The document outlines a process for using critique to improve student work and develop a culture of excellence in the classroom. Key aspects of the process include: 1) Modeling high quality work for students and creating success criteria. 2) Having students complete drafts of their work and providing formal critiques to help them improve their drafts. 3) Establishing rules for critique that focus feedback on improving content while avoiding personal comments. 4) Allowing students to critique their own and others' work builds skills and reinforces learning. This process raises the standard of student work.

1. Critique
(Making feedback a more powerful tool in the classroom)

2. Why I looked at it:
• I wanted students to develop actual pride in the
quality of their work
• I wanted to develop the use of feedback in my
classroom (and for it to become a culture/norm)
• I wanted to have feedback acted upon instantly
so every student made progress (specific
feedback is surely one of the best forms of
differentiation?)

3. Process
Dedicate whole lessons to this
• Model a piece of work you are asking students
to create (pull out key vocabulary)
• Create a success criteria with students
• Draft 1
• Formal class critique
• Draft 2 (redraft)
• Student critique….

4. Critique Rules:
• Be kind: All feedback is there to help. No
personal comments. No sarcasm.
• Be specific: No comments like ‘It’s good’ or ‘I
like it’. These just waste our time. Ban them. Use
vocab pulled out from model.
• Be helpful: Aim is to help an individual or the
whole class with their learning. Comments
should focus on this. Anything else wastes time.
• Hard on content, soft on people

5. In-Depth Critique

6. Gallery Critique
Please click this link to see the work that High Tech High in San Diego does on critique
and promoting excellent work:
http://www.jamieportman.com/blog/teaching-learning/reflections-on-hightechhigh-visit-exhibiting-
learning/

7. Why? Impact?
• Standard of work went through the roof
• Feedback given was more specific and became like
a set of instructions (vocab improved)
• The progress that students made was extremely high
• Content was learnt and reinforced over and over
again through process of critique
• Underlying development of literacy skills and other
key processes used in the project
• Students looking for work to be critiqued without my
direction
• Students skilled enough to critique their own work
with rigor
• Culture of creating work to be proud of was
achieved in the project (due to critique)

8. Essential resources
‘An Ethic of Excellence’
by Ron Berger
Excellent ‘must read’ for all
teachers.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/A
n-Ethic-Excellence-Building-
Craftsmanship/dp/032500596
6

9. Essential resources
Ron Berger basic explanation of critique
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1znB1ox0_EI
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2K75WO7a70
Austin’s Butterfly - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFHf7jAfJlg
Tait Coles Critique presentation from TMClevedon
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_qdNNs3m6g
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-yXX1En3fc
High Tech High guide - P27 of the book explaining critique
http://www.innovationunit.org/sites/default/files/Teacher's%20Guide%20to%20Pr
oject-based%20Learning.pdf
Darren Mead blog posts on critique
http://pedagogicalpurposes.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/critiques
Tait Coles blog posts on critique
http://taitcoles.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/public-critique/
David Didau (Learning Spy)
http://learningspy.co.uk/2013/01/26/work-scrutiny-whats-the-point-of-marking-
books/