The training has been organised within the framework of a systemic project „Mobility of educational staff within the framework of institutional projects” implemented by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System in Warsaw co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund, Human Capital Operational Programme.

Session on Giving Feedback by Simon Marshall

Katarzyna Szlachcikowska and Kamila Anflink, Poland

Katarzyna Szlachcikowska and Kamila Anflink, the participants of a project “How to be a teacher trainer”, August 2014 at Pilgrims English Language Courses, Canterbury, Great Britain, cooperate with English Unlimited Teacher Training Centre in Gdańsk, Poland.

Observing lessons and giving feedback after them is an inherent element of a teacher trainer’s job. The following text outlines the session led by Simon Marshall that focused on giving feedback after lesson observations. The training was organised in August 2014 at Pilgrims, Canterbury by English Unlimited Teacher Training Centre in Gdańsk within the framework of a systemic project „Mobility of educational staff within the framework of institutional projects” implemented by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System in Warsaw co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund, Human Capital Operational Programme.

Receiving feedback after the observed lesson, no matter how successful or not the lesson was, is a very crucial element in a teacher’s development. Properly constructed feedback can be a stepping stone for further development, whereas poor feedback will, at best, be useless to the new teacher, or, at worst, it might undermine their confidence and motivation.

Thus, the main purpose of feedback is certainly to acknowledge the teacher’s strengths, to develop their confidence and to note areas for improvement. The teacher trainer’s role is also to offer clues and advice for the future, to explore strategies and alternatives. Another important element is the encouragement for self-reflection.

In the light of the above, we should bear in mind the fact that if feedback is going to be effective it has to be specific and factual. That is why the observer should avoid expressing his or her feelings, and concentrate on facts instead. For instance, instead of saying, ‘this activity took too long,’ it would be more productive to say ‘this activity took 15 minutes’ and ask for the teacher’s opinion on that. In this way we refer to what the person does, not to the person themselves. This leads us to the next important point – feedback should be a dialogue, not a monologue. The role of the teacher trainer is to offer help and advice, that is why we should avoid making the observed teacher feel as if they were under attack. It is important to approach the other person with some degree of sensitivity in order to avoid the problem of a very defensive reaction. That is why it might be instructive to use the idea of the so called ‘feedback sandwich’, where, in brief outline, you start by offering some positive comments about the lesson, then, when the person is in a receptive state of mind, you present the facts, and follow them with constructive advice for the next lessons.

Another valid aspect of giving feedback is that the observer has to be frank within the boundaries of his or her cultural paradigm. That is why, after observing a rather unsuccessful lesson, it is not advisable to try and avoid the fact that it went wrong and offer hollow praise. Instead, it is much more instructive to focus on facts and look for ways for improvement for the future. It must be noted that the role of the teacher trainer is to offer feedback, not criticism. The main differences between the two are the following: feedback is descriptive, it is value neutral, it has no hidden agenda, provides multiple options and is growth-affirming. Criticism, on the other hand, is interpretive and judgmental, reduces options and affirms the control of the observer.

One of the practical aspects of giving feedback is the language we use in the process. A good observer avoids using judgmental language that concentrates on the past, e.g. ‘You should have..’, ‘Why didn’t you …’, ‘If you had done this in a different way …’. Instead, in your feedback concentrate on the future and next lessons and offer practical advice or suggest alternative strategies. To give just a few examples: ‘To improve your drilling in the future do the following …’, or ‘Next time move around the room and use hand gestures to elicit answers, this will make the process clearer and help you feel more confident.’ In this way we offer an alternative strategy for doing a task and also explain why it might work better.

To summarise, if the feedback is to be effective, it has to describe the behaviour of the teacher as well as evaluate it. It should be specific and direct and ask relevant questions and specify consequences. It should also refer to behaviours which are under the speaker’s control. Finally, it should affirm the receiver’s worth, it should be clearly summarized and be future oriented.

The next problem that teacher trainers sometimes face is giving feedback after a very unsuccessful lesson, which is very difficult for both sides. This practical advice, based on Simon Marshall’s experience, should make this task more feasible and bearable for both sides. First of all, establish causes for the lack of success but do not dwell on them too long. Avoid accusatory and blameful language and reconstruct rather than deconstruct. Delay the feedback if the teacher is not in a receptive state of mind, but then they have to agree to the delay. It might be a good idea to first offer written feedback before oral to allow further processing time.

The last point we would like to touch upon is the meta observation, in other words, it is also useful to observe yourself observing, to notice what your reactions are to what is happening in the lesson. We should be aware that we observe lessons through our values. In a human environment it is inevitable that values clash all the time. In fact, no observer is totally agenda-free, however, the important thing is to be aware of that process and not to let it cloud your evaluation of the lesson.

Many thanks to Simon Marshall, whose session was executed with great professionalism, sensitivity and charisma.

PROJEKT: „Zagraniczna mobilność szkolnej kadry edukacyjnej w ramach projektów instytucjonalnych” współfinansowany przez Unię Europejską w ramach środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego

Please check the How to be a Teacher Trainer course at Pilgrims website.