As of September 30, 2005, the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium is no longer in operation.
NCRTEC Professional Development Planning and Evaluation Teaching and Learning
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Overview
Managing Change
Data-=Driven Decision Making
Support System
Professional Development
Coaching Staff
Learning with Technology
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Leadership and Learning with Technologyfour thin width=      2001

Coaching Staff for Integrating Technology

Tips for Critical Friends

What is a critical friend?
A critical friend is a person who can help us with our educational actions and decisions. He or she stretches us to articulate precisely our rationale for those decisions and helps us to see important information from a different perspective. Critical friends are careful to take the entire context into consideration before offering feedback. Yet, while their main purpose is to provide support, they are not afraid to confront us with issues in order to help us become more than we ever thought possible.

How can a critical friend help with professional development?
Critical friends are good listeners and problem solvers who help others sort out their thinking and make sound decisions. They ask provocative questions that help others define expectations and intentions, help them realize when their expectations for themselves and others are too low, and tell us when their actions don't match their intentions. Such dialogue helps others grow professionally in ways that readings, conferences, or classes cannot.

What can I do to be a critical friend?
Critical friends possess certain core qualities:

  • Respect
  • Trust
  • Rapport

In addition, they:

  • Listen well.
  • Clarify ideas.
  • Encourage specificity.
  • Fully understand what is being presented.
  • Fully understand the context of the work.
  • Fully understand the desired outcomes of the work.
  • Offer value judgments only when asked.
  • Respond with integrity.
  • Act as an advocate for the success of the work.

Critical friends avoid:

  • Being negative- they are an advocate, not a critic.
  • Any conflict of interest or values, and they avoid hiding any personal agenda (they may have an agenda, but it must be shared at the time of the first interaction).
  • Holding a stake in the problem being addressed without explaining what the stake is.
  • Dishonesty and vagueness in their responses.
  • Being arbitrarily judgmental.
  • Directing- they are there to provide support.

How does the critical friends process work?
A typical process includes these steps:

  1. We explain the critical friends process and ask to observe a lesson or unit.
  2. Once observed, we schedule a conference and jointly we set desired outcomes for the conference.
  3. As a critical friend we ask questions in order to understand what we observed and clarify the context in which the lesson or unit took place.
  4. As a critical friend we provide feedback about what seems significant about the lesson or unit.
  5. As a critical friend we raise questions and critique the work, nudging the teacher to see the lesson or unit from different perspectives.
  6. During the conference both participants reflect on the points and suggestions raised or suggested, or on advice that seems appropriate to the desired outcome.

Critical Friends Feedback Form


 

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