Focused Feedback...Becoming a Reflective Teacher Part 5

    We need Feedback to focus our practice, we need REAL feedback!

    How do we get good, real feedback?

    You can video yourself, take a student survey, and use your students' achievement data.

Reflection is the key here...use a log and write down what you see in your video, ask a trusted friend to watch it too. Watching it with someone who can give you honest feedback will give you specific elements of your performance that you will need to focus on.

When you ask the kids to help expect some REAL answers. I use Exit Slips (Exit Tickets). I found a great one for math, but I tweak it to fit anything really.

Using achievement data can give you some insightful feedback too. It can show you where you need to re-teach. Ask yourself questions as you are digging through the data; What concept was most missed on the test? Am I tracking their data? If so, what are you tracking? Grades? Growth? Did my teaching help them achieve?

Receiving Focused Feedback is the key to great teaching...are you getting the right feedback? Or are you listening to what you WANT to hear? Remember anyone giving you feedback, good or bad can only make you stronger!

Reference:

Marzano, R. (2012). Becoming a reflective teacher. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.