The Art of Observation and Feedback 4

Previously, I examined the reasons for providing feedback. This fourth article from the series unfolds simple guidelines for feedback.

On the CELTA, I was, fortunately, placed in the stronger end group. Though they were highly competent teachers, my comments on weaknesses outweighed those of their strengths. I remember being called "passive-aggressive" for my feedback, which was clear evidence I was not doing it the right way, and hence I decided to follow certain principles I had observed my trainers use and those provided by Cambridge courses for trainers.

The perfect lesson is like the holy grail: everyone is searching for it, but nobody has ever found it. I noticed I was harshly critical of myself and oblivious to what I did excellently at the lesson. Therefore, the observer needs to always start the feedback with the strengths of the lesson to draw teachers' attention to good aspects of the lesson and praise them consequently. This could help put teachers at ease and make them more receptive to any weaknesses to be addressed. Similarly, the wording matters, and hence referring to weaknesses as "action points" or "points of improvement" is way better. In the same way, using indirect suggestive language, e.g., "why do you think students found the task difficult?" instead of "your instructions weren't clear.". Trainers have to come off as if they are trying to work with teachers not against them, which is the case. For the oral feedback, there should be a balance of strengths and weaknesses, and the weaknesses should be those which are specific and can reasonably be achieved in the following lesson.

I have always emphasized the necessity of articulating facts in the feedback. Good observers state what they see and notice, not what they imagine. "Students were bored" is not a useful comment. How did you know they were bored? But "one student was yawning" is more useful and should be left to the teacher to interpret and reflect on. Therefore, it's crucial to state only facts in the feedback.