A Solution-Focused Ultra-Brief Feedback Session Guided by the Bruges Model: A Case Study in a Higher Education Setting

This case study explores how a Solution-Focused Ultra-Brief Feedback Session (SF-UBFS) can transform a post-assessment moment of failure into an empowering learning experience. Set within a nursing bachelor program, the composite case describes a voluntary feedback session with a student who had failed a written exam. Inspired by the principles of Solution-Focused Practice (SFP) and guided by the Bruges Model, the conversation focused on the student’s goals, strengths, and self-identified strategies. Rather than revisiting errors in a corrective or directive manner, the dialogue invited ownership, metacognition, and emotional safety. The educator adapted core solution-focused (SF) principles – such as exploring pre-session change, resource activation, coping questions and scaling – within the limitations of academic evaluation, without applying a fixed script. Relational dynamics evolved from a searching to a consulting relationship, as the student moved from uncertainty to active planning. The session illustrates how feedback, when approached with curiosity and respect, can foster agency, clarity, and hope, even after failure. This case offers a situated example of dialogic feedback as a co-constructive process, with implications for both student learning and educator resilience. No causal claims are made; instead, the case opens inquiry into how feedback can become a shared narrative of growth.