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Classroom Observations: Feedback Tips

As an instructional leader, giving feedback to teachers on your instructional caseload is a must. Teachers appreciate receiving feedback that is timely and constructive that can help them improve their instructional practices in order to improve student learning. Here are a few tips for providing quality feedback to teachers:

  1. Utilize a Reliable Framework: Danielson’s Framework provides rubrics and guidance for teachers and supervisors to help facilitate discussions around improving teaching and learning.
  2. Use the Ideal Praise-to-Criticism Ratio: According to research reported by the Harvard Business Review teams improve most via 5:1 positive:negative feedback ratio.
  3. Employ timeliness: An ideal window for e-mail feedback is 24 hours. Verbal feedback can be in the moment. Operant conditioning studies going back to the time of B.F. Skinner maintain the closer the feedback is timed with the behavior, the more the feedback will shape future desirable behavior.
  4. Be Reciprocal: Accept feedback with as much thought and grace as you give feedback. Instructional supervision/coaching partnerships are a two-way street.
  5. Study, Study, Study: The average CEO reads a book a week. Being up to date on current trends and research on pedagogy and best practices will help make your feedback more bonafide.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are many other ways to improve the feedback you give to your teachers/team. That being said, hopefully these five tips are a good starting point for the beginning instructional supervisor to keep in mind when giving feedback to their team.

Works Cited

Zenger, Folkman. Harvard Business Review. 2013.

The Danielson Group. 2019.

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