Description Long

On a prepared A4 sheet, the following questions are answered for each finger and the palm of the hand:

• Thumb: What was great?
• Index finger: What did I learn?
• Middle finger: What could be improved?
• Ring finger: What will I take away (both positive and negative)?
• Little finger: What was missing or neglected?
• Palm: Anything else I’d like to say / what I wish for / further suggestions.

Afterwards, the fellow students are invited one by one to share their feedback with the group.

Preparation

• Prepare printed hand templates and a PowerPoint slide.
• The questions can be projected onto a PowerPoint slide, and participants can answer them on their printed template. Alternatively, the template can be prepared in advance by the facilitator. To do this, the questions need to be written into the fingers and the palm of the hand, and then the required number of copies made.

Execution

1. The facilitator explains the principle of the Five-Finger Feedback.
2. The sheet is handed out, and the workshop participants answer the questions.
3. Sufficient time should be allowed to encourage constructive and meaningful feedback.
4. Optionally, this can be accompanied by some quiet background music.
5. Individual participants then present their feedback.

Hints from experience

• If the group is large, or if honest feedback is to be encouraged, the sheets can be collected anonymously and evaluated afterwards.

Tools list

• Pencils, board markers
• Worksheets, prepared
• Writing utensils, pen, pencil

References

Qualitäts- und Unterstützungsagentur - Landesinstitut für Schule (QUA-LiS NRW), D-59494 Soest. Methodensammlung. 027 Fünf-Finger-Rückmeldung. Online: http://www.schulentwicklung.nrw.de/methodensammlung/