Post-observation feedback as an instigator of learning and change: exploring the effect of feedback through student teachers’ self-reports

Abstract

The study is concerned with post-observation feedback and its role as an instigator of teacher learning and change. It investigates two kinds of feedback: corrective and confirmatory and explores how each kind of feedback may have contributed to the learning of a group of student teachers. It also investigates the ways in which these teachers have experienced changes in behaviour and changes in cognition. It adopts a qualitative approach to research, making use of case studies. It brings an additional perspective to the literature on change by examining changes in teacher persona, as reported by the student teachers themselves. It introduces and discusses two new concepts that emerged from the research reported in the study: convergent change and divergent change. It argues that certain kinds of feedback seem to be more facilitative of convergent change while some others seem to lead to change that is characterised as being more divergent. It considers the implications which the findings may have for teacher educators.