Corrective vs. Nurturing Feedback in Design Education: Alternative Models of Critique that Positively Impact Students' Sense of Self-efficacy

Design students' attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs are essential to producing innovative, creative work. Self-efficacy, a construct of the cognitive theory that defines one's belief in their capacity to reach a specific goal, is a critical variable that predicts students' motivation and ability to perform a particular task successfully. This paper critically examines the quality of feedback in design education, arguing that it has a direct positive or negative impact on students' sense of self-efficacy. Solely corrective feedback given in a poorly established learning milieu that does not allow a relationship of trust to flourish has a direct negative impact on students' thoughts and their self-esteem. It is hypothesized that nurturing feedback has the potential to positively impact students' self-efficacy and increase their overall effort and perseverance, prompting them to embrace a challenge as they face a difficult task. This allows students to take on a more active role as constructors of their knowledge. A case study was conducted in a senior design studio course with 16 students of the Multimedia Design program and one instructor in the Department of Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah (UAE). The paper reports on problems created by a lack of appropriate feedback and proposes strategies to transform feedback into a tool for nurturing students' sense of self-efficacy. It further provides insight for all instructors who teach in educational environments where feedback plays an essential role.