Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Giving Positive & Constructive Feedback- "POP" Style

In MOT 2, students working in small tutorial groups reserve time at the end of each session to share self and peer feedback, as well as receive feedback from their tutor.   Students quickly become familiar with the acronym “POP” during this feedback session.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term “POP” ……
P- A positive comment is followed by….
O- An “opportunity for change”/ “area for improvement” followed by ….
P- An additional positive comment.

In fieldwork placements it might look like this:
Scenario:   Treatment session for client on stroke unit. “I am going to give you some feedback about your transfers today with “Mrs. J.”
P- You did a nice job of cueing her to attend to the left side of her environment.
O- An area for improvement is to work on your guarding technique.  I would like to see you position yourself closer to Mrs. J. in order to be able to assist her if she loses her balance.
P- Your verbal instructions for the transfer were very clear and concise.

In our experience, many students appreciate this balanced feedback style - sometimes calling it an “op” or a “po” if only one positive comment is provided. It has often served as a comfortable “discussion opener” about feedback, and a framework for highlighting strengths as well as areas for improvement; especially when a student is struggling. 
Many of you may be delivering feedback in this style, but just not using “the fancy acronym.” Some people may recognize it as the “sandwich” technique for delivering feedback. 
If this is new to you, we hope that you might find an occasion where this style of feedback is helpful.  

Happy educating!
Teresa & Lisa