Without monitoring, skills may not improve. Monitoring involves feedback and reflection on one's own performance.

An essential part of the process of skills development is receiving feedback on performance. The problem is that we often defend ourselves against the possibility of negative feedback and so fail to listen and thus to act upon what may be very helpful information. On the other hand, much feedback tends to be presented in such a way that it creates a defensive reaction.

Listen to the feedback without comment. You will hear more if you concentrate on listening rather than explaining or justifying yourself. Ask for clarification at the end. You need to be sure that you understand exactly what your fellow student is saying about you and what evidence the comments are based on. Devise action plans. Specify ways in which you want to change, new ideas you want to try, etc. If there is anything your fellow students can do or not do to help you achieve your action plans, tell them. Keep a written record. This can be used for later reflection, action planning and appraisal interviews. Thank the person who is giving you feedback.		Invite the recipient to speak first. This fosters the skills of self-criticism and protects self-respect. Be specific rather than general. To be told that one is disorganised will probably not be as useful as to be told "When you lost your place during the lecture and couldn't find the right notes, I found it distracting." Balance positive and negative feedback. Positive feedback on its own allows no room for improvement and negative feedback on its own is discouraging. Direct your feedback towards behaviour that can be controlled. It would not be helpful, for example, to comment on someone's lisp. Ask for confirmation from a third party. For example, if you are giving feedback to a fellow student at the end of a seminar, then check out the accuracy of your feedback with them.