Introduction

Feedback is one of the most frequently used strategies within Initial Teacher Training. Every lesson observation, mentor meeting and professional discussion involves some form of feedback. However, despite the amount of feedback trainees receive, not all feedback leads to improved classroom practice.

Many mentors assume that if they clearly explain what a trainee needs to improve, change will naturally follow. Educational research suggests otherwise. Simply identifying an area for development does not guarantee that a trainee knows how to improve it, can practise it effectively or is able to transfer that learning into future lessons.

In other words, feedback itself does not improve teaching. It is what happens after the feedback that matters most. Effective mentors therefore see feedback as the beginning of professional learning rather than the end of an observation.

From Feedback to Professional Learning

The Education Endowment Foundation's (EEF) Effective Professional Development Guidance Report argues that professional development is most effective when it develops both knowledge and teaching techniques before supporting teachers to embed these changes into their classroom practice (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021).

This is an important distinction. Receiving feedback is not, in itself, professional development.

Professional development occurs when trainees:

• understand what needs to improve;
• understand why it needs to improve;
• see what effective practice looks like;
• practise the improvement in a supportive environment; and
• apply that improvement successfully within the classroom.

This means that feedback should rarely conclude with:

"Try that next lesson."

Instead, effective mentors should ask themselves:

"How can I help this trainee successfully implement this improvement?"

This shift in thinking transforms feedback from a conversation about teaching into an opportunity to improve teaching.

Feedback Should Change Practice

The EEF's guidance identifies four mechanisms that underpin effective professional development:

1. Building knowledge
2. Motivating teachers
3. Developing teaching techniques
4. Embedding practice

Feedback contributes to all four.

For example, effective feedback may:

• increase understanding of effective teaching (building knowledge);
• reinforce confidence by recognising successful practice (motivating teachers);
• introduce a new instructional technique (developing teaching techniques); and
• provide opportunities for rehearsal and repeated implementation (embedding practice).

Notice that only one of these mechanisms involves telling the trainee something. The remaining mechanisms require the trainee to actively engage with the feedback through reflection, practice and implementation. This explains why two trainees may receive exactly the same feedback but make very different levels of progress.

It is not simply the quality of the feedback that matters. It is how effectively that feedback is translated into improved classroom practice.

Feedback Is Most Effective When It Is Precise

As we discussed in the mandatory training, one of the most common weaknesses in mentoring feedback is that it is too broad.

Consider the following examples.

Example 1

"You need to improve behaviour management."

Whilst accurate, this feedback provides little guidance about what the trainee should actually do differently.

Now compare this with:

"During independent work, four pupils began calling out because expectations had not been reinforced before pupils started. Next lesson, explicitly revisit your expectations before pupils begin working independently."

The second example identifies:

• the specific aspect of practice;
• the evidence observed;
• the likely cause; and
• the immediate improvement required.

This feedback is much more likely to lead to purposeful action because it is grounded in observable classroom practice.

Feedback Should Focus on the Controllable

Research on teacher expertise consistently suggests that improvement occurs when professionals deliberately practise specific aspects of performance rather than attempting to improve everything at once.

Rosenshine (2012) argues that effective teaching consists of many individual techniques that can be explicitly taught, practised and refined. Consequently, mentors should avoid feedback that attempts to address multiple unrelated aspects of teaching simultaneously.

For example:

"Improve behaviour, questioning, explanations and pace."

Although well intentioned, this creates an unrealistic cognitive load for the trainee.

Instead, effective feedback narrows the focus to what is the highest leverage:

"Let's focus on checking pupils' understanding before independent work. Once this becomes more secure, we'll build upon it."

This reflects the principles of deliberate practice, where improvement occurs through focused repetition of manageable components before integrating them into increasingly complex performance.

Feedback Should Promote Reflection, Not Dependence

Earlier modules explored the importance of listening, questioning and adaptive mentoring.

These principles remain equally important when providing feedback.

Rather than positioning themselves as the source of all solutions, mentors should encourage trainees to analyse their own practice before offering additional guidance.

For example, instead of beginning with:

"Here's what you need to improve."

consider asking:

"What evidence did you notice that pupils understood the learning objective?"

or

"If you taught that lesson again tomorrow, what would you keep exactly the same?"

These questions encourage trainees to evaluate evidence before receiving further instruction. However, questioning alone is not sufficient.

Once the mentor understands the trainee's thinking, they can determine whether coaching, instructional mentoring or modelling is the most appropriate next step. This adaptive approach aligns with the ITTECF (Department for Education, 2024), which emphasises that mentoring should respond to the trainee's current knowledge, confidence and developmental needs.