Effective student feedback in clinical practice

Abstract

This article, the third in a series aimed at providing veterinary staff and students with tips and tools to enhance teaching and learning, considers how to give feedback to students in a constructive manner that enhances learning in practice.

Tips for small group teaching

“…This article forms part of a series published in In Practice, aimed at providing veterinary staff and students with tips and tools to enhance the teaching moments which occur on a daily basis in practice. Previous articles have introduced the different ways in which people learn, gave tips on fitting teaching into a busy working day and tips for making feedback effective (Bell and others 2014, Warman and others 2014a, 2014b. Specific techniques for teaching practical skills will be discussed in a later article in this series.…”

Tips for teaching hands‐on practical skills

“…It is often useful to encourage students to reflect on how well tasks have gone as well as on what might need to be improved for the next time, and then offer constructive feedback as discussed by Warman and others (2014b). Try to tailor comments to a particular student's stage of learning and to indicate specific areas for improvement, not just offering overly general or vague comments.…”