The Critical Friends Process

Every student-and educator, too-needs a trusted person who will ask provocative questions and offer helpful critiques.
Once trust has been established, the critical friend and the learner meet together in a conference. One successful process to facilitate conversation is the following:
1. The learner describes a practice and requests feedback.
2. The critical friend asks questions in order to understand the practice described and to clarify the context in which the practice takes place.
3. The learner sets desired outcomes for this conference.
4. The critical friend provides feedback about what seems significant about the practice.
5. The critical friend raises questions and critiques the work, nudging the learner to see the project from different perspectives.
6. Both participants reflect and write.