Much research has been done around the effects of non-­‐cognitive skills on student achievement. One non-­‐cognitive skill in particular, student ownership of learning, has been proven to increase academic progress significantly. At Leadership Public Schools, San Jose, many students were failing and were not demonstrating the skills necessary to improve their grades. This action research project focused on one proven strategy that could both increase content mastery and develop ownership of learning: teacher-­‐delivered verbal feedback. I designed this intervention to support a team of teachers to change their practice to include more feedback of higher quality to students as a lever to increase achievement and student ownership. The design included two major teacher support structures: a professional learning community and coaching. The first professional development session sought to both build rationale for the importance of the strategy and teach the strategy to a team of inexperienced teachers. The last session created space for teachers, informed by video data, to discuss their personal growth and the performance of the team, as informed by video footage. In between the sessions, teachers were provided time to practice and receive coaching in order to individualize their support in learning the new strategy. The intervention resulted in an increase of quantity and quality of feedback delivered to students. Additionally, the data suggests that the components and structure of the design— mainly the video protocol, the deconstructed strategy, allowing time for practice and coaching support, and the alignment within the overall professional learning structure— were effective at shifting teacher practice.

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