The Feedback Mechanism

Learn how seeking constructive criticism from more experienced teachers can improve your teaching skills.

By Sara Avant Stover

At one point several years ago, Elena Brower, Anusara Yoga teacher and owner of New York City's Vira Yoga, received letters of constructive, critical feedback from two of her teachers—both on the same day.

While this initially ignited her inner critic and bruised her self-esteem, she soon came to realize how fortunate she was to have received such wise and attentive care from her trusted mentors.

"It ultimately brought more clarity to my teaching and gave me more respect for my teachers and more trust in myself," Brower says.

Certainly, opening up to observation and evaluation can make even the most seasoned teacher a little uneasy. But when done skillfully and with the highest intentions, the benefits far outweigh the butterflies.

Learning how to ask for and receive feedback may be one of the best things you can do to evolve as a teacher.

Why You Need It

"Any teacher dedicated to growth must continue to seek out feedback," says Dave Farmar, a certified Power Vinyasa Yoga teacher in Denver and a teaching assistant to Baron Baptiste and Seane Corn. "The journey should never end."

Good feedback will not only inform you of how students are (or are not) experiencing your teaching, it can also keep your presentation from becoming stale and trite.

Abby Tucker, an Anusara Yoga teacher at Yoga Kula in Berkeley, California, acknowledges that we all develop habits, whether that's repeating phrases, getting stuck in the same sequencing, or using a "singsongy yoga teacher voice."

"Having a mentor or a more senior teacher watch your class and give you sweet and specific feedback will give you a framework within which you can expand your teaching and take it to new levels," Tucker says.

Depending upon what resources you have on hand, there are a few different options for finding the right person to observe you. As a preliminary step, invite a trusted and skilled peer or colleague to participate in your class and offer feedback afterward. This will let you become more comfortable with being observed and help you refine your teaching before going through a more thorough feedback process.

If a senior teacher in your tradition lives near you—or, even better, works at your studio—ask him or her to either take or observe your class. If this is not possible, record a video of your class and send it to a willing senior teacher for feedback.

How to Ask for It

If you do invite one of your teachers or colleagues to class, they can either participate or sit on the sidelines and observe. The two tactics will offer you valuable yet slightly different feedback results.

When classes tend to be on the smaller side, both you and your students may feel more comfortable if the evaluator participates in the class. In this case, he or she can offer more experience-based feedback on how your language, sequencing, and assists affected them. For larger groups, your guest will be more inconspicuous and can sit as a pure observer, thus taking in the bigger perspective of your overall presence and delivery throughout the class. Whether you are being observed while teaching a small or large class, introduce the evaluator to your students.

You can also get feedback more casually. Brower urges teachers to simply ask for it from students. Be sure to choose your words carefully, though, for the way you ask can deliver varying results.

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