Job Discussion Forums

[Sherri]

Hi
We are trying to find a fair system of teacher assessment for our ESL program. I'd like some input from you all.

Questions for you:
1. How are you assessed at work (or if you are a supervisor/DOS--how do you assess the teachers in your school)?

2. Do you think the assessment method works--that is does it do the job it is supposed to do?

3. If you could change it, how would you change it and why?

Thank you!
Sherri

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I'm on JET.

1. I am given a letter to inform me I will be assessed. I am not told under what criteria I will be assessed. It says to check a specific article in the contract (this article just says that the ALT will try his/her best). When I ask to know more than this I am refused.

2. It does the job it's supposed to do- if they like you, you get a good one, if they don't like you (for whatever reason), you get a crap one. There isn't much in the way of trying to help people improve, because that might involve actually telling people how they can do well, which would involve JTEs and BoEs actually sitting down and 1. reading the JET manual to figure out what the general ALT job is, and 2. Defining exactly what they want the ALT to do and be able to do.

3. I would tell people how they were being assessed, and things they did well, and things that need some work.

[dmb]

What's the purpose of the assessment? Is it for quality control, teacher development, just to look good for the students. Whatever the procedure it shold involve reflection and feedback, otherwise there is little point to it.

[valley_girl]

In my last two jobs - both in Canada - we were assessed by a manager or coordinator who observed our classes and then gave written and oral feedback on our teaching and lesson planning. As a full-time employee at my current job, I am also given an annual employee evaluation in which I am told which objectives I am meeting, which I am still striving to meet, and which I am not meeting. Fortunately, my reviews have all been positive thus far, but I must admit that I get terribly nervous during a 'review'.

Personally, I think constructive feedback after a lengthy observation is the most useful type of evaluation for a teacher. It is also helpful to observe other teachers, to have other teachers observe you and/or to sit in on a workshop where a teacher is describing his/her methods.

[Glenski]

Never was assessed in over 3 years at a conversation school.

Never was assessed in almost 4 years at a private high school. The closest I came was to learn by coincidence that students were given a form on which to write their comments about teachers of their choice. After all that time there, and with about 450 students taught every year, I have seen only 2 comments from that form.

I taught a special weekend mini-course for them, too, and it was required that students wrote what they did and how they felt after each course. I got stellar marks from every student. The tough thing was that the comments were all written in Japanese. Made it easier for them to put their thoughts down.

And, for some of my classes, I designed a survey questionnaire to see what the students thought of the class syllabus and teaching style. Easier to do for them, and easier for me to read.

[dmb]

Students assessing teachers? (I admit I have introduced the idea and given workshops on it) But honestly would you give a doctor's patient a form and ask him how well he diagnosed you? Or a lawyer's client?''H ewas great I got off with that murder filmed on CCTV"
What do students know about teaching?
Some students know nothing about learning.
Some teachers know nothing about teaching.
Students assessments are really just a popularity contest.
Ok I'm done

[valley_girl]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

At EF, China, we had to give teacher assessment forms to the kids to fill out. Lord knows that no one takes an 8-year-old's opinion seriously. Don't know why the DOS thought that was a good idea.

[basiltherat]

here in damascus we give a teacher assessment form for trainees to complete just prior to any level test.
the reasoning behind this is to avoid any failing trainee from protesting that he probably failed cos the teacher wasn't good enough.
wen we point to the fact that he didn't mention this on his teacher assessment (which more often than not is the way it is), our @rses are covered. it works like a dream.
personally, though, i have no objections to being assessed or observed. most of it is pretty much nonsense, i agree, but there are sometimes a couple of things i pick up on that might be useful for me such as 'breaks are too long' .... ooops. etc.
best
basil

[Sherri]

Thanks for the replies so far. Please keep them coming. I would really be interested in hearing what your ideal assessment / evaluation format would be.

Where I used to work in Japan, we had 1 observation per term + feedback, student evaluations (they were adults) and contract renewal meetings once a year with an overall evaluation (in and out of classroom). The teachers designed the forms for all 3 and they were regularly revised. I don't think student evals should count hugely towards evaluating teachers, but they certainly help you understand how students see your teaching and if they are constructed and administered well, you can learn a lot from them. We also did peer observations but they were not used as assessment. Still I got a lot out of that.

It is amazing, though not surprising how little most teachers are evaluated. It is hard work. And I guess one reason why some schools depend too heavily on student evals is that they are easy to administer.

Sherri

[guty]

While DMB is right that student assessment of teachers should not be given too much credibility per se, mature students can certainly provide very valuable assessment of the course. And dissatisfaction with an individual teacher may often be linked with unhappiness, or changes in the course.
So if you are to give any weight to student opinions, and after all, they are the clients, they pay the wages, and in many professions their opinion is always right, make sure you take it in the wider context.

[ls650]

I think students can give useful feedback. Even at the 'kiddie' level, if the students complain "Teacher needs to play more games" or "Teacher is boring", maybe you need to look in the mirror and realize that maybe, just maybe, the kiddies are right.

I teach at the university level currently, and with my more advanced classes I have received suggestions for activities or constructive criticism that has been helpful.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Well of course, kids always want to play more games. That's what happens when you have the attention span of an ant.

[denise]

[valley_girl]

I don't know how honest students are on those evaluations. Where I teach, the students know we are going to read the evaluations later and even though their names aren't on them, most classes consist of only 8-12 students so it's hardly 'anonymous'. I also think it's definitely a kind of popularity contest. If they like you, you get high scores and if they don't, you get low scores.

I was the 'new kid' here at a time when another instructor had just gone on parental leave. This instructor was very highly regarded by the teaching team. The way they talked about him, you'd think he walked on water. But you know what? The students couldn't stand him. I heard negative comments about him from students for months, but just changed the subject. So if I were to believe the students, he was a terrible teacher. If I were to believe the other teachers, however, he was the most gifted teacher to come down the pike. Was he really a bad teacher or just unpopular?

My point is that students' opinions only carry so much weight. What do we do with the information they give? If a student ranks my 'teaching ability' a 2 out of 5, what do I do with that information?

Perhaps the real problem is with the types of questions being asked on the evaluations. I would much rather have students fill out an information form at the beginning of the course with questions on what they hope to learn, what they feel their weakest areas are and some suggestions for the course and instructor. At the end, we could then ask them if they achieved their personal goals for the semester and whether they felt the course met their needs.