Harisimran Singh, MA TEFL (University of Reading), Delta (Cambridge), IDLTM (Cambridge-Distinction); Celta Tutor. He is an ELT professional based in India with more than four decades of diverse experience at junior, mid- and senior levels as teacher, teacher-trainer, and trainer-trainer; sensitive both to the Indian and the global ELT context.

Most of us who train teachers or teacher-trainers seldom spare any professional thought on whether lesson observation, evaluation, and post-lesson feedback require “a very high degree of professional ethics and objectivity” (Zaare, 2012, p. 606). This is primarily because observation and post-lesson feedback are more often than not highly underrated in teacher-trainer-training. Possibly, because we have never researched this topic enough to realize their critical role in teacher and trainer-development.

As a result, we are unable and unqualified to discriminate between ‘factual observation’ and ‘judgement’. In fact, quality observation takes a special set of knowledge and skills, and a checklist to identify gaps and weaknesses in observer training could vastly improve the quality of observation by using tools such as interactive coding systems and low inference notes that encourage “factual observation, not judgement” (Barge, n.d., slide 5).

John Heron’s (1969) exhaustive six categories of interventional feedback most definitely need to be part of any teacher-training program to run trainees through their paces in an observer training program from its first iteration.

Research findings suggest that teachers greatly wish for qualitative feedback but the lack of it can beget “a sense of frustration and lack of professional respect . . . that often generates low morale and stagnation” (Khachatryan (2015), pp. 164-165).

It would certainly help to understand that post-lesson feedback is designed to diminish incongruity “between the present state of a system and the desired state” (Grant Wiggins, 2012; Cleveland, Lim & Murphy, 2007, p. 171), in trying to improve student learning through better teaching (Khachatryan, 2015; Her Majesty’s Inspectorate, 2014; Brennan, 2017, p. 2).

A versatile and holistic approach to feedback would integrate different approaches on the part of the observer. Egan’s (1994) eclectic model of counselling suggests: problem solving, where the goal is for a client to solve their problem; educative process, where the focus of helping is learning; collaboration between the helper and the client; cognitive process, where through gaining a new understanding a client would change their way of acting; and a client-centered process, where the helper provides the client with necessary skills and knowledge in order to find the solution to their issues.

Moreover, it is important to be aware and sensitive to the teacher personality. We say, ‘know your learners’; this equally applies to knowing the teachers we’re training. Without a genuine concern, it is difficult to provide genuine help and encouragement. Consequently, even the environment should be that which is not dominant, but calming (Randall & Thornton, 2001). One might also use self-disclosure as a supportive intervention and signal for the teacher to own their failings.

While Randall and Thornton (2001) equate the experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1983 as cited in Randall and Thornton, 2001) to a practice cycle, Yürekli calls it the “observation cycle” (2013, p. 303).

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle consists of four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation; the ‘practice cycle’ has a pre-observation conference, the lesson, and post-lesson feedback session/debriefing (Randall and Thornton, 2001). The final stage is one of active experimentation in the learning cycle or the first in the practice cycle of the pre-observation conference. This is where the “derived principles from the debriefing session are sought to be applied to other situations in future lesson(s), and targets are set for the next observation (Randall & Thornton, 2001, p. 47). If this part is done effectively, there will be tangible higher gains during the observation and post-observation stages of the cycle (Yürekli, 2013, p. 303).

Ideally, feedback should address all three attitudinal dimensions—cognitive, affective and conative. Of these, affect takes centre stage because the most effective antidote to distress among teachers is trust and safety: “you can say almost anything to someone if they feel safe” (Grenny, 2015, p. 3).

The importance of the observer-mindset is particularly emphasized: “it should be that of benevolence[…]so that a teacher would feel better and self-confident” (Labuckaitė, 2015).

There is also the issue of ‘guidance’ and ‘direction’. how much to direct and how much to guide or facilitate? It is here that self-reflection itself has come to be hailed as “the most effective learning” for professional development (Yürekli, 2014, p. 310). The teachers should be made to reflect to see for themselves what needs doing; and in small bytes to prevent them feeling overwhelmed.

Effective advice has specially to be ‘owned’ by the teacher and not merely imposed from the outside. Ultimately, teachers should feel encouraged to “explore personal experience and to arrive at personally-derived plans for action. “Feedback is useless unless it is followed up by individual self-reflection” (Besieux: 2017, p. 437).

When trying to make feedback actionable, one needs awareness of “what’s attainable given the teacher’s skill level” (Archer et al., 2016, p. 196). Not all teachers can be ready to implement all kinds of changes. That is why effective feedback should be “specific to each teacher, focused on what their strengths and weaknesses are rather than general exhortations to improve” (Brennan, 2017, p. 4).

What is even more important, teachers have to perceive feedback as credible (Ilgen, Fisher, & Taylor, 1979; Kinicki, Prussia, Wu, & McKee-Ryan, 2004) and as meaningful in order for their practice to improve: “simply telling teachers what to do differently doesn’t help them better understand the relationship between their teaching and student learning” (Archer et al., 2016, p 197). It should not be conceptualized as a performative measure, where one judges the other, but a supportive one, where one collaborates with the other.

Equally important that we discuss when to give feedback. Many sources recommend timely feedback. Brennan (2017) states that “oral feedback and discussion must always be provided before the teacher leaves for the day” (p. 13) and it must be done “promptly” (p. 5). However, there is no consensus on “timely” feedback. Randall and Thornton note: if the debriefing is carried out immediately after the lesson, the teacher may well be incapable of mature reflection, being too ‘hyped up’ by the lesson to be able to make any sensible evaluation of the experience, or to take in what is being said by the advisor. (2001, p. 59). Should we feedback when teachers’ emotions have calmed down, and they have had time to reflect upon the practice, or straight after the lesson? While these judgments are left in the hands of observers and teacher-trainers, it helps to be sensitive to this aspect of timeliness.

Paul Bambrick-Santoyo (2012) in his book Leverage Leadership introduces an interesting protocol for the post-observation conference with six steps: 1) Praise (for the things done well, based on evidence); 2) Probe (talk about specific area of focus, asking how the teacher tried to address it during the lesson); 3) Identify Problem and Action Step (looking into the focus area what happened during the observation and planning steps for future lesson next week together); 4) Practice (practicing/role-playing technique together); 5) Plan Ahead (designing next lesson with the technique in mind); 6) Set Timeline for Follow-Up

In sum, the critical role of observation and feedback needs to be recognized by teacher-trainers, and we need to be fully aware of the nuances of how to observe factually, as well as when and how to give feedback so that the teacher can develop enough to narrow the gap between teaching and student learning.

 

Bibliography

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Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2012). Leverage Leadership: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Barge, J. D. (n.d.). Using low inference feedback and conferencing: A school leader’s guide for improvement [slide presentation]. Retrieved from: https://slideplayer.com/slide/1497854/ 84

Besieux, Tijs. Why I hate feedback: Anchoring effective feedback within organizations. Retrieved from:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007681317300253

Brennan, J. (2017). A guide to lesson observation: Tools and support for observing lessons effectively. UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: https://cdn.oxfordowl.co.uk/2017/04/21/10/32/07/582/bp_observation_guide.pdf

Cleveland, J. N., Lim, A. S., & Murphy, K. R. (2007). Feedback phobia? Why employees do not want to give or receive performance feedback. In J. Langan-Fox, C. Cooper, & R. Klimoski (Eds.), Research companion to the dysfunctional workplace: Management challenges and symptoms (pp. 168-186). Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.

Grenny, Joseph. ‘The Key to Giving and Receiving Negative Feedback’ in Harvard Business Review, August 6, 2015.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales. (2014). Effective classroom observation in primary and secondary schools. Retrieved from: https://www.estyn.gov.wales/sites/default/files/documents/Effective%20classroom%20ob servation%20in%20primary%20and%20secondary%20schools%20 %20October%202014.pdf

Ilgen, D. R., Fisher, C. D., & Taylor, S. M. (1979). Consequences of Individual Feedback on Behavior in Organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64(4), 349-371. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.64.4.349

Khachatryan, E. (2015). Feedback on teaching from observations of teaching: What do administrators say and what do teachers think about it? NASSP Bulletin 99(2), 164 – 188.

Kinicki, A. J., Prussia, G. E., Wu, B., & McKee-Ryan, F. M. (2004). A covariance structure analysis of employees’ response to performance feedback. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(6), 1057-1069. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.89.6.1057

Labuckaitė, J. (2015, January 23). Lesson observation – a wonderful way of learning. Retrieved from: http://www.bernardinai.lt/straipsnis/2015-01-23-pamoku-stebejimas-puikus-mokymosi budas/126675

Randall, M. & Thornton, B. (2001). Advising and supporting teachers. M. Williams & T. Wright (Eds.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Wiggins, G. (2012). Seven keys to effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 10–16. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/Seven-Keys-to-Effective-Feedback.aspx

Yürekli, A. (2013). The six-category intervention analysis: A classroom observation reference. ELT Journal, 67(3), 302-312. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccs102

Zaare, M. (2012). An investigation into the effect of classroom observation on teaching methodology. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 70(25), 605-614. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.01.099

 

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