1. Providing Effective Feedback
Coaches & Principals

2. Think-Pair-Share: How do you provide feedback to teachers after an observation?
How do you debrief with teachers?
What strategies have been particularly effective?
What are some challenges you’ve had with providing feedback?

3. The Coaching Cycle Identify Groups to Observe: Follow Up
• 5-Minute Observations
• Review of Written Data
Follow Up
Conduct Observations
Provide Feedback /
Identify and Apply Remedies

4. The Feedback/Follow-up Loop
Provide Feedback:
3 Student-Focused “Keepers”
Identify Remedies:
1 Student-Focused “Polisher”
Apply Remedies:
Provide Support (Apply remedies)
Desired Student Behavior
Teacher behavior that will elicit student behavior
Model teaching
Follow Up
Follow-up with Observations and Provide Feedback steps
Provide Feedback /
Identify and Apply Remedies

5. Methods for Providing Feedback
Written Feedback
Verbal Feedback (immediate)
Verbal Feedback (delayed)

6. General Format for Providing Feedback
Thank you
3 “Keepers” (Student Focused)
The students ______ because you _______
1 “Polisher” (Student Focused)
It’s important that students
__________;
in order to do that, try ________

7. Providing Feedback: Thank You
What: Thank teacher for opportunity to observe, welcoming you in their classroom, etc.
Why: Ensures teacher feels honored, builds rapport leaving teacher more open to receive and respond to feedback

8. Providing Feedback: 3 Keepers
What: 3 Keepers (Student Focused)
The students ______ because you _______
Why:
3:1 ratio is critical to promoting positive and responsive school culture
Increases the likelihood that teachers will sustain effective practices
Builds rapport
Increases likelihood teacher will hear and respond to “polisher”

9. Partner share
Partner A: why are “Thank-yous” and “Keepers” important in providing feedback?
Partner B:
add to partner A’s response and
How have you/do you plan to use “Thank yous” and “Keepers” when providing feedback?
Partner A: add to partner B’s response

10. Providing Feedback: 1 Polisher
What: 1 Polisher (Student Focused)
It’s important that students __________;
in order to do that, try ________
Why:
Limits focus for growth to manageable number of tasks
Provides clear teacher practice to improve instruction
Provides rationale for implementing recommendation
Links rationale to student outcomes (keeps focus on students)
We want to limit the number of polishers to a manageable number. One isn’t the magic number, but it should be no more than 3. The more a teacher needs support, the fewer polishers she should receive.
It’s critical to keep the polishers student focused to reduce the likelihood that the teacher feels singled out, and to ensure that the polisher really is set to improve student performance (and isn’t just the preference of the observer)

11. Practice
Observe this lesson, selecting one or more of the 9 general features of instruction to provide feedback
Identify your “thank you” statement
Identify 3 keepers on which to provide feedback
Identify 1 polisher

12. Practice Give feedback to your partner
Partner B – provide feedback to partner A as if partner A was the teacher who had taught the lesson
Partner A – tell partner B what elements of giving effective feedback were incorporated (keepers). Give partner B a polisher for providing more effective feedback

13. Providing Feedback: Special Considerations
When providing feedback in writing:
May limit written feedback to only “Keepers”
Try to provide feedback as immediately as possible
Only provide polishers in writing after they have been discussed verbally
Why:
Immediate feedback reduces anxiety
Writing is a more permanent record of feedback; ensures that the teacher can reflect on a positive coaching interaction
Limiting Feedback to only keepers in writing reduces the likelihood that a “polisher” will be misinterpreted or that a teacher will be offended by the suggestion. Writing is less personal than a conversation, and so it may be more appropriate to only deliver positive messages when providing feedback in writing only.
Providing positive feedback in writing helps build moral and lets people know their efforts are being noticed.
It’s a great idea to provide clear “polishers” in writing ONLY after discussing the polisher verbally. This way, the verbally described polisher can be reinforced and is more likely to be put in place, but is less likely to be misinterpreted or create defensiveness.

14. Providing Feedback: Special Considerations
When providing feedback Verbally (Immediately):
This option is helpful when doing coach & principal walk-throughs
Check for understanding: ask teacher to repeat back positive feedback before giving growth statement
Make sure to describe the desired behavior and have coach or principal model it (while other person provides whisper coaching)
Why:
Gives an immediate model of effective teaching
Ensures the teacher “hears” positive feedback
Increases the likelihood that the teacher clearly understands how to implement the more effective teaching practice.
Describe the Principal-Coach Walk-through paradigm where the principal may give feedback while the coach takes the teachers class and models the new teaching strategy.
A check for understanding will increase the likelihood that the teacher hears and remembers the positive feedback instead of focusing only on the “polisher” and feeling like she’s being criticized
It is critical to give a “teacher friendly explanation” of the effective teaching practice. Example for monitoring:
Walk, Look, Correct;
Example for an attention signal: Give signal once and only once; Give: the look; the walk; the touch
AND model the behavior so the teacher is clear about what the polisher looks like.

15. Providing Feedback: Special Considerations
When providing feedback Verbally (Delayed):
Give feedback as soon after the observation as possible
Check for understanding: ask teacher to repeat back positive feedback before giving growth statement
Make sure to describe the desired behavior and offer to model it
May create a checklist or key features for teacher to observe so they attend to the relevant features of the model
Why:
Still provides a model of effective teaching
Ensures the teacher “hears” positive feedback
Increases the likelihood that the teacher clearly understands how to implement the more effective teaching practice.

16. Providing Feedback: Special Considerations
When providing feedback Verbally (Delayed):
May have teacher first reflect on her “keepers” and “polishers”
Why:
Promotes self reflection
May open the door to coaching without you providing any feedback
Builds rapport and demonstrates respect for the teachers appraisal of his/her own teaching

17. Providing Feedback: Special Considerations
When providing feedback Verbally (Delayed):
Coaches may not provide polisher (must be done by principals if coaches don’t identify polishers)
Why:
Ensures that coach maintains a “helper” role instead of “evaluator”

18. Practice
Observe this lesson, selecting one or more of the 9 general features of instruction to provide feedback
Identify your “thank you” statement
Identify 3 keepers on which to provide feedback
Identify 1 polisher

19. Practice Give feedback to your partner
Partner A – provide feedback to partner A as if partner A was the teacher who had taught the lesson (may incorporate a “special consideration” like having the teacher debrief first).
Partner B – tell partner A what elements of giving effective feedback were incorporated (keepers). Give partner A a polisher for providing more effective feedback.

20. Providing Feedback: Principal Specifics
What: Expectation
Set instructional target: “I want to see…”
“On my next observation I’ll be looking for…”
Why:
Sets clear expectation that staff will implement best practice
Lets staff know it is important that recommendation is implemented

21. Providing Feedback: Principal Specifics
What: Offer support
You can talk to the coach to help you… or I’d like you to talk with the coach to help you
Why:
Opens door for coaching
Increases support and likelihood teacher will be successful in improving instruction

22. Providing Feedback: Principal Specifics
What: Follow-up
Complete next observation and
Provide keeper and polisher focusing on previously set target
Why:
Increases the likelihood that good instructional practice will be implemented
Provides opportunity to provide positive feedback to teacher for implementation
Increases rapport and positive school climate

23. Your goals for feedback
Write the critical elements for giving effective feedback
Check the items you already do
Circle one item you would like to try or like to do more when providing feedback