"Feedback that Cultivates Emotional and Spiritual Growth: Prompting Metacognition in the Freshman Seminar"
by Beth McDonnell, Melissa Lessick, Megan Giavonette, Doug Hayes, Bogdan Savic, and Michael Strauss '87—School Counseling
As school counselors, our mission is more than just helping students succeed academically; we are here to support their emotional and spiritual growth too. Our counselor-led freshman seminar classes offer a unique space to kick off that journey, and by incorporating Ignatian feedback with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and study skills, we set students on a path toward self-awareness, responsibility, and resilience.
Freshman year is a tough time. Students arrive from middle school bracing themselves for a new level of academic rigor while figuring out their social and emotional identities. They often grapple with managing emotions like stress or anxiety while trying to develop study habits that may not have been necessary before. At the very least, the freshman seminar class provides students with an opportunity to meet peers and develop new relationships that may last throughout their four years.
Rooted in Jesuit philosophy, Ignatian feedback is not just about grades or critiques–it is about personalized, thoughtful guidance that meets students where they are in their learning journey. It encourages us to guide students in recognizing their academic and emotional growth, creating a safe space for self-reflection and discernment while keeping in mind the ultimate goal of each student taking personal accountability for their own education.
One of the first steps in Ignatian feedback is helping students to pause and reflect on a life circumstance or a class they may struggle to achieve. Picture a typical conversation in a freshman seminar: a student approaches, clearly disappointed with a test grade. They sigh, saying, “I studied all night! I don’t know why I got this grade.”
Here is where Ignatian feedback comes in, starting with a few gentle but probing questions. “Did you ask your teacher for help when you didn’t understand something?” Silence. “Did you reach out for feedback before the test?” Usually, the response is a hesitant “no.”
By encouraging students to reflect on their choices, we help them see that maybe “studying all night” didn’t mean effective studying. It’s an opportunity to help them understand what’s behind that anxiety over grades or the hesitation to ask for help. For many, there’s pressure to succeed, please parents, or stay on track for “a good college.” It’s our job to help them unpack that pressure in a healthy, productive way.
Growth is never instant, especially for young adults. Wisdom–and the maturity to make responsible, reflective choices–takes time. Yung Pueblo beautifully captures this in his poem:
Wisdom is not loud
Nor does it whisper
It is a resonance
That aligns you with better direction
It is a knowing that arises with undeniable clarity
It is an expansion that makes the mind lighter
Wisdom is gradual
Often showing you the same truth
But from different angles
Until finally it clicks so deeply
That it becomes part of your being
As the wisdom within you matures,
It becomes easier to let go,
To stop fighting yourself,
And to move with nature instead of against it.
For our freshmen, wisdom might mean slowly learning that “studying” isn’t the same as absorbing material, or that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a gradual journey to greater self-awareness and deeper metacognition, one in which they encounter the same lessons over and over until, one day, something clicks.
By combining Ignatian Feedback with SEL, we guide our students not only to learn but to understand, to reflect, and ultimately to grow. And in that, they begin to realize that true success is not just about grades but about becoming wiser, more resilient, and compassionate: traits that, we hope, they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.