Ron Berger

Ron Berger – Chief Academic Officer EL Education

Berger is known for his work on pupil feedback and the use of specific critique and redrafting to produce work of ‘excellence’. Berger also believes in using real life contexts to motivate students. It is his work on feedback, especially ‘Austin’s Butterfly’ (www.vimeo.com/38247060), focusing on expecting more from students, which has been most widely distributed and shared. Berger also focuses on using model exemplars both for students and teachers. He stresses that these should be specific and focus on one quality at a time to help students reach the level of ‘expert critic’. His advice for critiquing can be summed up as: be kind, specific and constructive. This form of feedback is particularly useful when it comes to thinking about the implemented curriculum, including the use of gallery critiques as part of formative assessment.

Berger is less keen on the use of frequent testing or of ‘teacher proof curriculum’ subscribing to the philosophy that ‘testing children constantly doesn’t make them smarter’. Berger outlines a more long-term approach to building ‘an ethic, a culture, which supports and compels students to try and succeed.’

Critics of Berger have focused on his support for cross-curricular projects and real-life contexts, saying that this downplays the importance of subject disciplines. Others have argued against his criticism of high stakes testing and have argued that testing needs to be more frequent.