Mentor materials
Feedback
Select a development area
Consider the development areas for this topic (below). Then make a note of the area you plan to zoom in on and when you plan to visit so you can observe your teacher in this area. Familiarise yourself with the focused development areas. You will select one later when you observe your teacher.
Development area 1: Individual feedback
Focused development area
- Teacher delivers verbal, individual feedback that is manageable, specific and actionable and ensures pupils have time to process and respond.
- Teacher considers where feedback may be unclear and ensures pupils know what the feedback means by being specific, giving examples and checking pupils understand how to action the feedback.
Development area 2: Whole-class feedback
Focused development area
- The teacher, with the support of a colleague, selects manageable, specific content of the whole-class feedback on the basis of common patterns they identify in pupils’ responses and work.
- Teacher provides whole-class feedback that is manageable, specific and coupled with an actionable task for pupils to put the feedback into practice.
- Teacher considers where feedback may be unclear and ensures pupils know what the feedback means by being specific, giving examples and checking pupils understand how to action the feedback.
- Teacher provides pupils with sufficient time to process and respond to feedback and checks that their responses show progress.
Example precise target: Teacher provides whole-class feedback that is manageable, specific and coupled with an actionable task for pupils to put the feedback into practice
- Not doing it at all: Give whole-class feedback that is manageable for pupils to process and specific as to what they need to do to improve.
- Doing it but needs some improvement: Give whole-class feedback that is manageable, specific and coupled with an actionable task for pupils to put feedback into practice.
- Doing it well and needs some stretch: Give whole-class feedback that is manageable, specific and coupled with an actionable task and check pupils understand how the feedback helps them to improve.
Development area 3: Self and peer feedback
Focused development area
- Teacher ensures pupils understand what a great piece of work looks like, so they are clear on the end goal their feedback is driving towards.
- Teacher models how pupils can monitor their progress and provide themselves with useful feedback as they work.
- Teacher models how to give successful self and peer feedback and highlights where pupils are doing this effectively.
- Teacher provides additional support for pupils to self or peer assess in the form of guides and scaffolds if they need it, especially when they are new to the process.
Observe
Consider the following questions based on a short (approximately 15 minute) observation of your teacher.
What was your teacher’s previous target? Are they meeting it? How do you know?
Thinking about the development area you have selected for this topic, what is your teacher already doing well in this area? Which focused development area best aligns with what your teacher needs to get better at? What one precise target (bite-sized action) might you work with them on during your mentor meeting?
Reminder: You can choose to stick with this previous target if they have not made enough progress. When moving on to a new precise target, you can select one from the table above or, if this doesn’t fit your teacher’s needs, you can write your own.
How will you model the target to your teacher to show them what good looks like? What questions will you ask to check your teacher understands the model? For example, ‘How it is different from your current practice?’ and ‘What impact might it have on your practice and pupils?’
Reminder: Your model should help your teacher develop their ability in some of the following:
- Be aware of common misconceptions and discuss with experienced colleagues how to help pupils master important concepts.
- Focus on specific actions for pupils and provide time for pupils to respond to feedback.
- Appreciate that pupils’ responses to feedback can vary depending on a range of social factors.
- Scaffold self-assessment by sharing model work with pupils, highlighting key details.
- Think carefully about how to ensure feedback is specific and helpful when using peer or self-assessment.
- Use verbal feedback during lessons in place of written feedback after lessons where possible.
Next, meet with your teacher to work through the ‘feedback’ stage of instructional coaching.