How are you doing as a teacher? Get the feedback you need to become a better teacher.
When I was teaching I was evaluated twice a year. Is that enough to identify areas of improvement, provide targeted professional development and feedback, and measure its impact on student achievement? Absolutely not.
Evaluation as a Tool
Don’t wait or hope for administration to tell you how you are doing or what you can improve on. Rather, use the single most important resource in your class: the student. The student knows when they are learning, engaged, and in a productive learning environment. Twice a semester (4 times a year) I asked my students to evaluate me on a series of criteria: curriculum, instruction, learning environment, teacher professionalism, and teacher support. I did this for every class. Sometimes I created a quantitative analysis from the results, but most of the time I can just looked at the data/comments and get a feeling as to how to improve. I usually then jotted down my thoughts and steps that I will take to improve. It’s the only way I could remember it after a few weeks, plus it provided a record (baseline) that I can measure my progress against.
It’s a little unnerving at first, but the more I do it the easier it is. Couple tips before implementing this:
Talk to your students about how you take this serious, using this data/info to change your practice.
Ask for constructive feedback, reinforcing the idea that they should not hold back.
Tell students not to write their names on the evaluations.
Have a student collect the surveys in a manila folder
Avoid giving this right after doing a REALLY FUN activity or bribing them with candy; this defeats the point
Problem/Solution
Once you receive this date, pick 1-2 items you can improve. In one of my reviews, students ranked me lower than I would like in “listening to their needs.” Problem is I start class right at the bell and I am off running, leading to little time for 1-1 student comments/concerns. This is not to say I didn’t address individual student needs, but its an area that I need to work on. So, I decided to take action. I implemented a question/concern box (wrote about this in my book) that I used in middle-school. Students put their questions (not related to curriculum or day’s objective), concerns, and/or comments in the box. I replied to the students within 24 hours, via note or call home. It was really effective, providing increased time and attention to the students’ needs. Students were happier. Not to mention, I am calling home more often, which is a positive.
Please see attached a copy of the evaluation I have my students use on me. If you have one yourself, please email me (eric@road2teaching.com) and I will post it as well.
RESOURCES
Student evaluation of teacher effectiveness
P.S. If you are a student teacher, this is great evidence of your ability to evaluate and reflect on your own practices. Be sure to include your reflections in your teacher portfolio.
