What comes first?

What are your thoughts…

Does student agency precede teacher agency?

or

Does teacher agency precede student agency?

 

What conditions need to exist in a school building in order to promote teacher agency? Student agency?

 

Practicing What We Preach

It’s been awhile since we’ve posted to this site. But that doesn’t mean the work hasn’t been happening…

The deeper into this work on feedback we get, the more we realize relationships matter, the more we realize that models need to exist before practice can change. Teachers don’t necessarily know how to model good feedback practices with students because they don’t have models of effective feedback themselves. In places where teachers use feedback consistently with students, they have a feedback relationship with their colleagues or with their administrative team.

So how do we practice what we preach?

We must build a relationship of trust with one another. We must believe that we are working together for the same goal. Whether the goal is to score proficiency on the next state assessment, learn how to increase rigor in our class assignments, or shoot free throws with 85% accuracy, a well-defined goal will help us to work toward the same destination. Our relationship must be built upon an understanding of what success of that goal is and use conversation that supports and edifies one another as we work toward the goal.

The conversation of feedback must be a two-way street. Both the receiver and the giver of feedback must be willing to voice his/her thoughts, accept or rebut the thoughts and engage in conversation that helps both parties move toward the goal. I’ve participated in a number of feedback sessions where the conversation is one sided. “What should I change?” A list of recommendations is given, and then the receiver responds, “ok.” Did the receiver understand all of the recommendations? Did the receiver agree with all the recommendations? Does the receiver believe the recommendations will help to further the work toward accomplishing the goal? And there must be a way to check to see if the feedback pushes the receiver to act upon the suggestions. Do we know the feedback caused internalized change or was the receiver simply checking off items in a to-do list given as feedback?

We must also be vulnerable to ask for people to suggest ways to improve as well as have the humility to realize that we’re not experts at everything. Every Sunday I help out at a local coffee bar, and every Sunday there are ways to improve my technique on the espresso machine. Even when I get it “right” (which still isn’t very often since I’m still new at it), there are new latte art techniques I’d like to try or new flavor combinations to offer. Even in a safe, non-evaluative space, I can still get defensive if someone offers a tip for how to hold the pitcher at the right angle to ensure the foam is not too thick. I believe that most people initially get defensive when they’re told that they can improve, but if we’re willing to be vulnerable, we can open ourselves up to a world of possible alternatives. This is not an easy character trait to emulate and embody. However, we must recognize that there is always room for improvement. And as educators, we must model this attitude towards our students. Do we ask them to give us ways we could improve our classroom practice? Ways to improve our assessments or tasks? Ways to improve the classroom environment that opens more possibilities for collaboration? In order for students to be receptive to feedback, we must model what this looks like, including asking our peers for feedback. And that might mean inviting them into our classroom to observe our interaction, strategies, or techniques.

As educators, do we feel safe enough to practice what is preached? Who do you engage in authentic, conversational, professional feedback with on a regular basis?

“Just”

In life, many people qualify their identity with the word “just”. I am “just” a stay-at-home mom. I am “just” a teacher. I am “just” an accountant. The same qualification exists with work. I am “just” grading papers. I am “just” sitting in a meeting. I am “just”…

It’s as if we’ve conditioned ourselves to believe the work we’re doing isn’t meaningful, that we’re not meaningful.

At the core of #makingfeedbackmatter is the belief that the conversation is the relationship. When my colleague, Jay, and I go into schools and discuss this concept with some people, they respond with, “You’re ‘just’ going to come in and have a conversation?” Yes, yes we are. We need to begin to open a conversation about why teachers chose to become educators. Why they choose to come to work every day. How they best see their role in the classroom.

In “just” forming relationships with teachers, we begin a conversation which we hope will lead to deeper conversations the next time we are together. Eventually, we will “just” have a conversation about the essential role of feedback in the classroom, where teachers will understand how feedback can “just” impact student agency and achievement. A conversation which will be a relationship where real issues can be discussed without shame and blame, but instead will lead to dialogue about how to authentically provide feedback.

Although we believe there may be patterns in what “good” feedback looks and sounds like, we believe that meaningful feedback will rely heavily on an authentic relationship in the classroom. Feedback will be a developed conversation between teachers and students, not words from teacher to a student. The student will feel a sense of belonging in the conversation to voice their own views and feedback. This is how we believe we will “just” increase student agency.

We “just” have high hopes. We “just” believe in the desire of educators to make a difference. And we believe that feedback might “just” help that happen.

Sharing our Learning

In Henry County Schools, we are encouraging others to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Through our movement to personalize learning, we are asking our students to step outside the norms of what is established education and re-imagine what the educational environment could be like. If we are asking our students to be uncomfortable and develop a growth mindset, then it only makes sense that we as the leaders would also embody a growth mindset as well.

Last week I read a quote by Seth Gordin which has been bouncing around in my head. He says, “If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.” I believe that we are all leaders. In the lives of children, we have to take the lead. We have to model what we hope to see in our students. As Brene Brown articulates, we must become who we want our children to become, not just tell them. Evaluation systems for teachers are supposed to include feedback and conferencing, but because we lack clear models of how this looks in adult lives, we don’t know how to model healthy feedback loops for students. Are we, as the adults in the lives of students, seeking feedback from our students on our teaching skill? Are we, as the life-long educators, seeking ways to improve through collaborative conversations with peers and our evaluators? If we want our students to engage in healthy feedback, are we modeling healthy feedback amongst the adult students in the school building?

Next week, I’ll be attending the Jobs For the Future Summit where I’ll share our work on feedback loops to increase student agency with people who sit on all sides of the education, workforce, and policy table. I’ll participate on a panel where we discuss Assessments to Support Deeper Learning with fellow Assessment for Learning grantees. I’m excited to discuss how we believe that feedback loops will help increase student agency which will impact social mobility. Follow us next week at #jffsummit

I’m curious, have you had a model for effective feedback in your life? Might you be willing to share?

 

 

The Importance of Relationships

As we continue to dig deeper into fostering a feedback-rich system, we have begun to discuss the role of relationships in the process of being able to become vulnerable to giving and receiving meaningful feedback. If we expect to change the role of feedback loops in classrooms, we must first examine trust and opennness and willingness to put oneself in uncomfortable situations in educational settings.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

The very wise Theodore Roosevelt first said this, and I’ve heard many people repeat it over the years, especially in education circles. We repeat this often, but I wonder how many of us have really stopped to think how true the statement really is. If I examine this statement from my role as a student, I can say that I had so many teachers that showed me they cared over the years.

Caring in the classroom

I had one teacher in high school who offered different kinds of patterned band-aids in his classroom. They were accessible to all students, and if we were having a bad day, and we wanted him to know about it, we put that band-aid over our heart as a sign that we needed a little more caring that day. He didn’t always ask questions, but in his tone, we knew he took notice. Even if I wasn’t willing to talk in class, just knowing he acknowledged my heart helped me feel supported in class.

Caring beyond the classroom

There was another teacher who came to my wedding, years after I was in her 7th grade Social Studies class. Throughout the years in between, she kept contact with my parents, always asking how I was doing, ensuring she kept inserting words of wisdom into my life. She was also sure to send a High School and College graduation card, showing me that she was consatantly cheering me on.

Caring for first year educators

Then there was my principal when I was a first year teacher. She found opportunities to handwrite notes and put them in my mailbox when she saw me step outside of my comfort zone to try something new as a beginning educator. This small act showed me that she really saw my efforts, and encouraged me to keep trying new things.

Students need to know we care. In today’s society, there are so many forces at work in our classrooms. Students come to school without full bellies, without nurturing at home, without friends, without foundational skills. No situation is ever black and white, and why some students form strong relationships with teachers and why others don’t is not a simple answer. There is no formula for forming strong relationships in the classroom to ensure that all students will learn, but there are words of wisdom from other educators from which we can glean insight.

Reaching out…

• Do relationships really matter in the classroom?
• What are some ways you’ve promoted strong relationships in your classroom?
• What are some ways someone has built a strong relationship with you where you were able to learn something new?
• Do you believe the current classroom environment is a space where teachers and students can become vulnerable to give and receive authentic and meaningful feedback?

Learning in the Field

Do you want to know more about how we are thinking about feedback? A great place to start is to look at the learning community we are a part of in the Assessment for Learning Project (ALP). See some of the work here in the ALP Milestones Report.  By engaging in conversations with groups around the country who are also rethinking assessment, our minds and our philosophies are challenged in how we can authentically assess and provide meaningful feedback to our students.

Then, check out some of the recent articles from around the country on how others are rethinking assessment:

• John Hattie’s research has informed our beginning thinking on feedback loops.
• ASCD thinks about the role of open-ended and multiple-choice questions in classrooms.
• New Hampshire is inspiring Indiana to rethink assessment.
• Can portfolios help us shape the future?
• ASCD highlights different forms of feedback and how they can be used in classrooms.

And then, maybe a Ted Talk from Bill Gates on how teachers need more valuable feedback to improve their craft.

Feedback happens everywhere

As I’ve been researching feedback and how it can be used in the classroom, I’ve become much more aware of how feedback occurs in my own life. If you know anything about me, this is how my brain works…I get very interested in a topic, then I see it everywhere (think DOK levels…everything I look at now has an immediate DOK level assigned to it). I’ve spent the last few days reflecting on how feedback has impacted my own life.

Real-world implications

I have 3 children, and although those children are from the same house and raised by the same parents, their interests differ greatly. My oldest plays soccer. My two girls are involved in gymnastics. My oldest and youngest play piano, while my middle child engages in pottery lessons. In each of these instances, they receive immediate, timely, and specific feedback while they are practicing. Every time my son strikes the ball, his coach looks at his foot placement and whether or not his knee is bent. He makes suggestions that help him recognize where his body is over the ball in order to ensure proper placement. My daughters are told to point their toes or to straighten their mid-sections as they work on handstands. Through the arts, all of my children are watched carefully and are instructed on how to move their fingers in order to ensure that the music is played fluently or the clay does not fold over on the wheel. All of this feedback is immediate, and given one-on-one with my child involved in the process.

This is education. This is just-in-time feedback that makes an immediate improvement on their performance. And in these instances they practice, practice, practice. My son comes home and kicks the ball repeatedly against the outside wall of the house (sometimes hitting the window and getting a glare from mom…) based on the feedback he received in practice. My daughters take out the foam balance beam and repeat handstands over and over and over again, and interestingly, they seek their mom and dad’s feedback as they practice the same skill over and over. Every time my two piano players walk by the piano, they can’t help but to stop and bend over the keys to play a few notes, hold up their heads, and wait for mom or dad to comment on what they heard.

Hard-Wired

I believe that we are hard-wired to respond to feedback. I know that when I cook a meal for my family, plant a garden, or write a report that I am seeking feedback from others. Whether it’s a simple, “This tastes great!” to “Oh, that’s salty!”, feedback provides me with ways to change my performance.

So if we know this to be true, what is the implication for our classrooms? As a former teacher of middle school students, my students often wanted to know how they were doing. As a beginning teacher, I used to believe that I was the one who needed to provide the formal feedback, but that feedback often occurred in a summative fashion, when all papers or projects were turned in for final grading. As I progressed through my career, I found that I could leverage the power of their peers in providing feedback, but that students needed specific training in how to give feedback. In writing class, I would hold student writing up on the overhead projector (yes, yes I did say overhead projector), and ask students to read their rubrics and give specific feedback to the piece we were evaluating. We used the glow and grow method where we would give a specific compliment (“I love how you used a specific example from your life to connect to the topic.” – glow) and then provide a way to improve (“Consider rewriting your introduction to include an anecdote to interest your reader.” – grow). Students would then have time to reflect on what the class said and transfer those ideas to their own writing.

Now that I am out of the classroom, when I work with adults, I now find ways to provide other teachers with feedback. I have found that my feedback now integrates asking a lot of questions. Why did you choose that? What could you do differently? How does that increase the rigor of the task? By leading with questions, I find that this opens the conversation and does not make me the keeper of the knowledge. It also engages the learner in the process, and helps them to make their own meaning of their work.

Feedback should be inspiring

Regardless of the type of feedback, it should inspire us as learners to change our behavior. Whether it means we need to cut back on the recipe’s salt content, or follow-through on the kick, or soften our hands while throwing a pot, we should be engaging in processes in our classrooms which help our students to make decisions about how to proceed in improving their work.

 

Making Feedback Matter

In Henry County Schools, we are committed to ensuring each student graduates college, career and life ready.  We believe that a core measure of this success is the ability to be a reflective learner who engages in constant self-reflection in learning to mastery.  We broadly label this as student agency, and believe that there are tangible ways to measure the growth of student agency over time that are connected to best practices in instruction and learning. If students are provided significant increases in the quality and frequency of practice turns with timely, specific, and meaningful feedback, the result will be higher student achievement on academic measures as well as an increase in student agency. Ultimately, we want students to attempt various rigorous and complex tasks within their zone of proximal development, receive and internalize feedback and then participate in next attempts in productive ways based on that feedback. We have named this process #makingfeedbackmatter.

How?

We have teamed up with Next Generation Learning Challenges to explore ideas in how to increase student agency through specific and timely feedback processes in classrooms. Our project is one of 12 which selected from a pool of 148 proposals to receive funding for technical assistance, networking, and learning opportunities. During our first meetup in March, we were impressed by the other projects, and had the opportunity to make connections with other people looking to #rethinkassessment.

Our First Priorities…

Over the next two months, we are engaging in a lot of research and learning. Our first goal is to talk with teacher and administrative stakeholder groups to learn more about our current feedback processes and how adult learning best happens. We will share our current thinking about how we envision feedback loops, and will seek feedback from our stakeholders to inform our thinking. We realize that we cannot make strides without learning more from our educators, and we look forward to engaging with them in best practices.

Your thoughts?

We’d love to hear your initial thoughts on how feedback impacts student agency.

• What is your opinion on how feedback impacts student agency?
• How do you provide specific, timely, and meaningful feedback to your students?
• What feedback have you received that was most impactful to you?

We appreciate your participation in our space in the learning community!

Melissa Thomas

@melissa13thomas