Feedback is the Cheat Code for Getting Better Grades
Listen (read) closely
‘I started traveling for competitions and I love the game, but my academics are suffering and I can’t let that happen if I want to play tennis in college one day.’
What does it take to become an A+ tennis pro?
When Carlos and I began our learning coach sessions 12 months ago, it was wonderful to reconnect after first meeting through an online school I had founded years earlier. A dedicated student athlete based in Peru, he was balancing competitive tennis tournaments throughout Central America with his online US middle school education. His parents deeply valued both education and sports, so we carefully discussed how to manage his rotating schedule of academic work alongside his intensive training programs with various coaches and sports psychologists. As his tennis career progressed, the increasing demands of training and tournaments, combined with a more rigorous academic curriculum requiring extensive reading and writing, meant he needed comprehensive support both on and off the court.
In our first Monday Zoom call, Carlos shared his screen to show me his weekly assignments, noting how tasks often appeared last-minute, especially on weekends. We established twice-weekly check-ins on Mondays and Thursdays to set goals, track progress, and maintain accountability. Each Monday session evolved into a comprehensive review of his time management, teacher feedback, and his mother's insights to help him find balance.
Six months into our work together, I shared our collected notes and reflections with his mother during our regular email exchange. She replied:
‘My mom sent you my mid-cycle report from last week. Can we review it today?’ Carlos began our session.
‘Absolutely. Have you had the chance to read it yet?’
‘A little, but I could use your help in reviewing it together again.’
He was scrolling through his teachers’ written reviews, with ‘good job’ and ‘on track’ tags next to each task. He paused at the Physics teacher’s feedback and took a deep breath.
‘This is one of my hardest classes right now. The tasks I’ve completed so far need work. Here’s what my teacher said: ‘I loved your detailed notes…’ scans the text quickly and reviews slower ‘The map should include … a legend, okay… got it, information on key landmarks, water, hazards. Okay.
‘How can we incorporate this feedback for the next step since you’re still working on this project and can apply it to improve next time?’
‘Yes, I will draw a map for the next step, since the task is due on Thursday.’
We used this feedback to review each word. We reveled in pride that the teacher wanted to visit his imaginary land and built excitement around the map creation to help get into the imaginary state of what the place looks like, finding the fun in the learning. It's a required assignment, and I'm not the teacher giving the grades, so we may as well enjoy it, right? Especially in a physics survival course.
‘If your teacher is telling you exactly what to include, this could be turned into a checklist to avoid missing anything before the next submission.’
Carlos lit up. “It’s like a cheat code to get a better grade next time, if they tell me exactly what to do.”
‘You got it! In school, my teachers told me to slow down and re-read before turning in my work, too. So let’s add ‘double check our work’ to the list.’
Each missing element from the feedback became a to-do list item. This helped us recognize the knowledge gap in his creation of his Quillabamba forest region.
Carlos questioned, “A legend... like a story or tall tale?”
We quickly explored the definition to ensure he understood the teacher’s request.
He realized, “A legend is like a key on a map, different from a story in this case.” “Landmarks, water sources, and potential hazards, check, check and check. Got it!”
At the conclusion of our session, he showed me the notebook with the checklist and had a renewed sense of accomplishment in his posture.
When the semester ended, he shared the report via email instead of through mom. He texted to let me know: I sent you my progress report, the physics project improved!
We started our next call reviewing the report, and this time he showed his notebook first.
“I read the feedback over the weekend and made a checklist from it.”
I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up at this moment with admiration and pride that he did this on his own. The checklist we took careful time to create really paid off. Breaking it down and making a list is helping him - 7000 miles away through Zoom.
We reviewed his list of improvements and accomplishments. His grades had increased in each class and task.
Carlos worked hard to find balance between school and sports. Through this transformation, he realized he valued academics more than competitive athletics.
He recently decided to participate in Model UN through an opportunity at school. This decision will lead to an international trip with his classmates to New York City for a mock trial. Carlos and his partner will represent Canada!
After our session, I updated his mom on our progress. I let her know that Carlos shared his latest report and identified areas for improvement before our session. She replied:
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What else would you like to hear about? Comment below and keep choosing your own learning journey.
Kindly,
Kelly
Learning Updates:
✍️ Started a new Morning Pages journal. Bouncing back between paper sizes, but stuck with A5 this time.
🍴Had lunch with a colleague IRL feels like a big win after lots of online time.
✈️Booked tickets for a quick Spring getaway with my other half. Jet-setting for pizza and pasta!
🏫 Attended an online lecture with Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, and Dr. David Yeager, author of 10 to 25 and was captivated by their stories and findings on motivation and mindset.
💬Text from students:
Carlos - Update after receiving the final cycle report:
Kaitlin - Update with daily accountability in her gap semester. Next session, we broke down the blockers.
This brought such a smile yo my face! Say ho yo Carlos from me - i can see he has the intentionality (supported with your gentle guidance) to take on the world! Congratulations to you both.
And if there is something I also discovered in WoP it was that proper feedback is a cheat code for success!
Yes yes yes for morning pages!