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a ready-to-run workshopReceiving Feedback Well
New Teacher · Workshop

Receiving Feedback Well (Workshop)

Everything you need to lead this with your staff or PLC: a minute-by-minute run-of-show, what to say, what to hand out, and how to make it stick. Pick the length that fits your slot.

Key takeaway

New teachers get a lot of feedback, from administrators, coaches, and mentors, and how they receive it shapes how much they grow and how they are seen, so learning to stay open and non-defensive, take what is useful, and not be crushed by criticism turns feedback from a threat to be survived into the resource for improvement it is meant to be.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
Any teacher-leader or mentor
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutFeedback you have receivedA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Learning CommunitiesInTASC 9: Professional LearningNew-teacher growth; receiving and using feedback
Share / assign

Why it works

New teachers are observed and given feedback more than at almost any other career stage, by administrators in evaluations, by instructional coaches, by mentors, by colleagues, and how they receive that feedback matters a great deal, both for how much they actually grow from it and for how they are perceived by the people giving it. Receiving feedback well is a genuine skill, and it is harder than it sounds, because feedback on one's teaching can feel deeply personal, especially for a new teacher who is working incredibly hard, feels vulnerable about their competence, and may hear any criticism as a verdict on their worth. That emotional reality produces several unhelpful responses the skill works against. Defensiveness: meeting feedback with explanations, justifications, and pushback, which both blocks the learning and signals to the giver that feedback is unwelcome, so they offer less. Being crushed: taking criticism as devastating proof of failure, spiraling into discouragement, which is painful and also unproductive. And dismissing: deciding the feedback is wrong or the giver does not understand, which forecloses growth. Receiving feedback well means navigating between these toward a stance that is open, non-defensive, and discerning, without either swallowing everything uncritically or deflecting it all. Several principles help. Separate the feedback from your worth: feedback on a lesson or a practice is information about that lesson or practice, not a judgment of you as a person or a teacher, and holding that distinction is what keeps criticism from being crushing. Listen to understand before responding: genuinely take in what is being said rather than formulating a defense while the person is still talking, which both helps you learn and shows you are open. Assume good intent and look for the useful: approach feedback assuming the giver wants to help (usually true) and actively look for what is useful in it, even when it is imperfectly delivered or you do not agree with all of it, since there is usually something worth taking. Manage the emotional reaction: notice the sting or the defensiveness, let it settle rather than acting on it, and avoid responding from the raw emotion of the moment. Ask questions and engage: seek specifics and examples, which turns feedback into something actionable and signals engagement. Take what is useful and let the rest go: you do not have to accept every piece of feedback, discernment is legitimate, but discern thoughtfully rather than defensively, and act on what is genuinely useful. And follow up by acting: nothing builds a giver's investment in you, or your own growth, like visibly acting on feedback. A caution: receiving feedback well does not mean being a doormat who accepts everything, some feedback is wrong or ill-fitting, and a new teacher can hold their own view respectfully; the skill is openness with discernment, not uncritical compliance. Done well, receiving feedback well accelerates a new teacher's growth and builds the relationships with coaches and leaders that support them. The workshop helps new teachers receive feedback as a resource, staying open and non-defensive, separating feedback from their worth, taking what is useful, and acting on it.

The research: Research and practice on feedback, growth, and new-teacher induction.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: receive feedback open, discerning, and acted on

    The heart of the session is building the stance that lets a new teacher take feedback as a resource, staying open and non-defensive while discerning what is useful.

    Feedback is information about the work, not a verdict on youTaken as a judgment of their worth, feedback crushes or provokes defensiveness in new teachers. Held as information about a lesson or practice, received openly and discerningly, and acted on, it becomes the resource for growth it is meant to be.

    Facilitator notes

    Acting on feedback builds growth and relationshipsNothing accelerates a new teacher's growth, or a coach's and leader's investment in them, like visibly acting on feedback. Following up turns a conversation into improvement and signals that feedback is welcome and worthwhile.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Receiving Feedback Well: open, discerning, acted on

    Make feedback a resource, not a threat: separate it from your worth, listen openly, assume good intent, take what is useful, and follow up by acting on it.

    1. A piece of feedback that stung, and what was useful in it:
    2. How I separate feedback from my worth:
    3. How I manage the emotional reaction before responding:
    4. How I take what is useful and let the rest go with discernment:
    5. How I follow up by acting on it:

    Make it stick

    Received well, feedback accelerates your growth. Close by setting the follow-up:

    Common questions

    How do I not take feedback on my teaching personally when I'm working so hard?
    You practice, deliberately, separating the feedback from your worth, which is the single most important move and also the hardest, precisely because you are working so hard and feel vulnerable. The reason feedback feels personal is understandable: as a new teacher you are pouring yourself into the work, you feel uncertain about your competence, and your teaching feels like an extension of you, so criticism of a lesson can land as a verdict on you as a person. But feedback on a lesson or a practice is exactly that, information about that lesson or practice, and holding that distinction, this is about the thing I did, not about my worth as a person or even my potential as a teacher, is what keeps criticism from being crushing. It helps to remember that every teacher, including the best ones, has endless room to improve and receives feedback throughout their career, so getting feedback is not a sign you are failing; it is a normal and valuable part of growing, and the fact that you are being coached means people are investing in you. It also helps to manage the emotional reaction in the moment: notice the sting, let it settle rather than acting on it, and avoid responding from raw emotion, giving yourself time before you react. None of this means the feelings vanish, especially early, but the skill is to feel the sting and still receive the feedback as useful information rather than as a judgment of you, which gets easier with practice and which is what lets the hard work you are putting in actually be improved by the feedback rather than defended against it.
    Do I have to accept and act on every piece of feedback I'm given?
    No, receiving feedback well is openness with discernment, not uncritical compliance, so you take what is genuinely useful and can thoughtfully let the rest go, as long as the discernment is honest rather than defensive. Some feedback is wrong, ill-fitting, based on a misreading of your context, or simply less useful than other feedback, and you are not obligated to accept and act on all of it; a new teacher can hold their own professional view and respectfully disagree where disagreement is warranted. The important distinction is between discernment and defensiveness, which can look similar from the inside. Defensiveness rejects feedback to protect yourself from the discomfort of criticism, deciding quickly that the giver does not understand so you do not have to change; discernment genuinely considers the feedback openly first, looks hard for what is useful in it, and only then, thoughtfully, decides some of it does not fit. The test is whether you truly took the feedback in and weighed it before setting part of it aside, or whether you reached for reasons to dismiss it. In practice, most feedback has something useful in it even when it is imperfect or you do not agree with all of it, so the habit is to assume there is something to take, take that, and let go of what genuinely does not fit after honest consideration, rather than either swallowing everything uncritically (which is being a doormat) or deflecting it all (which forecloses growth). So you do not have to act on everything, but you do have to consider everything openly, which is what separates legitimate discernment from self-protective dismissal.
    Won't pushing back on feedback make my evaluator or coach think I'm difficult?
    It depends entirely on how you do it, because there is a large difference between defensive pushback, which does make you look difficult and discourages feedback, and thoughtful, respectful engagement, which is actually valued. Defensiveness, meeting feedback with immediate explanations, justifications, and resistance, signals that feedback is unwelcome and that you are more interested in defending yourself than growing, which both blocks your learning and leads givers to offer less, and yes, it can make you seem difficult. But that is not the same as never offering your perspective. Receiving feedback well includes genuine engagement: asking clarifying questions, seeking specifics and examples, and, where you have relevant context the observer lacked, respectfully offering it, all of which is appropriate and signals that you are taking the feedback seriously, not that you are difficult. The keys are sequence and spirit: you listen fully and take the feedback in first, before responding, rather than defending while the person is still talking; you approach the exchange looking for what is useful rather than for reasons to reject it; and when you do offer context or a different view, you do so respectfully and openly, as part of a shared effort to get it right, not as a rebuttal. Handled that way, offering your perspective deepens the relationship and marks you as a thoughtful professional rather than a difficult one. What makes a new teacher seem difficult is not having views but reacting defensively and treating feedback as an attack to repel; engaging genuinely, including with respectful disagreement after truly listening, is the opposite and is generally welcomed by good evaluators and coaches.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Being Observed
    Workshop
    Working with Your Mentor
    Workshop
    Understanding Your Evaluation