Innovation, Critical Pedagogy, and Appreciative Feedback

The practice of giving and receiving feedback is an essential element of a wholesome educational experience. As learners are engaged in the vulnerable role of waiting for and receiving feedback, there is a significant and potentially problematic power relationship at play in the feedback dyad. This chapter proposes that the practice of giving feedback offers a great scope for innovation, and that critical pedagogy offers a theoretical lens through which such innovation may be understood. This chapter explores and defines innovation through the lens of critical pedagogy, which calls for the intentional questioning of existing power structures in education. A scan of the literature presents the importance of feedback in the learning process, and supports a move towards a dialogic, student-centered process. The writers share two case studies in appreciative feedback and provide a proposed model for innovation in the delivery of feedback. When viewed as a compassionate, supportive act, feedback is well positioned to benefit learners as viewed through the lens of critical pedagogy.