Guest Writer: Nancy M. Learning Forward

 The theme of this year’s Learning Forward conference was evidence. I walked away with many action steps to ponder.   Here are a few takeaways tied to evidence from a session with Professor and author Dr. Thomas Guskey and Dr. Laura Link on Feedback Teachers Find Most Useful.

• Results were shared from an in depth research study in the midwest involving 92 K-12 teachers and 7400 students.

• Teachers clearly identified the 2 types of feedback that they found most useful. 

• The student (work) feedback was explained as a close look at formative assessments with an item analysis so that teachers can determine next steps in learning.  It was also emphasized that assessment structures could be altered so that teachers build in time after unit assessments to determine gaps in student learning. An alternate instructional strategy should be applied so that more students can gain mastery.

• Digging deeper into this study, student work combined with classroom observations were most valued when feedback was focused on how students are performing based on a specific goal that teachers have set for their students, whether it is a building goal or a professional growth goal.

At Kaneland, we do much of this goal focused work in teams. Jennifer Abrams, a communication consultant and author of many educational professional texts, spoke on Daring Conversations: Strengthening Adult to Adult Conversations in Schools. She emphasized that we need to work effectively together by developing both our students and ourselves. She referenced collective efficacy with a focus on solutions. The way we do this is by stretching our learning edges. A learning edge is the state of mind we enter when we are outside of our comfort zone and pushing our previous knowledge. She emphasized our professionalism matters.  The five facets that influence our ability to grow are:

1. Know your identity (Think of a staff learner profile)

2. Suspend your certainty (Remain open minded to new ways of thinking)

3. Take responsibility

4. Engage in reciprocity

5. Build resiliency

One final thought is that trust is the foundation of these facets.  Included in the notes from this session are more detailed definitions and a list of reflection questions and prompts to dig further into these facets. I value working with grade level teams and modeling for our students that we are lifelong learners and plan to look into her book Stretching Your Learning Edges: Growing (Up) at Work.