{"id":2108,"date":"2026-02-13T15:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T13:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/?p=2108"},"modified":"2026-02-13T15:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T13:59:10","slug":"navigating-negative-course-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/2026\/02\/13\/navigating-negative-course-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Negative\u00a0Course\u00a0Feedback\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1027\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/files\/2026\/02\/lollypops-2026-02-11-151950-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2112\" style=\"width:706px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/files\/2026\/02\/lollypops-2026-02-11-151950-1.jpg 1027w, https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/files\/2026\/02\/lollypops-2026-02-11-151950-1-788x336.jpg 788w, https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/files\/2026\/02\/lollypops-2026-02-11-151950-1-768x328.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/files\/2026\/02\/lollypops-2026-02-11-151950-1-680x290.jpg 680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1027px) 100vw, 1027px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Feedback is a fundamental aspect of teaching as it offers valuable insights into students\u2019 perspectives.\u00a0However, the journey of navigating feedback,\u00a0especially when\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0negative,\u00a0can be emotionally taxing and challenging.\u202fOften, feedback is available for teachers to read right before holiday periods, which can feel\u00a0extra\u00a0overwhelming.\u00a0How to deal with negative feedback that tends to weigh heavily on the mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every teacher sometimes receives negative course feedback from students. It is common that feedback given anonymously can at times feel\u202fvery critical\u202fin tone. While feedback can, at best, refine our teaching and help us get a read on our students, it is understandable that negative feedback, in particular, can\u202fevoke a wide range of thoughts and feelings. Please\u202fdon\u2019t\u202fdeal with\u202fthese\u202falone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can get support for processing feedback from your school\u2019s Learning Services.\u202fDon\u2019t\u202fhesitate to contact, for example, your school\u2019s pedagogical specialist,&nbsp;programme&nbsp;planner, or\u202fthe course\u202ffeedback contact person, who can coach you in going through the feedback and help you make use of it.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your colleagues can\u00a0be a crucial support in processing feedback. You will most likely notice that other teachers have similar challenges as you do. An open feedback culture is fostered by discussing feedback within the teaching community and finding out solutions together.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you need support in processing the emotions the feedback raises, you can\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aalto.fi\/en\/news\/book-a-coaching-session-for-supporting-your-wellbeing-at-work-springs-appointment-calendar-is-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book a coaching session<\/a>\u202fto support your workplace well-being and, if necessary, also contact occupational health services.\u202f<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind that negative feedback does not\u00a0indicate\u00a0failure.\u00a0Course feedback is about the course, not about you as a teacher. Negative feedback can serve as\u00a0an important tool\u00a0for reflection and\u00a0course development,\u00a0especially if many students\u00a0make\u00a0similar observations.\u00a0However, as there can be\u00a0various reasons\u00a0behind negative feedback,\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0important to look at the\u00a0feedback as a whole.\u00a0Pedagogically justified decisions\u00a0don&#8217;t always make everyone happy, as learning itself\u00a0isn&#8217;t\u00a0always easy.\u00a0It&#8217;s also good to take a look at how many students provided feedback on the same issue.\u00a0Sometimes one person might like something that\u00a0another person\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0like at all\u00a0and that\u2019s not necessarily a reason to change the course.\u00a0In this regard, it&#8217;s\u00a0beneficial to talk about the feedback with the students.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0advisable\u00a0to inform the students about how the feedback will be acted\u00a0upon:\u00a0what will be changed and what will remain the same, along with the reasons why.\u00a0Also,\u00a0the next cohort of students should be informed\u00a0of the\u00a0previous\u00a0feedback and its\u00a0utilization so that they can see that their feedback will matter too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember,\u00a0that inappropriate feedback is a completely different matter and, according to\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aalto.fi\/en\/aalto-university\/code-of-conduct-values-into-practice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Aalto University Code of Conduct<\/a>, should always be reported forward to your supervisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">This blog post is part of Teacher Services\u2019 ongoing series\u202f<strong>Feedback culture tips<\/strong>. At Aalto University, course feedback holds a distinctive place within our feedback portfolio, reaching students at every stage of their studies. We&nbsp;firmly believe&nbsp;in the importance of amplifying students\u2019 voices, considering it a fundamental aspect of teaching and education development. Consequently, course feedback is seamlessly integrated into our educational landscape, constituting a consistent element from the course\u2019s&nbsp;inception, throughout its duration, and up to its conclusion.&nbsp;Read&nbsp;more:\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aalto.fi\/en\/services\/course-feedback-in-aalto-university\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Course feedback in Aalto University | Aalto University<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p><strong>Feedback is a fundamental aspect of teaching as it offers valuable insights into students\u2019 perspectives.\u00a0However, the journey of navigating feedback,\u00a0especially when\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0negative,\u00a0can be emotionally<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3993,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13,60],"class_list":["post-2108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tip-of-the-week","tag-course-feedback","tag-feedback-culture-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3993"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2108"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2120,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108\/revisions\/2120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.aalto.fi\/opit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}