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English Language Assessment

You are here:

  1. Cambridge English
  2. Teaching English
  3. Continuous Professional Development for teachers
  4. Cambridge English Trainer Framework
  5. Supporting observing feedback and assessment

Supporting observing feedback and assessment

  • Cambridge English Trainer Framework
    • Understanding of individuals and situtations
    • Knowledge of teaching training and teacher development
    • Planning conducting and evaluating training activities
    • Supporting observing feedback and assessment
    • Professional development and values

Are you a teacher?

Learn how to run training sessions, observe teaching and give feedback. The Train the Trainer course is offered to groups of teachers through employers and teaching organisations.

Talk to your employer if you’re interested in taking the course, or consider taking one of our in-service teaching qualifications.

Best practice in support, observation, feedback and assessment

This category breaks down into four sub-categories: Supporting, Observing, Feedback and Assessing. 

  • Supporting looks at the ongoing process; it relies on discussion, planned or impromptu, about how to plan, conduct and evaluate training activities. 
  • Observing details how to set up, conduct and follow up on observations appropriately. 
  • Feedback looks at the process of feedback and how to manage it.
  • Assessment looks at the ability to provide consistent and accurate formal teacher assessment as part of the trainer’s role.

From Teacher to Trainer

Autonomous Trainer

Lead Trainer

Supporting teachers

Discusses strengths and needs with teachers.

Suggests general strategies for development.

Supports teachers with relevant and up-to-date resources and tools.

Elicits specific strengths and needs from teachers.

Suggests clear and appropriate strategies for development based on e.g. dialogue with teachers, co-planning, observation of teaching practice.

Actively supports teachers by having them critically engage with relevant, up-to-date resources and tools.

Elicits individual strengths and needs from teachers throughout training, including nurturing emergent needs.

Helps teachers, through negotiation, to define their own clear and appropriate strategies and activities for development.

Leads and motivates teachers. Initiates development programmes for teachers. Enables them to engage critically and creatively with relevant, up-to-date resources and tools.

Observing teaching

Schedules classroom observations.

Uses given observation tools appropriately.

Sets up classroom observations with an awareness of different trainer roles before and during observations (e.g. discussion of lesson plan).

Adapts available observation tools where appropriate.

Plans and sets up classroom observations, with joint agreement of outcomes and practical considerations (e.g. trainer role in classroom).

Designs appropriate observation tools, criteria and documentation.

Feeding back on teaching

Offers general and constructive feedback.

Identifies a number of areas for improvement.

May avoid negative feedback.

Generally relates feedback to available assessment criteria.

Offers clear constructive and sensitive feedback.

Identifies key steps and gives concrete advice for improvement, with some attempt to involve the teacher.

Approaches negative feedback sensitively.

Generally relates feedback to available assessment criteria and agreed action points.

Offers clear, constructive and sensitive feedback, using a range of styles.

Elicits key steps and concrete strategies for improvement, prioritising a clear development pathway with an achievable number of next steps as appropriate.

Uses a range of strategies for dealing with and managing negative feedback.

Consistently relates feedback specifically to available assessment criteria and agreed action points.

Assessing teaching

Generally applies given assessment criteria accurately to a training situation.

Consistently applies given assessment criteria accurately to a training situation.

Critically appraises given assessment criteria and feeds into their development where necessary.

Critically and accurately applies given criteria to a training situation.

Researches assessment tool effectiveness, suggesting modifications as necessary and designing assessment tools for specific purposes, as appropriate.

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