During this session, we will be focusing on effective ways to reflect on our work and discuss how to give feedback to our peers. I want to explain the Feedback Ladder protocol you will be using. The Feedback Ladder was developed at Project Zero as a means for providing meaningful feedback in a variety of settings.

My co-instructor, Amy Sullivan, and I have used the Feedback Ladder in professional development workshops and in examining student work in our classrooms. The first step is to clarify anything that might be confusing or unclear. Next, we value what is strong or effective in the work. Expressing concerns is the third "rung" in the Ladder, and the final step is to offer suggestions for improvement. This protocol can be practiced and modified in many useful ways. Here we are adapting it for online use.

Above all else, the Feedback Ladder is especially valuable as a way to provide constructive criticism in a safe and supportive environment. But everyone has to participate in good faith for it to work well. When you are asked to clarify anything you are not sure about in your groupmates' TfU units, you should look at content, coherence, and clarity. Value judgments and comments about "editing" issues should be avoided at this point. What we are aiming for is useful, constructive feedback for the person who submitted the unit.