CFG Protocols

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Descriptive Review

Time: At least 30 minutes.
Roles: Enlargement of understanding of a text, not the achievement of some particular understanding.

Specifics

The tuning protocol is a formalized way to get feedback on work in progress to examine student work as a means to refine curriculum or practice. As with music this is a rehearsal where the tuning of the instrument is vital to the quality of the music. The process can be as short as 30-40 minutes.

  1. Introduction (5 minutes) Facilitator briefly introduces the protocol goals, guidelines and schedule. A person (the Tunee) brings any work in progress to a group of peers (the Tuners) for "tuning." It can be, for example, student work in progress, finished student work that a teacher wishes to examine, a faculty committee bringing a first draft of a proposal, etc...
  2. Teacher Presentation (10 minutes) Tuners read, or view the presented work. The Tunee presents the work to the Tuners, elaborating on what has been given to the Tuners. No interruptions or questions are allowed, just listening and note taking by the Tuners. The Tunee may ask for specific feedback (framed feedback) or may leave it open (unframed feedback).
  3. Clarifying Questions (5 minutes) Tuners may ask clarifying questions, but no discussion is allowed.
  4. Feedback (10-20 minutes) Tuners discuss the work together, giving three kinds of feedback each in separate intervals. The Tunee may only listen and take notes while the Tuners talk. Feedback is directly related to the work at hand and does not refer to the Tunee.
    • Warm Feedback—Positive points associated with the work.
    • Cool Feedback—Questions that arise, doubts, gaps in the work.
    • Hard Feedback—Challenges related to the work.
  5. Reflection (10 minutes) The Tunee responds to the feedback given by the Tuners. Responses should be about changes that might be made, new insights, clarifications. Response is not an opportunity to defend the work.
  6. Debrief (5-10 minutes) The facilitator leads a brief conversation about the group's observation of the process.
From A Guide to Looking Collaboratively at Student Work, 1999 by David Allen, Tina Blythe, and Barbara Powell.