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Now for a detailed look at each step of the framework.

Step 1: Prepare

This step takes place before the feedback conversation. You will review notes, consider which areas of the teacher’s practice to focus on in the conversation, and come up with action steps the teacher can take to improve these areas. The purpose of planning this ahead of time is to keep the meeting brief, productive, and on-topic, and to make sure your feedback is as effective as possible.

Good planning is key to making your feedback effective because, when it comes to feedback, less is more. Long lists of issues and suggestions can be stress-inducing and hard to prioritize. It is more effective to focus on one or two development areas at a time, making sure a solid gain has been made before moving on to new areas.

Deciding which development areas a teacher should focus on can be a very complicated process, but in general it is a cost-benefit analysis. You want to focus on areas that can be improved quickly, but will have a significant impact on student learning.

Once you’ve decided on one or two development areas, it’s important to prepare action steps the teacher can take to make an improvement. Later, you will be collaborating with the teacher in Step 4 to come up with action steps; but it helps to have some ideas of your own. If the teacher is having trouble coming up with ideas, or if the teacher’s ideas will not be as effective as yours, you can suggest the action steps you came up with.

One other aspect to consider is where to hold the meeting. In general, you should try to hold the meeting somewhere private, free of distractions, and familiar to the teacher.