'I like' and 'I wonder': Providing feedback to build each other up

While teaching New Tech, we engaged in a protocol called Critical Friends. We shared or pitched our ideas for our new projects- uninterrupted for a couple minutes. For the next couple of minutes, "friends" would provide feedback using the stems "I like", " I wonder", and "next steps". This was a clever way to get the team to say positive things. "I wonder" was a powerful stem that allowed us to gently provide feedback on things we didn't think would work and/or give us the opportunity to give some amazing suggestions. "Next steps" were used to provide suggestions that the presenter could do to get started or enrich the project. This process was magical. No one's feelings were hurt and everyone left with confidence and a plan.

When I was asked to provide quality feedback on my peer's eportfolios, I didn't know how to start. Providing feedback on portfolios is a personal thing and can easily ruin a professional relationship. You invest time to look over people's personal beliefs and you may not have all positive things to say. "I likes", "I wonders", and "next steps" remind us we are human and can help each other reach our goals and solve problems just by saying the right words. Once I wrote these stems, my feedback flowed and I felt like I was helping my colleagues. This is also a strategy I use for discussions with my traditional students because they don't alway know what to say. Sometimes my students say "Well Miss, I don't wonder anything about their project" "Not one 'wonder'? Come on! Don't forget they have to provide you feedback. How would it make you feel if they said they did not have ONE to give you?". Shortly after the understanding set in, they spit out some 'likes' and more "I wonders' and eagerly waited their turn. Magical and structured collaboration.

The definition of wonder is "a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable" if used as a noun and as a verb it is "the desire to be curious". How awesome is that! This protocol can teach students to be excited about new ideas and build each other up.

What I like about providing feedback on eporfolios is that it helps us reflect on our own work and reminds us to give the kind of feedback we would like to receive.

I wonder if providing video feedback would be more effective. I wonder if providing feedback before and after adjustments were made would be more effective. I wonder if including a rubric would have been even more helpful.