A Framework for Feedback

Ruth Wajnryb

In my experience as a TESOL trainer, as well as a trainer of trainers in this field, I have found
that by far the most difficult aspect of the job is the feedback interaction conducted between
trainer and teacher or teacher trainee after an observed lesson. This is so whether the teacher
being observed is in training, is inexperienced or is very experienced; and whether the
observation is for assessment or for professional reflection and development. There are
differences of course, but not large and substantial ones. Likewise, the fact that the feedback
is immediate or delayed does not significantly reduce the difficulty. Overall; it seems to me
that feedback as a communication event is inherently fragile, and as such benefits from
having a number of supports and safeguards

There is little mystery in why the interaction is so difficult. It's all bound up with people, their
psyches, their needs, wants, goals, their self-perceptions, their fears, anxieties and
insecurities. It is largely about 'face' (Goffman, 1972) and teacher supervision per se is
entirely face threatening (Brown & Levinson, 1978). Tp compound matters, this applies as
much to the trainer as to the trainee. The more research is conducted into this field, the more
we find out about styles of feedback and notions of appropriateness in relation to pre- and in-
service (e.g. Gebhard & Malicka, 1991, Freeman, 1990; Wajnryb, 1992a). Such guidelines
can only help trainers and teachers reap the maximum rewards from the feedback interaction.

This article offers a framework for feedback which I have found serves me well for the post-
observed lesson interaction with a teacher and allows us to maximize the benefits of the time
spent. In a sense, the framework is 'idealised' for, with appropriate adjustments, it may serve
most interactions: pre-service and in-service and a range of different observation contexts
(Wajnryb, 1992b).

It has five steps: negotiation, climate-setting, review and problem-solving, goal-setting and
closure, and the last, a stage for the trainer, personal reflection, borrowed from the last stage
in the cycle of clinical supervision (Cogan, 1973).

Step 1: Negotiation

At the outset, 1 find that it helps to. establish between the two participants what the time limit
is and how the process is expected to develop. Establishing the time parameters allows both
parties a sense of 'finiteness' and highlights the need to use time wisely. Establishing the
process is a form of signposting that allows the teacher to gain security from knowing where
the feedback is heading. You can suggest an agenda and elicit a response, leading towards an
agreement on how to proceed. Or the agenda can be arrived at more openly, with the trainer
eliciting the teacher's suggestion for an approach ("How would you like to approach this ?").
Generally, the more experienced the teacher, the less need for direction; but. personality
factors play a role here too (see Wajnryb, 1992a).

Step 2: Climate-setting

Working to achieve a positive climate might start happening before the negotiation and this
does not matter as long as it does happen. It is axiomatic that the teacher needs to feel as
relaxed and comfortable and unthreatened as possible. Secure a place that is private, where
you won't be interrupted. I find it helps to begin by focusing on some third/neutral ground. A
handy one is a comment on the learners themselves - start off with something like "They're a
lovely (cheerful/noisy/bright/unruly/etc.) class, aren't they?" This serves as neutral but phatic
communion and leads you onto the next phase. My experience with the well-worn trigger
"How did you feel about the lesson?" is that it is a non-starter. It doesn't relax the teacher; on
the contrary, it often makes them edgy to start talking about the lesson without having an
inkling of where the trainer 'is at'.

Step 3: Review and Problem-solving

It's important here to remember that your feedback is finite - twenty minutes or whatever, and
most probably you have far too much on the potential agenda than could be covered.
Remember that often a written report will follow the feedback and there is room in this for
peripheral comments

Bear in mind, too, the concept of 'saturation ': there is a limit to the number of items a teacher
can absorb/ accommodate in a personal interaction. (In one feedback I videoed, I counted 107
'bits of advice', handed down by trainer to trainee. Not surprisingly, the trainee shut himself
down long before the feedback did.)

It is therefore crucial to focus on specifics and to prioritize these. Some helpful elements
are:
• working from the tangible to the hypothetical- this is what you did., this is what
resulted...what alternatives exist?...how might they work?

• focusing on a cause-effect approach: looking at outcomes and linking this with-

processes. This encourages a reflective approach to teaching and helps teachers
understand that 'things don't just happen' and that they do have control

• eliciting and gently steering the teacher towards the key points rather than imposing

• using 'raw' descriptive data as evidence in which to ground your comments, e.g.
scripted language - to present a point

• avoiding the language of regret: "you should have.. . ", "you could have.."
(Woodward,. 1989)

• developing verbal cues for reducing trainer talk, e.g. "talk to me about...", "you have a
great way w i t h . . , . " , " I was wondering about the way you. . . " , " t h e class
really seemed t o r e s p o n d . . ".

As in the classroom, learning to manage silence encouraged a reflective, co-operative

ambience.

Step 4: Goal-setting and Closure

At this stage the trainer is hoping to consolidate and set the agenda for what the teacher will
be working on after the feedback. Perhaps have the teacher summarize where they feel they
might now focus their attention. This can be expressed in terms of objectives: "I'm going t o
work on organizing my board in a more focused way.", " I ' m going t o script my
instructions before the lesson and see i f that makes them clearer. ", etc.

It is vital that the teacher emerge from the feedback with a sense of progress and a sense of
purpose; armed with a tangible and specific grasp of the key issues, as well as the means ( a
'handle' ) for continuing to learn. It is important, too, that the experience be placed on a
continuum or chain of experiences and be perceived as a stop, among others, within a
developmental frame.

Building in a 'concept check' to ensure 'the trainer's message is the teacher's message'
sometimes pre-empts later problems. Sometimes teachers fill in their own self-evaluation
report or complete a diary or a journal. If the trainer is able to access these, they may serve as
a vital means of determining whether the teacher and the trainer are on the same wavelength.

Step 5: Reflection

Trainers, themselves on a learning curve, need to reflect on the experience and whether it was
successful in terms of its priorities and objectives. Ideally it helps to sit down with another
trainer and have them guide you through the process:

How did the feedback go? Were there any difficulties? Did the teacher have similar
perceptions? Would you handle anything differently next time? What follow-up is
called for?

Especially in a case where you perceive some resistance, it is important to air this and
determine its nature, as it is often easy for a trainer to perceive as resistance what is in fact the
overt sign of learning - of a teacher reappraising sets of knowledge and understanding
(Byrnes, 1985).

It helps, too, if the trainer keeps a written record of the feedback as this will help where
follow-up is appropriate. In sessions where there has been anything at all upsetting on the part
of the teacher - disappointment, defensiveness, rejection - it is important that the trainer 'stay
on the path' of the teacher (albeit tactfully and unobtrusively), monitoring them over the next
few days or week to ensure that, ultimately if not immediately, the experience is an affirming
one.

Reference

Wajnryb, R. (1993) Classroom Observation Tasks: a resource book for language teachers and
trainers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.