The right feedback at the right time for…

14 November, 2022 —
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The right feedback at the right time for effective professional development

Mark Miller on features of effective feedback in PD

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by Bradford Research School
on the 14th November 2022

“Numerous reviews have demonstrated the variable impact that feedback can have but, on average, it is associated with a positive effect on performance.”

This comes from Mechanism 9 of the EEF’s Effective Professional Development guidance report: Providing Feedback.

There are a couple of phrases that set off alarm bells in that sentence. ‘Variable impact’ and ‘on average’ mean that sometimes when we provide feedback to teachers to support their improvement, it can have a negative effect.

4 Strategies to Eliminate the Gap

According to Kluger and DeNisi (1996), when teachers are given feedback that is designed to help them ‘close a gap’ to meet a particular standard, there are four ways that they can attempt to do so.

They can focus their effort on improvement and addressing the feedback
They can abandon the standard
They can change the standard
They can reject the message

It’s only the first of these that we want our feedback to do.

Feedback and Self-efficacy

Feedback should have clear goals and create belief that the goals can be met successfully.

We know from Mechanism 3 (Setting and Agreeing on Goals) that ‘when conscious, specific, and sufficiently difficult goals are set, they make it more likely that performance will improve.’ The mere act of setting a goal, rather than just passively receiving feedback is important, but there is no point in setting a goal that can’t be achieved. Or, more importantly, a goal that we believe cannot be achieved.

This means pitching the feedback appropriately, and setting out how the steps that will be taken to meet the goals.

Daisy Holland-Selby has explored some theories of motivation (albeit in a slightly different context) here: How do we Solve the Problem of Motivation? Part One: The Motivation Myth

Standards Worth Meeting

Every school has its own expectations, some of which might be the focus of professional development. For the feedback to have the desired impact, there needs to be a sense that these standards are worth meeting. It’s quite easy to dismiss feedback if you don’t believe there’s any worth in meeting that standard.

For example, implementation of school policy and fidelity to particular approaches may be the focus of feedback. But the value of these approaches needs to be communicated clearly and the message reinforced. Where is the value of achieving these standards, other than compliance? Therefore the impact of feedback is mitigated by the way things have been communicated in the first place. We explore this further in our blog on Mechanism 6: Professional Development: What Techniques and Why?

And if there are no standards worth aiming for, what is the feedback seeking to address?

Feedback From a Credible Source

An easy way to reject the message from feedback is to dismiss the source of it. This could be dismissing the messenger or the rationale for the message.

This means that leaders of PD need to consider who gives the feedback: the expertise of the person giving feedback; the relationship e.g. peer, line manager, more senior colleague, an external colleague; the context of the feedback – low stakes is probably best.

As my colleague John Hern would say, feedback is a gift. We need to make sure it’s a welcome one.

Mark Miller is director of Bradford Research School

See the full list of mechanisms below, and the other blogs in the series.

Kluger, Avraham & DeNisi, Angelo. (1996). The Effects of Feedback Interventions on Performance: A Historical Review, a Meta-Analysis, and a Preliminary Feedback Intervention Theory. Psychological Bulletin. 119. 254 – 284. 10.1037/0033 – 2909.119.2.254.