Conferring with Students in History Classes: Preservice Candidates Examine Instructional Practices Using Feedback Surveys

This article describes the use of student feedback questionnaires by history teacher license candidates in a classroom-based approach called “Conferring with Students.” During the past five years, at a large public university in Massachusetts, 125 teacher candidates wrote their own feedback surveys, received responses from more than 4,000 middle and high school students, reviewed the results, and used students' ideas and suggestions to consider and change classroom instructional practices. Surveys asked for feedback about two types of student-centered teaching methods, a “comfort” method (an instructional practice that the candidate was confident using to teach) and a “reach” method (an instructional practice the candidate was not confident using to teach). Initially, 90% of the candidates were reluctant, even afraid, to seek student feedback. However, after receiving comments about their teaching, the students' feedback propelled reflection and change of instructional practices with almost all of the candidates reporting that they would continue soliciting feedback from students as part of their development as full-time teachers.