A good critical friend shows up at your door on a Sunday afternoon with a chocolate, caramel coffee in one hand and her laptop in another hand. She plops down next to you at your kitchen table and checks out your website and offers compliments, tips, and suggestions. She shares her own journey with you and listens to your ideas. You both laugh at yourselves over the mistakes you’ve made. You help each other understand the next task at hand and even knock out a couple of the ‘to-do’ list items. You hold each other accountable. And then you sit back, drain your cup of coffee, and acknowledge how proud you both are of all the hard work and growth. When I think about what I expect in a critical friend, my first reaction is to the word “critical”. Although the word “criticize” means to analyze the faults and merits of a thing, a rather subjective and even innocuous exercise; it has a negative connotation. Many people cringe when they hear that they will have to face criticism. I’m no different. I am more motivated by success than by failure. I’m motivated to work harder and longer when I know I’ve found a bit of success. I’ve learned that most people - especially students - respond better to praise than to negative feedback. Tell a student or a colleague what he’s done well and to continue doing it. Do not tell a student all her mistakes and what NOT to do. It isn’t an actionable directive to tell someone what not to do. Even when editing a piece of writing, there is a way to suggest edits that is suggesting “what to do” as opposed to “what not to do”. Putting criticism in a positive directive is helpful when being a critical friend. My understanding and expectation of a critical friend is closer to the definition for “critical thinking” - to help one another with “disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence”. In our case in this cohort, we are all experiencing what it is like to get a little lost inside your own head and overwhelmed by sorting through three semesters of research, reading, design process, changes in driving questions, and data. Effective critical friends can provide an outsider’s perspective. I find myself getting lost in the twists and turns of my capstone project and wondering if my presentation of my project is accurately being represented by what I’m including on my LIL site. Good critical friends can provide clarity by repeating back to you what they take away from your website. They can help bridge the gap between the author and the audience.
3 Comments
James
11/7/2017 10:26:48 am
Nancy,
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Daniel James Parker
11/21/2017 01:58:04 pm
WOW! You have high expectations for critical friends. Don"t know that I could be held to the "cup of coffee" standard. But I agree with the firm and useful critical thinking statement. This process is difficult because it holds you to a work standard that maybe one might not have when it is just about getting the work done. you have kept up with tour classes with high standard and quality work. You should feel proud of all that you have done.
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