How to Approach a Mentor Teacher for Feedback on Your Teaching
A mentor teacher can help turn classroom experience into deliberate professional growth. Their observations may reveal patterns that are difficult to notice while managing explanations, behaviour, assessment, and student wellbeing at the same time. The most useful feedback is specific, respectful, and connected to a teaching goal.
Approaching a mentor well is less about finding the perfect words and more about preparing for a professional conversation. A clear request gives the mentor a focus, while a willingness to listen creates the conditions for honest advice. This approach is valuable for preservice teachers, graduate teachers, and experienced educators taking on a new role.
In Australia, teacher feedback often connects with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, school improvement plans, and expectations around inclusive practice. Whether you are completing a placement in Sydney, beginning work in Melbourne, or teaching in a regional community, a thoughtful feedback process can strengthen planning, classroom communication, and confidence.
Understand The Purpose Of Mentoring
Mentoring is a professional relationship rather than an informal judgement of your personality. A mentor observes evidence from your teaching and helps you interpret it. Their role may include modelling lessons, discussing curriculum decisions, reviewing assessment, or helping you manage a challenging classroom interaction.
Before requesting feedback, identify the area you want to improve. “How was my lesson?” is broad and may produce general comments. “How effectively did my questioning involve quieter students?” gives the mentor something observable to consider. You might also ask about pacing, transitions, differentiation, feedback to learners, or the clarity of your learning intentions.
A focused request communicates that you value the mentor’s time. It also makes it easier to track progress over several lessons. If you are on professional experience, check whether your university or school has an observation template, because its criteria can help shape a useful conversation.
Prepare Before The Conversation
Choose a suitable time instead of asking for an immediate review while students are entering the room or staff are preparing for a meeting. A short message can acknowledge the mentor’s workload and request a specific period: “Could we meet for 15 minutes after school on Thursday to discuss my Year 8 science lesson?”
Bring practical evidence. This might include your lesson plan, student work samples, an assessment rubric, notes from your own reflection, or a record of when students became confused. Evidence keeps the discussion grounded in teaching practice rather than vague impressions.
Write down two or three questions in advance. You may ask which part of the lesson supported learning most effectively, where instructions could be clearer, and what single change should be tested next time. If observation is planned, agree on the focus beforehand so the mentor knows what to watch.
Use A Respectful Opening
A strong opening combines appreciation, context, and a clear request. You could say, “Thank you for observing my lesson. I am working on giving concise instructions, and I would appreciate your view of how students responded to them.” This wording is professional without sounding rehearsed.
Explain whether you are seeking descriptive feedback, advice, or both. Descriptive feedback identifies what happened: several students began the task without asking for clarification. Advice then considers possible responses, such as displaying the steps, modelling the first example, or checking understanding before students work independently.
Avoid framing the conversation as a defence of your decisions. Some explanations may be relevant, such as a timetable change or an unexpected interruption, but begin by hearing the observation. A mentor is more likely to offer candid guidance when they can see that feedback will be considered fairly.
Listen For Specific Evidence
During the discussion, listen for details about student learning and behaviour. “Students were engaged” is encouraging but incomplete. Ask what engagement looked like: were students contributing ideas, completing the task, explaining their reasoning, or simply remaining quiet?
Useful follow-up questions include, “When did you notice that?” and “What could I try at that point?” You can also ask how the mentor would adapt the lesson for students who need extension, language support, additional processing time, or a different way to demonstrate understanding.
Take brief notes, but keep the conversation natural. If a comment feels difficult to hear, pause before responding. Feedback about teacher presence, voice, questioning, or classroom management can feel personal, yet it is usually directed towards observable actions that can be practised and refined.
Turn Advice Into An Action Plan
At the end of the conversation, summarise what you have heard. For example: “My main next step is to model the task before distributing materials, then check understanding with two students before independent work.” This confirms that you interpreted the advice accurately.
Select one or two changes rather than trying to redesign every aspect of your teaching at once. A manageable goal might be to wait longer after asking a question, use names more consistently, provide a visual lesson sequence, or build a short exit ticket into the final five minutes.
Arrange a follow-up observation where appropriate. Feedback becomes more powerful when the mentor can comment on whether the adjustment improved student participation or comprehension. Keep a brief reflective record showing the original issue, action taken, evidence collected, and next decision.
Consider Australian School Contexts
Australian schools vary considerably across states, sectors, and communities. A graduate teacher in Brisbane may be navigating different reporting systems from a preservice teacher in Adelaide, while a placement in Perth may involve distinct school routines and local community expectations. Ask your mentor how school policies shape lesson planning, assessment, communication with families, and behaviour support.
Child safety responsibilities should be treated as part of teaching practice. Requirements differ by jurisdiction, and schools may require a Working With Children Check or an equivalent clearance. In New South Wales, for example, the Office of the Children’s Guardian administers the Working with Children Check; other states and territories use their own systems. Your mentor can explain the school’s reporting pathways, supervision rules, and professional boundaries.
Feedback should also relate to the employment market. Schools may value evidence of inclusive practice, digital capability, literacy and numeracy support, and willingness to work across year levels. Understanding available teacher vacancy updates can help you connect mentoring goals with the capabilities employers seek, while teacher education applicants can review admission guidance when planning their pathway into the profession.
| Feedback Focus | Evidence To Request | Practical Next Step |
|---|---|---|
| Questioning | Who answered, how long students waited, and whether answers showed reasoning | Prepare open questions and allow additional wait time |
| Instructions | Student questions, task-start delays, and completed work | Model the first step and display a short sequence |
| Classroom Management | Transitions, interruptions, and time lost | Rehearse routines and give calm, specific reminders |
| Inclusion | Participation across abilities, language backgrounds, and confidence levels | Offer varied examples, scaffolds, and response options |
| Assessment | Misconceptions, quality of work, and exit-ticket responses | Use a quick check to adjust the following lesson |
Build Habits That Support Growth
A productive feedback routine depends on consistency. Ask for feedback after lessons where a particular strategy was deliberately tested, rather than requesting an evaluation of everything at once. Share the context, receive the observation, identify an action, and revisit the result.
The following practices can make mentor conversations more focused and constructive:
- Set one clear observation goal before the lesson.
- Provide the mentor with your lesson plan and relevant student task.
- Ask for examples of student responses or behaviours.
- Record one strength and one priority for development.
- Test the agreed strategy in a later lesson.
- Thank the mentor and report what changed.
When feedback conflicts with your own interpretation, compare the evidence rather than choosing a side immediately. Your reflective notes, student work, assessment results, and the mentor’s observations may each show a different part of the lesson. Discussing those differences can lead to a more accurate understanding of what students experienced.
A respectful request for feedback can become the beginning of a lasting professional relationship. Use your next lesson as an opportunity to apply one specific suggestion, document the result, and return to your mentor with a focused update. That cycle of observation, reflection, and action will help you teach with greater clarity and purpose.