Clean feedback – the bedrock for developing professionalism?

Clean Feedback is a process designed to aid critical reflection, observation skills and goal setting. It encourages both the giver and the receiver of feedback to separate out what is being seen and heard from the meaning it has for people.

Receiving clean feedback trains people to be aware of the differing ways their actions may be perceived by others. Giving clean feedback trains the giver to become aware of their values and beliefs around other people’s behaviour. Giving clear examples of what it means to act in a professional way at work encourages staff and students to develop a flexible range of behaviours that maintain professional standards across diverse individuals.

At Liverpool John Moores University this model has been introduced and evaluated with Post Graduate Trainee Teachers and the results of this pilot will be presented in our paper here.

Clean feedback has also been introduced into:

·        PDP processes whereby students give themselves, one another and staff clean feedback,

·        Staff have introduced clean feedback into their standard essay marking forms,

·        The model is being taught within faculty administration to aid good relations between admin, academics and students,

·        Senior staff are using the model during peer review of one another’s lecturing

·        Students are being asked to give themselves clean feedback on an essay and then receiving feedback both on their essay and on their feedback

This multi-layered approach to feedback is intended to develop a learning community which is able to demand and develop professionalism at all levels. The issues in implementing such an approach as well as initial findings will be discussed.

Key words: Feedback, critical reflection, diverse, meaning, professionalism