Planning for Feedback

                                                                 

IT'S A MINDSHIFT!

I was planning for next week, and I realized that my thinking has shifted.  Just a little, but it's definitely there.  Change.  Good Change. It's an interesting concept.

I was considering the feedback that I've been given as I've been conferencing about essays.  The realization came to mind that I need to be much more intentional about PLANNING for feedback.

Of course I have thought about feedback before, and this is scarcely the first time I have every conferenced, or put time in my lessons to give feedback, but other than on those specific occasions, I haven't ever planned through a lens of 'feedback first'.  At first I didn't even realize that I was doing it, but as I looked over my notes and began to build my slideshow, I realized that I was finding myself thinking, "Oh, I can do this in stations and have a conferencing group," or, "While part of the class is doing this, I can be checking 'that' for comprehension."

I started thinking about how to change what had been planned in our collaborative planning team to be more focused on stations work.  Instead of just thinking about/planning for engaging activities, I started thinking about how to take those activities and turn them into work where part of the class was doing one thing, part another, the rest with me.

It's much harder to plan - never mind teach - this way. I mean, reality is, how much easier is it for me to tell them all once and expect them to get on with it?  How much easier is it for the students to have a set of instructions to follow and everyone waits while each student completes his/her work?  It's always easier to have hands held.  But how much better is the learning when students are forced to think for themselves, find solutions, be allowed to be creative?

One thing I discovered this week was just how much some of my kiddos want their hands held. They aren't comfortable with open prompts and challenges. Some students panic. Some switch off. Some behave badly and seek attention.  But I have to remember, they don't know what to do. Some haven't been trusted before.  Others haven't had a teacher with the energy to give it a try.  There are those who are so grade-driven that they are scared to try, they want a list, they want to fulfill it. I know, I've been burned before too.  Teachers say, "Be creative, do what feels right," and then give you a bad grade. Oh yes, that's why I hate grades 😂😂😂😂

Take for example, my new mantra this week of Ask Three Before Me. They really struggled. I can think of two students in particular, who almost shut down because I asked them to go talk to their peers before they came talk to me. That constant and consistent need for teacher approbation is huge! So now I have to think through that, how do I keep the personal touch, the relationship, and the need to please the teacher strong, while at the same time encouraging independence, and trust of peers, and increased collaboration? It all circles back to planning. 

There still needs to be specific direction. There needs to be a known goal.  There should be a roadmap.

But there needs to be room for individualism, divergent thinking.  Permission to be brave.

So as I put my plans together next for the next couple of weeks, I’m really focusing on the feedback. 

Where am I going to find a time for the personalized feedback, and where am I going to find the time to use the results of feedback in teaching. 

What changes am I going to make to lessons, already planned out, according according to what I find out during the feedback? That’s key! I have to be as open to change and possibilities as I would like my students to be!  There needs to be space to maneuver, room to change, a place for options.

I can also see how if I do this right, it’s actually going to free up time for me. It really is amazing to me, how much less I am working at home now that I’m focusing on doing that feedback and grading in school and this is just the beginning! I might be doing more front-loading, moving forward, but that’s a lot more fun than actually grading! I mean, I love the planning and creating. That's the BEST!  And when I spent hours pouring over assignments and writte work, giving feedback... it might have been a labor of love....but it’s LABOR!  Especially fully knowing that the majority of the students don’t really pay attention. It's tough.  Well, WOW,  they are certainly paying attention now. And I really like it. 

So the more I think about it, the more I think about it, it isn't just about personalizing learning.  It isn't even personalizing learning through feedback, it's more about planning for feedback to allow for more personalized learning.

Yes.  

And it ROCKS!