IslandWood class of 2023 alum, Amos P., is currently one of the Researchers in Residence (RiR) at IslandWood. The program is an opportunity for Graduate Program alumni and visiting scholars to conduct research and to work with and share their learnings with current Education for Environment and Community (EEC) grads.

Researcher in Residence and class of 2023 alum, Amos

Amos’s project, “Putting the “Feed” Back in Feedback: Nourishing Relationships for Learning,” explores what the literature says about feedback and how current outdoor educators conceptualize and understand the concept of feedback as a way of communicating, as a part of teaching and learning and education, and more broadly as a word in our society.

The project includes workshopping some existing definitions of feedback and feedback processes and wondering what role, if any, feedback has in justice-oriented teaching and learning. Grads were presented with a list of concepts to use to create a “mind map” of how they would explain the concept of “feedback” to others based on their own cognitive model. Amos originally created his own mind map of feedback when he was an EEC student as part of his final research project in spring of 2023. He credits the terms he included in his template not only to that research, but also to June Colloquium (a day showcasing EEC class achievements from the quarter) guests that gave him their input.

Following the process of mind mapping, grads could opt-in for follow-up interviews in which they were asked about their maps and about what role feedback plays in their educational relationships. Participating grads and staff will be able to use what they learned in this workshop in their personal and professional lives.

We asked Amos how he’ll use the learnings of his RiR project, “I plan to produce a tool that supports good processes for giving and receiving feedback in educational relationships (i.e., explains a best practice) and/or evaluates feedback (i.e. helps people using the tool to understand how they are using feedback and how they might use it in more justice-oriented ways).”

After grads conceptualized their mental map of feedback using this “mind map,” Amos discussed feedback emotions and strategies with grads.

Learn more about IslandWood’s Graduate program in partnership with the University of Washington here.

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