even ask your learners at the beginning of the semester, "how do you like receiving feedback?" and you may be surprised by the answer. Some may not have even thought of this before and giving them the space to reflect on what they prefer may actually help them in their learning in all their classes.

So I guess for this week the actionable item is think about how you like to receive and give feedback, and think about the people who give you support when the systems take the wind out of your sails, and thank them because they are good people.