Facilitator’s Guide: Models, Critique and Feedback: The
Cornerstone of High-Quality Work
Sequence of Sessions
High-Level Purpose of this Session
In this session participants will learn about three important aspects of the writing process embedded in the 3-8 modules -- models, critique and
feedback. These practices, when effectively employed, help students create higher-quality work than we might think is possible.
Key Points


Models, critique, and feedback protocols promote increased student growth in learning and motivation
Models, critique, and feedback support a safe and collaborative classroom culture
Session Outcomes
What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this session?
How will we know that they are able to do this?
Explain how to effectively engage students in the analysis of models,
critique protocols, and feedback sessions to ensure that they create high
quality work.
Discussion/Journal entry
Session Overview
Section
Time
Introduction, agenda, 22
hook activity:
Critique
Descriptive Feedback 65
& Jigsaw
Student work sample
analysis
25
Overview
Prepared Resources
Facilitator Preparation
Participants engage in a critique
protocol
Sentence strips
Read materials and view video.
Participants read excerpts from
Participant notebook
Leaders of their Own Learning and
follow a jigsaw protocol to discuss
Participants review students’ work
Participant notebook
that illustrates how models, critique,
and feedback promoted significant
growth for students in a variety of
ranges.
Session Roadmap
Section: Introduction, agenda, hook activity: critique
Time: 22
[22 minutes] In this section, participants engage in a critique protocol
Materials used include:
Participants’ Journal
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
2
Also, PPT slide #3
18
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
Introduce yourself, targets & agenda for session
 I can explain how to effectively engage students in the analysis of models,
critique protocols, and feedback sessions to ensure that they create high
quality work.
solo
Agenda
 Critique Session
 Descriptive Feedback
 Jigsaw of these practices
 Analyzing Student Work


Solo,
Engage participants in an easy/quick experience that uses all 3: models,
partners
critique, and feedback (AA)
Participants will sort strips that include examples of “descriptive feedback”
versus teacher feedback that is either not descriptive or not supportive of
student learning in some way
o Review:
o answer chart with labels for them to check their work (in PPT)
o share task 2 slide of characteristics of the descriptive feedback whole
group – explain that reminding students about what good feedback
is on a regular basis is important, even if they have done a critique
protocol before
o participants take the unhelpful strips of feedback and work to revise
them to make them meet the characteristics of “descriptive
Key
o
Descriptive Feedback
Each paragraph should have one main idea, and that idea goes in the topic
sentence.
Non-descriptive feedback
I particularly liked your 2nd paragraph. Good thinking
here!
Your details strongly support your claim that we should recycle newspapers.
That's great. Where did you find all those facts?
Keep working!
You didn’t answer the second part of the question. How would you know if
you had accounted for all possible combinations?
I don’t see that you have supported your conclusion with evidence. Look
back at the data from your experiment to see if there is a pattern.
Look again at your notes regarding the two special interest groups. How
could your example more explicitly clarify their potential biases?
Your details strongly support your claim that we should recycle newspapers.
That’s great!
Review where you placed your thesis statement. Check your notes and
rethink this placement.
74% C-
o
Your introductory and concluding paragraphs are effective
“bookends” that state your theme.
Nice job – such an improvement!
Details?
You made the same mistake again.
The arguments you make are weak.
The arguments you make are strong.
o
EngageNY.org
5
o
feedback” that support student learning
Now ask them to put on a student hat for a couple of minutes –
they are students in your class and are going to engage in a critique
session of each other’s work. – have them get into pairs
participants choose either sample A or sample B to represent their
own work and they will craft a piece of descriptive feedback for
their partner
 introduce norms for the critique session
participants share their feedback with a partner to offer and receive
critique
 will uphold norms for critique session
review Just complete slide and explain that classes should get into a
rhythm with these practices and student will both know what to
expect and get better and better at both giving and receiving
feedback
Also, PPT slides #7-#9
Review slides on effective and ineffective feedback – explaining that giving
effective descriptive feedback takes practice and time – but it is time that is a
good investment because the pay offs in quality of work are huge. Because it can
be time consuming is another reason to leverage the power of the peer critique. It
gives students feedback in between the times that you can look at their work.
And though it takes practice – if they keep the QUOTE in mind, their feedback
will be helpful for students.
1
Also, PPT slides #11-#13
Share the sentence starter slide – just let them know it is in this PowerPoint for
their reference should they download it.
1
Explain that models, critique, and feedback are one part of student engaged
assessment practices. Read the middle circle – explain that those all of these
together as a system really boost achievement – models, critique, and feedback is
usually the best entry point for teachers and schools, and the best news is, they
have been built into the modules.
Student Engaged Assessment
EngageNY.org
14
Section: Descriptive Feedback & Jigsaw
Time: 65
[65] In this section, participants read excerpts from Leaders of their Own
Materials used include:
Participant notebook
Learning and follow a jigsaw protocol to discuss
Time
10
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
Participants are now going to watch a video that speaks to each component:
models, critique, and feedback.
 Participants view this video with the prompt below as a guide:
http://vimeo.com/channels/assessment/43992570
Solo,
pairs


15
How are the practices you identify similar or different to your current
practices with descriptive feedback?
What would be the right just next step for you and your students? (A)
Participants will use the jigsaw protocol to engage in discussion around all three
practices: models, critique, & feedback. Each text is either 7-8 pages and related
to one of these topics. The texts are not perfectly cut – one section might end
before another one begins. Or one might begin in the middle of the paragraph.
These texts are excerpts from our book: Leaders of Their Learning.
Have participants makes groups of 4 at their tables as best they can. This is their
home base group.
Review the jigsaw protocol (commonly used in the modules) with participants
Groups
of 4
and help them locate their recording form and text for the jigsaw from their
notebook.
Jigsaw protocol.pdf &
Jigsaw Recording Form.doc
Have groups determined who will read which section of the text. Explain that the
first column is for notes to take while reading, the second column will be filled in
either when they meet with others who read the same article as them or when they
are back together as a foursome again.
15
Give participants time to read and highlight key points they want to share on their
recording forms.
Have all of the people who read jigsaw #1 sit together, #2, sit together, etc.
No slide
Together in new groups, participants determine what is absolutely most essential
for their home base group to know. They should write that in the second column.
15
10
Participants move back to their home base group and share the information that
was determined to be most important by their expert group. Facilitator: keep time
for each round. Give each person 3 minutes to share.
 Show slide of all student engaged assessment practice with “models,
critique, feedback” highlighted chart of assessment practices
 Participants analyze the lessons that build on the living the lesson they
experienced in session 3. They look for the models, critique, and feedback
components.
o Discuss at tables: are their changes you would need to make for
your students? Why or why not?
 Key take away: these practices are not hard, especially when they become
routine
No slide
Student Engaged Assessment
EngageNY.org
17
Section: Student work sample analysis
Time: 23
[23 min] In this section, participants review student work that illustrates
how models, critique, and feedback promoted significant growth for
Materials used include: Participants’ Journal
pairs
students in a variety of ranges.
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
1
Remind participants about the learning target: I can explain how to effectively
engage students in the analysis of models, critique protocols, and feedback sessions
to ensure that they create high quality work.
Guide participants to the samples of student work from grade 3 Freaky Frogs 2A
module. There is work from 3 different students- it is clear which students are more
advanced – though they are not labeled that way.
10
10
2
Script/ Activity directions
Slides #20-#21
Task: review the 3 samples of student work individually.
Especially pay attention to the difference between draft one and the final draft.
Then, look at each step of the process. How did each step support the student’s
learning and the quality of the work?
Are there additional steps you would have added?
What would they be and why?
Participants share their responses to the questions with one another.
You may share a visual of the final product on the PowerPoint slide. They are color
and do not print well in black and white – hence the inclusion only on the
PowerPoint.
Ask participants to jot in their journal a response to this prompt:
To effectively engage students in the analysis of models, critique protocols, and
feedback to produce high quality work, teachers must…
GROUP
solo
triads