To help encourage conversations about feedback, collaboration, and sharing ideas, the topic/question for the dinner table is...
How Should We Share?
How interested are you in knowing the experiences and ideas of people you have never met?
Interested, yes
- Not sure yet
- Not interested enough
- I am already doing that
- Once I get past the hard part of establishing a routine, the chances are very good
- If I received regular reminders, I can eventually establish a routine.
- I am afraid that I would spend too much time on the site once I get there
- No chance
- Yes
- No
With the cool autumn weather here, I hope everyone enjoyed a nice weekend. We certainly were chilly on the sidelines of kids' sports games, but enjoyed having a nice fire Saturday afternoon and evening - definitely one of my favorite parts about fall in New England. After Maggie's softball game on Sunday we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon before watching the Patriots.
This year our sixth grade science team is continuing their work with Standards Based Reporting, continuing the pilot from Term 3 of last year with a yearlong pilot for this academic year. As part of this pilot we have established a focus group, comprised of parents, teachers, and administrators to discuss the work that is taking place, share ideas, and provide feedback. We had our first meeting Friday morning, and it was great to listen to the varying perspectives, hear the questions that were raised, and have honest and open conversations. The standards-based approach is a change in practice and I do firmly believe that it provides more consistent and informed feedback for our students. With the focus group taking place, this week marking the halfway point of Term 1, interim reports going home on Friday, and conversations with the administrative team about the evaluation system taking place over the last week, the subject of feedback has certainly been on the forefront of my thinking. Questions come to mind - what is the purpose of feedback? What constitutes feedback? What is the most effective way to provide feedback? How can we help both students and adults receive feedback? The responses to these questions are critical for us to discuss, ponder, and share with colleagues and parents. Although opinions may differ, the conversations and sharing of experiences/perspectives will help narrow our gap of discrepancy and hopefully lead to more common ground.
Two significantly important aspects of effective feedback are conversation/dialogue and reflection. Providing opportunities for students and adults to better understand what is being examined/assessed as well as structures for self-reflection will allow a greater likelihood of sustainable and realized progress. The posts below that I am sharing this week directly and indirectly relate to the topic of feedback and growth, emphasizing the importance of staying present, taking some time to listen more before making judgments, and learning from the experiences of others...
Appreciating the “MOMENT” In Different Ways
by George Couros (@gcouros)
Although this post does not directly relate to the topic of feedback, I appreciate his insight and thoughts regarding the perspective of allowing people to ‘live in the moment’ in different ways. As he addresses the concerns that many of us share about the ‘heavy tech world’ we live in, he shares the benefits that technology provides as well. This idea of taking a bit more time to better understand before making assessments or jumping to conclusions has implications for our work and interactions with one another.
What we have to realize is that how we live in the “moment” is not something that should be determined by someone else, but it is deeply personal. How I create memories is unique to me, as it is to each one of those people in the initial people that I have shared. What do I know is that sometimes being able to relive those moments with something I can view through images or video, is something that I cherish a great deal, and sometimes, more than the original moment, because it brings back things to me that I wouldn’t experience if it wasn’t captured in the first place.
Let’s just realize that there are different ways we can appreciate the moment we are living in right now.
Praise That Makes Learners More Resilient
by Allison Master from the Mindset Scholars Network
I came across this article on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog this week. He referenced it as one of the more useful articles on giving feedback, and I wholeheartedly agree. Master supports the work that Carol Dweck has done on ‘fixed’ vs ‘growth’ mindsets and provides the distinction between ‘person praise’ and ‘process praise’. Again, the implications are clear for students and adults alike.
When praise really matters is later, when students inevitably struggle or make a mistake. And this is the time that we care about the most, because the goal of education is to help children learn things that they don’t already know. Eventually, all children should be working at the frontiers of what they know how to do, taking on challenging tasks that will help them grow.
Person praise implies to students that success is due to fixed traits that they possess, but can’t control. Process praise implies that success is due to their effort and the strategy they used, which they can control.
Contrary to popular belief, motivation isn’t something that students either have or don’t have. What the praise research shows is that how adults interact with children every day is important, and can affect students’ motivation in profound ways. More importantly, this research teaches us that we adults can change our own mindsets and interactions with students in ways that improve their motivation and, ultimately, their success in the classroom.
Tips for Giving Praise and Constructive Criticism
- Highlight students’ use of strategies and resourcefulness
- Emphasize students’ persistence and the fun of succeeding at challenging tasks
- The more process praise you can give, the better
- Be honest
- Let students know you hold them to a high standard
#EdShare: Raising the Bar for National Sharing
by Patrick Larkin (@patrickmlarkin) in Education Week
In the spirit of ‘Connected Educator Month’, Larkin’s brief post encourages all educators to work in a collaborate manner, sharing both successes and fails. Learning from each other’s experiences and the feedback those experiences can provide will help keep our trajectory of growth moving forward.
When something works, share it! Loud and proud. Share excellent classroom practices. Share how your school team overcame a challenge. Share a district success that others can emulate. If you find a fabulous product, tell us. Share your rubrics. Share your exemplars. Take photos and videos, and post them with pride. Share your victories with enough detail that others can flatter you through imitation!
But please don't forget that your Fails are important to share, too...We can save each other so much time if we shared the "What Not To Do" stories as often as we shared the "What Went Well" stories? It takes a lot of trust to share our low points with new people. So, this Connected Educator month, I promise you this: If you share your Fails, you will gain more trust because of your transparency, not less.
At the end of the day, one of our steadfast goals should be to personalize the learning experience as best we can and provide opportunities for our students and staff to grow. If we do so and thoughtfully reflect as to how and why we provide praise and criticism, we are moving our community of learners in a positive direction. A collaborative approach will facilitate this work and will serve our students well.
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Take care.
Nat Vaughn