Learning to process feedback wisely is essential to school improvement--and personal growth, writes school principal Sanée Bell. Here, Bell shares hard-won tips for soliciting authentic feedback from staff and, even more important, for organizing, acting on, and reflecting on that feedback.

If leaders expect the feedback they give to translate to improved results, they need to practice delivering it in such a way that others are willing to receive it and act on it, writes school principal Sanée Bell. Here, Bell provides three ingredients for feedback that resonates.

A revision-based assessment system, driven by clear rubrics, can mean less stress, more effective feedback, and greater student learning. English teacher Alexis Wiggins shares an effective and time-friendly revision-based assessment system she developed that allows students to focus on learning, not their grade.

Quizzes and tests don't count as feedback if educators and students can't act upon the information they provide. Two educators share simple tweaks to their quizzes and tests that helped them both get better feedback about their teaching and give better feedback to their students.

Well-crafted rubrics create a shared language that lets teachers and students work together. Rubrics are typically used to judge the level of students' understanding and skills or quality of a product. High-quality rubrics can also give students and teachers feedback to improve teaching and learning. Authors define "effective" feedback…

To create genuine feedback channels for their work, school leaders have to develop attitudes and structures to encourage conversation. School leaders benefit from feedback--but they are often the last to receive it. Educational consultant Jenn David-Lang argues that opening these channels for communication starts with developing the necessary…

What information addresses teachers' greatest concerns and actually has value to improve their impact on student learning? Thomas Guskey and Laura Link share new research that points to five characteristics for effective instructional feedback.

Administrators who can create cultures that combine high levels of challenge and support are more likely to foster higher levels of educator success. Authors?Wendy Anderson and Kathy Schuh share effective leadership methods to support new teacher efficacy, including balancing autonomy with feedback, professionalism with self-care, and risk with…

In his high school science classes, author Jonathan Bergmann employs "flipped-mastery learning," an equity-driven method that empowers students to master core material at variable paces and develop skills of self-directed learning. As schools face pandemic-related learning loss, Bergmann streamlines the logistics of an approach that…

Teachers spend tremendous amounts of time giving students feedback and grades. Their efforts fill weekends, late nights, and planning periods. The time they spend correcting student misconceptions, engaging with their thoughts, and coaching them toward deeper intellectual work is often deeply intertwined with their identity as educators. In their…

Grading should be more about the feedback--and less about the score, writes assistant principal Michelle Hope. By focusing attention on the steps toward mastery, teachers can offer students a more complete picture of progress.

Guskey reviews how the concept of teacher efficacy has evolved in research, from roots in attribution theory to a 1977 study that showed teacher efficacy as a key element of successful school improvement, to today. He shows what school leaders should do to improve teacher efficacy: 1) arrange professional learning experiences focused on…

When classroom observations are grounded in curiosity, they're more likely to give teachers the feedback they need--and want, write Sean Conner and Jennifer Froehle. Thoughtful questioning (over telling and directing) prompts teachers to construct their own understanding of strengths, needs, and next steps.

Games can be great tools to engage reluctant learners and provide ongoing feedback to educators about how their lessons are "sticking." Cassie discusses how to use gamified formative assessments to measure different kinds of skills and looks at the different ways teachers can use games in the classroom--from out-of-the-box board games to…

Although mastering the art of learning how to learn is considered one of the most important skills for young people, few teens know the basics of how to best learn something. And teachers rarely receive training in how to helps students become successful learners. The author describes seven well-supported techniques for learning anything that…