Everyone benefits from having a coach. Whether you’re an athlete or a bridge player, having someone to provide feedback is crucial for improvement. Unfortunately, one of the most important professions—teaching—often lacks this essential support. Teachers, who play a pivotal role in shaping future generations, receive minimal feedback to help them enhance their skills.
When Melinda and I discovered how little constructive feedback teachers receive, we were astonished. Historically, over 98% of teachers received only a single word of feedback: “satisfactory.” Imagine if my bridge coach only ever told me I was satisfactory; I would never know how to improve or what distinguished the best from the rest.
While some districts are beginning to change how they evaluate teachers, the feedback provided still falls short of being truly helpful. This lack of support is unfair to teachers and students alike and poses a risk to America’s global educational standing.
To understand how to better support teachers, I looked at countries with high-performing students. The U.S. ranks 15th in reading, 23rd in science, and 31st in math. In contrast, many countries that outperform the U.S. have formal systems in place to help teachers improve.
Shanghai, China, stands out as a top performer in reading, math, and science. Their success is partly due to their robust teacher support system, which includes opportunities for new teachers to learn from experienced ones, regular study groups, and peer feedback sessions.
Why is a system like this crucial? Because teaching effectiveness varies widely. Some teachers achieve remarkable results with their students. If we could elevate the average teacher to the level of these exceptional educators, our students would excel globally.
Our foundation has collaborated with 3,000 teachers across the country on the Measures of Effective Teaching project. We used classroom observations and student surveys to assess teaching practices. The findings were promising: teachers who scored well on these evaluations had better student outcomes.
Teachers found the feedback from videos and student surveys to be valuable diagnostic tools, highlighting specific areas for improvement.
Consider Sarah Brown Wesling, a high school English teacher, who uses a simple camera setup to record her classes. By reviewing these videos, she gains insights into her teaching methods and identifies areas for growth. This approach offers a concrete view of classroom dynamics, providing a reality check that abstract theories cannot.
Video feedback can reveal aspects of teaching that are difficult to capture in lesson plans or textbooks, offering a deeper understanding of the teaching process.
Our goal is for every classroom in America to benefit from such a feedback system. However, diagnosing areas for improvement is just the beginning. Teachers also need resources to act on this feedback. For instance, if a teacher needs to improve their approach to teaching fractions, they should have access to exemplary teaching videos.
Creating this system will require significant investment, estimated at up to $5 billion. While this is a substantial amount, it represents less than 2% of the annual expenditure on teacher salaries. The potential impact on teachers and students is immense, offering a pathway to a more equitable and successful education system.
By providing teachers with the feedback and tools they need, we can ensure that all students receive a high-quality education, leading to fulfilling careers and the opportunity to achieve their dreams. This initiative would not only enhance our country’s success but also promote fairness and justice.
I am enthusiastic about the prospect of supporting our teachers in this way and hope you share this excitement. Thank you!
Engage in peer feedback sessions with your classmates. Pair up and observe each other’s teaching methods in a simulated classroom setting. Provide constructive feedback based on specific criteria discussed in the article, such as clarity of instruction and engagement techniques. This will help you understand the importance of detailed feedback and how it can be applied effectively.
Record a short teaching session and participate in a workshop where you and your peers analyze the video. Focus on identifying strengths and areas for improvement, similar to the approach used by Sarah Brown Wesling. This activity will give you practical experience in using video as a feedback tool and help you gain insights into your teaching style.
Study the feedback systems of high-performing countries like Shanghai, China. Prepare a presentation on how these systems contribute to teacher development and student success. This will enhance your understanding of global best practices and inspire ideas for implementing effective feedback mechanisms in your future teaching career.
Work in groups to design a comprehensive feedback system for teachers, incorporating elements such as peer reviews, student surveys, and video analysis. Present your system to the class, highlighting how it addresses the shortcomings of current feedback methods. This exercise will encourage you to think critically about the components of an effective feedback system.
Maintain a reflective journal where you document your teaching experiences and the feedback you receive. Reflect on how this feedback influences your teaching practices and student outcomes. This activity will help you develop a habit of self-reflection and continuous improvement, which is essential for professional growth.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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[Music]
Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast, or a bridge player. My bridge coach, Sharon Osberg, says there are more pictures of the back of her head than anyone else in the world. Sorry, Sharon! Here you go.
We all need people who will give us feedback; that’s how we improve. Unfortunately, there’s one group of people who get almost no systematic feedback to help them do their jobs better, and these people have one of the most important jobs in the world. I’m talking about teachers. When Melinda and I learned how little useful feedback most teachers get, we were blown away. Until recently, over 98% of teachers just received one word of feedback: “satisfactory.” If all my bridge coach ever told me was that I was satisfactory, I would have no hope of ever getting better. How would I know who is the best? How would I know what I was doing differently?
Today, districts are revamping the way they evaluate teachers, but we still give them almost no feedback that actually helps them improve their practice. Our teachers deserve better. The system we have today isn’t fair to them, it’s not fair to students, and it’s putting America’s global leadership at risk.
So today, I want to talk about how we can help all teachers get the tools for improvement they want and deserve. Let’s start by asking who’s doing well. Unfortunately, there are no international ranking tables for teacher feedback systems, so I looked at the countries whose students perform well academically and examined what they’re doing to help their teachers improve.
Consider the rankings for reading proficiency: the U.S. isn’t number one; we’re not even in the top 10. We’re tied for 15th with Iceland and Poland. Out of all the places that do better than the U.S. in reading, 11 out of 14 have a formal system for helping teachers improve. The U.S. is tied for 15th in reading, but we’re 23rd in science and 31st in math. So there’s really only one area where we’re near the top, and that’s in failing to give our teachers the help they need to develop their skills.
Let’s look at the best academic performer: the province of Shanghai, China. They rank number one across the board in reading, math, and science, and one of the keys to Shanghai’s incredible success is the way they help teachers keep improving. They ensure that younger teachers get a chance to watch master teachers at work, have weekly study groups where teachers discuss what’s working, and even require each teacher to observe and give feedback to their colleagues.
You might ask why a system like this is so important. It’s because there’s so much variation in the teaching profession; some teachers are far more effective than others. In fact, there are teachers throughout the country who are helping their students make extraordinary gains. If today’s average teacher could become as good as those teachers, our students would be outperforming the rest of the world. So we need a system that helps all our teachers be as good as the best.
What would that system look like? To find out, our foundation has been working with 3,000 teachers in districts across the country on a project called Measures of Effective Teaching. We had observers watch videos of teachers in the classroom and rate how they did on a range of practices. For example, did they ask their students challenging questions? Did they find multiple ways to explain an idea? We also had students fill out surveys with questions like, “Does your teacher know when the class understands a lesson?” and “Do you learn to correct your mistakes?”
What we found is very exciting. First, the teachers who did well on these observations had far better student outcomes, which tells us we’re asking the right questions. Second, teachers in the program told us that these videos and surveys from the students were very helpful diagnostic tools because they pointed to specific areas where they could improve.
I’m going to show you what this video component of the program looks like in action.
[Music]
Good morning, everybody! Let’s talk about what’s going on today. To get started, we’re having a peer review day. Our goal by the end of class is for you to determine whether or not you have moves to improve in your essays. My name is Sarah Brown Wesling, and I am a high school English teacher at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa.
Turn to somebody next to you and tell them what you think I mean when I talk about moves to prove. I think there is a difference for teachers between the abstract of how we see our practice and the concrete reality of it. What video offers for us is a certain degree of reality; you can’t really dispute what you see on the video, and there is a lot to be learned from that. There are many ways that we can grow as a profession when we actually get to see this.
I just have a flip camera and a little tripod and invested in a tiny wide-angle lens. At the beginning of class, I perch it in the back of the classroom. It’s not a perfect shot; it doesn’t catch every little thing that’s going on, but I can hear the sound, I can see a lot, and I’m able to learn a lot from it. So it really has been a simple but powerful tool in my own reflection.
Once I’m finished taping, I put it in my computer and then scan it. If I don’t write things down, I don’t remember them, so having the notes is part of my thinking process. I discover what I’m seeing as I’m writing. I really have used it for my own personal growth and reflection on teaching strategy, methodology, and classroom management.
I’m glad that we’ve actually done the process before so we can compare what works and what doesn’t. I think that video exposes so much of what’s intrinsic to us as teachers in ways that help us learn and help us understand, and then help our broader communities understand what this complex work is really all about.
I think it is a way to exemplify and illustrate things that we cannot convey in a lesson plan, things you cannot convey in a standard, and things that you cannot even sometimes convey in a book of pedagogy.
Alright, everybody, have a great weekend! I’ll see you later.
One day, we’d like every classroom in America to look something like that, but we still have more work to do. Diagnosing areas where a teacher needs to improve is only half the battle; we also have to give them the tools they need to act on the diagnosis. If you learn that you need to improve the way you teach fractions, you should be able to watch a video of the best person in the world teaching fractions.
Building this complete teacher feedback and improvement system won’t be easy. For example, I know some teachers aren’t immediately comfortable with the idea of a camera in the classroom. That’s understandable, but our experience suggests that if teachers manage the process, collect video in their own classrooms, and pick the lessons they want to submit, many of them will be eager to participate.
Building a system will also require a considerable investment. Our foundation estimates that it could cost up to $5 billion. Now, that’s a big number, but to put it in perspective, it’s less than 2% of what we spend every year on teacher salaries. The impact for teachers would be phenomenal; we would finally have a way to give them feedback as well as the means to act on it.
But this system would have an even more important benefit for our country. It would put us on a path to making sure all our students get a great education, find a career that’s fulfilling and rewarding, and have a chance to live out their dreams. This wouldn’t just make us a more successful country; it would also make us a more fair and just one, too.
I’m excited about the opportunity to give all our teachers the support they want and deserve. I hope you are too. Thank you!
[Applause]
[Music]
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This version removes any personal names or specific identifiers while maintaining the core message and structure of the original transcript.
Feedback – Information provided by an instructor regarding a student’s performance or understanding, aimed at guiding future improvement. – The professor gave detailed feedback on the essay, highlighting areas for improvement and praising the strong arguments presented.
Teachers – Professionals who facilitate learning by imparting knowledge, skills, and guidance to students. – Teachers play a crucial role in shaping the educational experiences and outcomes of their students.
Education – The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. – Education is a lifelong journey that equips individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary for personal and professional success.
Students – Individuals who are engaged in learning, typically enrolled in an educational institution. – Students are encouraged to actively participate in class discussions to enhance their understanding of the subject matter.
Improvement – The process of making something better or more effective, often through feedback and practice. – Continuous improvement in teaching methods can lead to better student engagement and learning outcomes.
System – An organized framework or method designed to achieve specific educational goals. – The new grading system aims to provide a more comprehensive assessment of student performance.
Learning – The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or teaching. – Learning is most effective when students are motivated and actively engaged in the process.
Resources – Materials, tools, or services that support the educational process and enhance learning. – The library offers a wide range of resources, including books and online databases, to support student research.
Teaching – The act or profession of instructing or educating students, often involving the use of various methods and strategies. – Effective teaching requires adapting to the diverse needs and learning styles of students.
Outcomes – The results or achievements of an educational process, often measured in terms of student performance and understanding. – The course outcomes are designed to ensure that students gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.
