30 Second Feedback

            Last week, I spent an entire day shadowing an assistant principal at a school different than my own. We had a very full day, getting to see a little bit of everything. The most beneficial part of the day for me was our time conducting classroom observations. This assistant principal is currently working on her Specialist degree in Educational Leadership and has learned a new strategy for conducting observations and giving feedback. She wanted to try it out in some classrooms.

            She shared that in her class, they have been studying Mike Rutherford and his principles of conducting classroom observations and offering feedback. Mike Rutherford shares seven principles, but we focused on one. You can find all seven principles here. We focused mainly on giving the teachers 30-second feedback.

            Mike Rutherford believes that the 30-second feedback is a powerful learning tool for teachers. This feedback should be positive, short, and linked to a specific piece of the teacher’s practice (Rutherford Learning Group, Inc., 2009). The 30-second feedback should be used as a compliment and can be delivered verbally or in writing (Rutherford Learning Group, Inc., 2009).

            When we were in classrooms, we learned a lot from trying to decide on just 30 seconds of feedback. We went into the rooms for only 5-6 minutes. First, we looked at the big picture, focusing on the classroom as a whole. Then, we zoomed in on a smaller piece of that classroom. We also tried to pick three words to describe the classroom experience. Last, we stepped into the hall and decided what our 30-second feedback would be for that teacher.

            I really enjoyed this method of brief observations. We got to see a lot of rooms in such a short amount of time while still getting a good glimpse into their teaching style. While visiting, the assistant principal shared with me that it is so important to be in the classrooms as frequently as possible. She made a great point I will never forget. She said that teachers always remember how many times an administrator was in their room during the year, not how many minutes. She explained to me that she is going to try to be better at visiting more often instead of longer visits that happen not so often. I hope I will get to visit classrooms frequently when I am a school leader. 

Rutherford Learning Group, Inc. (2009). 7 Tools for developing teachers & teaching. Developing The Artisan teacher. Retrieved from http://www.samsconnect.com/conference2014/Mike%20Rutherford%20-%207%20Tools%20Handouts.pdf