Helen Reed - Day 4

1. How does using protocols like “critical friends” help teachers become more reflective of their teaching practices?

Using critical friends is a safe way to get feedback from colleagues regarding a topic. I learned so much from the feedback I received today along with extra ideas from listening and participating in the other presentations. Receiving feedback can be difficult in many situations. People's tone, body language, and knowledge base can become intimidating or negative quickly. By using critical friends, you lay the expectations out and it becomes more of a conversation. When receiving feedback, teachers get to see where others have questions and reflect on if they did not include something originally or if they simply need to make things more clear. Using language such as, "I like..." and "I wonder..." promotes affirmation and wonderings. The affirmations confirm what the teacher is already doing, while the wonderings are suggestions and thoughts worded to make the teacher reflect and decide how they want to proceed. 

2. What conditions are required for teachers to make use of this protocol?

For teachers to use critical friends they must have a sense of trust with their colleagues. When establishing conditions to use critical friends, teachers must know that their ideas are being respected and that suggestions are just suggestions. The teacher has the final say in their project,but the friends are there to help make your project the best that it can be. I would love to use critical friends protocol with my colleague to run other PBL units by them before I implement them. 

3. How could this protocol be used with students?

Critical friends could be used with students easily! Students usually love the chance to help their friends out and critical friends does just that. To use critical friends in the middle of a project is also beneficial. When given feedback in the middle of your project, students would have time to go back and reflect and make revisions. Critical friends can be used with a PBL unit or a design project, but I also think it could be used with other projects students complete which would require some kind of revision. Through modeling and breaking the critical friends steps down, I believe this will be a fantastic way for my students to receive peer critiques. 

4. Identify two specific protocols you will embed in your PBL unit.  Consider protocols for teacher-student or student-teacher feedback as well as student-student feedback.

I plan to include critical friends in my PBL unit. After the students have written a draft of their PSA/weather report, the students will participate in the critical friends protocol. By receiving feedback halfway through the project, the students will still have time to go back and make revisions to their writing before they begin with the technology aspect. The students may also get additional ideas for their own project by listening to their classmates' projects. Another protocol I plan to use in my PBL is the Consensus protocol. After researching, the students will complete the Consensus protocol to gather their thoughts and facts about storms and come up with a group summary which includes just the important information. I will be able to come around to groups and talk with them about their consensus and help them determine if they need to add or delete things from their consensus. Through this protocol, I will be able to see each individual student's understanding of storms and how they are able to work with a group to come to a consensus regarding all of the information.