After meeting with my colleague, I realized that my teacher brain kicked in was admiring how well her feedback aligned with- gulp!- 8th grade CCSS standards. She:
- Came to the discussion prepared, having read my website ahead of time (SL8.1A)
- Acknowledged the new information I expressed (SL8.1D)
- Helped me to analyze the purpose of information presented in my website (SL8.2)
- Evaluated the soundness of my reasoning (SL8.3)
- Maybe those standards are relevant and well-thought out, after all!
- Maybe those standards are asking a lot from a 13 year-old.
John Hattie's research shows that peer feedback is one of the most impactful ways to learn. However, research also confirms that 80% of feedback that young people give one another is inaccurate. To that end, I made great strides towards the end of my school year in guiding students to give one another specific, clear feedback. This week's exercise in critical friending put me in the student's seat. As adult learners, my colleagues and I don't have to rely on sentence frames and simplified rubrics as my students do, in order to keep our feedback clear and specific. But the impact of getting feedback from a respected peer is, all the same, extremely beneficial. It was great for me to experience, firsthand, something that confirms both research and classroom practice.
I'd also like to add that being the giver of critical feedback is just as helpful as being the receiver. Examining my colleagues' work gave me ideas for content and layout.
And now, my two year-old is fighting to get her grubby hands on my keyboard... Over and out!