Feedback: What Mentors Do

Providing effective feedback is essential for both you and your mentee. As a mentor, you should:

Set the stage for the feedback

• Explain the value of feedback.
• Early on create the expectation that feedback will be part of the mentoring process.
• Ensure that feedback is provided on a regular basis.

Ask questions of your mentee to determine how and when to give feedback

• In what areas do you expect you will need feedback?
• How often would you like feedback?

Prepare for Feedback

• Wait until a trusting relationship has been established before providing feedback.
• Ensure confidentiality.
• Address positive and specific areas for improvement.
• Think about your mentee's individual needs.
• Always try to link back to your mentee's goals.
• Allow opportunities for your mentee to respond.
• Encourage your mentee to give you feedback, as well and demonstrate model acceptance of that feedback.

Feedback is given for one or both of the following reasons:

1. For motivating the mentee's innovating behaviors and actions (e.g., You've really worked hard on your innovation, Johnny."
2. For helping your mentee improve the quality and/or efficiency of his innovative ideas. (e.g., "You're on the right track, Janey, but let's think about ways in which you might be able to develop your idea in a less costly way.").

Donald T. Tosti differentiates between motivational and formative (or, what we refer to as informative) feedback. He states that motivational feedback affects the quantity of the performance; i.e., the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated or increased. Tosti suggests motivational feedback be given immediately after desired performance occurs. So, for example, if your mentee is using innovative thinking during a brainstorming activity, you would want to praise that behavior in order to motivate more of it.

Furthermore, Tosti believes informative feedback affects the quality of the performance; i.e., improves the performance. Therefore, it is usually best to give informative feedback when it is most useful to your mentee to increase the chance that his actions will be successful. So, for example, if your mentee is not using a game design tool correctly or in the most efficient way, pointing that out and demonstrating the correct use will be immediately useful.

7 Step Feedback Model

1. Start with something positive.

"I have really seen some great effort coming from you."

2. State what is getting in the way as a perception, not a fact.

"We have a pretty good plan in place, so I am wondering why you haven't made much headway on your project."

3. Ask questions to throughout the conversation and listen carefully to their response, building off of them, when appropriate.

"Do you see it that way too?"

4. Ask how they want to address the problem.

"What do you want to do to solve that problem?"

5. Offer feedback on their ideas so they know where you stand.

"I think that is a great start and will be really helpful."

6. End each session on a positive note.

"I think you are doing some exciting work."

7. Check to see if your feedback was helpful.

"Was this conversation helpful? How did you feel about it?"

Feedback on Feedback

When you ask your mentee for feedback on your feedback style and usefulness, it's important that you:

• Listen and stay focused.
• Avoid being defensive.
• Ask questions for clarity.
• Acknowledge their point of view, especially if is different than yours.
• Summarize your understanding to ensure you both have the same understanding of the feedback.
• Incorporate insights when you give your next feedback.

Feedback Tips

Here are some more tips for delivering effective feedback to your mentee.

1. Be specific and descriptive. Otherwise, there may be confusion and your mentee won't know how to improve.

2. Don't be judgmental or defensive. You are your mentee's advocate so make sure your feedback is phrased in ways that are helpful and positive in direction.

3. Be authentic and candid. Kids know when you are not being straight with them.

4. Use "and" instead of "but." Or, pause when you want to follow with constructive feedback. That way, you prevent some of the anxiety that may go with receiving feedback, especially with mentees who have not developed a solid sense of self-confidence.

5. Keep feedback a two-way conversation. Don't make feedback a "lecture;" think of it more as a conversation.

6. Be respectful of different perspectives. Your mentee may have a different perspective that you have never considered. Be open to it.

7. Use positive language when you are tempted to disagree or tell them they may be headed down a wrong path. When working with young innovators, they must feel free to imagine, create and even make mistakes. Often, they learn a great deal from those mistakes.

8. Check to ensure your mentee understands what you mean. One way you can do that is by pausing when giving feedback and asking your mentee to tell you what he or she needs to do to improve, based on your feedback.

Providing effective feedback can be the "make or break" of a mentoring relationship. If you would like even more tips about how to effectively give your mentee feedback, Loren Guerriero, a Product Manager at MicroMentor, wrote a blog post entitled "Providing Effective Feedback". Check it out.

An Example of Exemplary Feedback

Here's a real-life example, adapted from a segment of an actual mentor-mentee conversation. Pay particular attention to the mentor's feedback and how it guides and supports the young innovator.

Mentor: "Hi Peter! I want to go over some of your innovation ideas with you to see which one you've chosen to work on, what the next step is and where you might need help. You came up with some great ideas, so it will be hard to choose. What do you think you will do?"

Mentee: "Hi Ms. Smith. I have been thinking about each of my ideas. My parents worked with me last night to try to narrow down my choices and we ended with just two ideas."

Mentor: "That's great, Peter. Now, what do you think you need to do next?"

Mentee: "I need to narrow it down to one and figure out if anyone else has thought of the same idea."

Mentor: "How do you think you should tackle that? What would help?"

Mentee: "I'm not sure. My dad said he would take me to a drugstore so we could look through magazines to see if we see either of those ideas being sold. But I remembered your teaching us about the U.S. Patent Office database. I'm thinking I should search there first."

Mentor: "I think that is a great plan, Peter. Let's try that and see what we find and if it helps you make a final decision."

Staying "On Track" with Your Mentee

Sometimes, there are things that can sidetrack a mentoring relationship. If you see that happening, be proactive with any or all of these "tried and true" strategies that have worked for other mentors:

• Check in at the end of each meeting to gauge the satisfaction level of your mentee.
• How did you think our meeting went?
• What was the most helpful or interesting thing you learned or did today?

• Revisit your ground rules from time to time and see if they are still in play.

• Review the project goals and discuss your mutual satisfaction with progress.

Address issues that arise if you are experiencing any hitches and glitches with your young innovator mentee (e.g., failing to follow through with next steps in the innovation process, decreasing enthusiasm for working on his or her innovation, lack of participation during mentoring session discussions). While no child should be forced to be innovative (there needs to be at least some intrinsic motivation to continue for it to stay relevant and interesting), some mentees just need a bit of help or encouragement to get back on track.

A Great Tool for Staying on Track

A journal is a great way to reflect on your own learning and stay on track by documenting what you say and do as a mentor, its impact on your mentee's innovation process, and what you are learning from this experience.

Your journal (or parts of it) can also provide authentic evidence of how you are having an impact on student learning and your impact of your mentee's innovation project.

On this training site, we've provided a journaling tool for you to begin and maintain your own journal. To help you get started, here are some questions that you might ask yourself after each mentoring session. Or come up with your own questions.

• What progress has my mentee made since our last interaction?
• What were my mentee's needs? How did I respond to them?
• What did I do or say to support my mentee?
• What did I do to help my mentee move forward toward achieving his/her goals?
• What did I do or say to challenge my mentee? How did I stimulate my mentee's thinking?
• What feedback did I offer?
• What could I have done more of? Less of?
• Where do I want to focus our next conversation?