Tell Me So I Can Hear You: A Developmental Approach to Feedback for Educators

What I most enjoy about Tell Me So I Can Hear You is how the authors so practically linked the work of educational leaders, particularly principals, with developmental theory. They offer clear and accessible explanations of developmental theory and both how and why it matters for leadership development in the giving and receiving of feedback. Their charts are understandable, with explanations and suggestions that can be put to use immediately. The guidance for the giving and receiving of feedback makes so much sense. I am recommending this book to faculty, superintendents, teachers and students alike. It is one of the more helpful resources I've come across in some time. Reading this book and then putting its suggestions to use can happen almost immediately, and in the busy world of educators, that is priceless.

This book is timely placed within the context of the accountability movement. Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano revitalize the term “Feedback,” and bring greater complexity to the concept, just when it was about to be lost within the flood of dehumanizing metrics in public education. The authors provide an extremely thorough analysis of the many purposes of feedback (formal, informal, top-down, lateral, evaluative, formative) and offer very specific, actionable strategies to meet recipients “where they are” from a developmental perspective. They apply Constructive Developmental Theory, in order to provide leaders with a highly customized feedback strategy for each individual in their school or organization. I found this to be highly accessible and immediately actionable, of tremendous value as a school principal in a time when teacher morale is more tenuous than ever.

Great book to understand how to deliver feedback for adults at different levels and with different strengths and capacities (e.g., adults who tend to take things personally).

This is a wonderful book! As an executive coach, I found this to be quite inspiring for coaching organizational leaders. Great exercises and ways to build a team and prepare them to be a team. The the book has excellent reference tables and summaries on giving and receiving feedback best practices. This could be an important coaching tool for leaders who are working to improve their capacity for giving and receiving feedback and perhaps a brief summary could be a good “cheat sheet” to keep out during conversations. Dr. Drago-Severson covers the 'when' and the 'how' of giving and receiving and best practices tips on ways to make it even more effective.

Drago-Severson puts theory into practice with real vignettes all educators will recognize. The clarity of information, the useful frameworks for professional conversations, and the research base is extremely helpful. These strategies can be put into action immediately by teachers, leaders, and coaches. Among the many parts I liked, the four ways of knowing speak to the authenticity of real schools and real educators. Understanding how people receive feedback is one things, understanding how to give feedback based on the developmental level of the other person provides deeper knowledge and skills. Identifying the growth edges of these stages is very timely.

With clarity and insight Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano describe their rousing view of feedback through the lens of Constructive-Developmental Theory. Challenges in providing and receiving feedback are recognized, reframed, and addressed with a promising approach that should allow us to promote growth broadly. Tables delineate key characteristics, distinctions, and recommendations. Prompts at the end of each chapter promote reflection and support application. Tell Me So I Can Hear You is a key reference for all educators, all leaders, all of us as we strive to grow and to support the growth of others.

I love Eleanor Drago-Severson. She is one of the best in education, in my opinion. The book was great and easy to read. However, this is getting a two star review because the book got to me and was damaged. The cover had a band where the plastic was coming off, it was bent, and it had sticky stuff on the cover. It took a lot of cleaning before I would even read it.

Outstanding book! A must read for principal, evaluators and anyone who wants to influence practice.