Critical Friends (Mentoring)

Critical Friends Groups (CFG®) are a structured form of peer-led professional learning developed in 1994 by the Annenberg Institute for Scho

What is Critical Friends (Mentoring)?

Critical Friends Groups (CFG®) are a structured form of peer-led professional learning developed in 1994 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, and coordinated since 2000 by the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) at the Harmony Education Center in Indiana

How does this tool relate to Tailored guidance and mentoring?

Cuts directly across Problem solving (working through real dilemmas of practice), Critical thinking (examining one’s own assumptions about a situation), Tailored guidance (the dilemmas are typically about responding to individual learners), Autonomy (trainers learning to drive their own professional inquiry rather than wait for top-down answers), and Leadership (taking responsibility for one’s practice and contributing to colleagues’ growth). Inclusive teaching is a recurring thread, as many of the dilemmas brought to such groups concern equity and inclusion.

＋ Strengths

• A well tested protocol

－ Considerations

• Needs some preliminary serious organization