Job Discussion Forums

[spiral78]

There's a current thread that mentions a course where teacher-trainees team teach so that the students won't know that they are trainees. Not to hijack that thread, I've started this one to throw out an idea I'd like to get some feedback on.

Do you think there's any place in a teacher training program for student feedback on a trainee's performance? How could this happen in a positive and productive way? Would it be useful?

In the 'real' world, ESL/EFL students are sometimes asked to give feedback on a teacher's performance. Obviously, not if you're teaching little kids or in many other situations, but for those of us who teach adult learners -

I personally consider most of my learners to have some expertise in the matter - after all, they've spent uncounted years working with many teachers, in most cases. I appreciate their feedback, and have found that it's usually positive and quite perceptive. Sure, you can't please all of the people all of the time, but I think the feedback I've received from students have been helpful to me quite often.

I'm not advocating adding this kind of element to the stressful-enough situation of a teacher-trainee facing his/her first audience (I flunked initially, too!), but I'm curious whether anyone feels that this potentially valuable resource could be tapped on training courses in some positive ways.

[Justin Trullinger]

It's interesting- I have NEVER found students to be hard on teacher trainees. (Though many students are hard on teachers, once they're trained.) But somehow, the vulnerability and pure enthusiasm of new teachers seems to guarantee a good relationship, and students who feel accessed as learners. Some of the most positive teacher/student relationships I've ever seen have been on training courses.

But to answer your question- I don't want student feedback on individual trainees. The feedback could be valuable, but trainees, aware that such feedback was going to be collected, would be even more nervous than they are. I try to make myself available to students at the end of the course, so they can offer thoughts on improving the program for the future. But any thoughts I hear on individual trainees are tangential, and mostly after the fact.

I strongly encourage trainees, however, to look for ways to get feedback on their teaching from students. This is different, because, if the feedback goes to me, it tends to turn into "Missy is a better teacher than Jeff" and such. Whereas when it goes to the trainees themselves, it tends to be "I liked this activity and I found it helpful when you did X; This other activity was confusing..." Which is much more helpful.


Best,
Justin

[coffeedrinker]

This is an interesting question. I don't lead any teacher trainings and I did my celta a while ago - 2002 - but it could be interesting.

I had only a little volunteer one-to-one tutoring as experience when I did my course, and of course I was nervous to be observed by the trainers and other trainees, but I remember feeling that, well, the students were already observing me and would be in the future, so it wasn't so much more to have the trainers observing me. It may sound funny but I actually think being observed by someone "official" can be more stressful as an experienced teacher than a new one (being "found out" - that you are "teaching wrong" or something).

For these reasons, I think in some context, getting student feedback could be useful. Because you definitely "get" informal student feedback during the class - just people's reactions - and I think hearing students' comments can give a new teacher some good insight, especially if it is elicited in a constructive way.

[tedkarma]

Student feedback is critical.

Teaching, yes it is true, if often part of a larger "business" and feedback from the customer is important.

I've not yet taught at a university where student feedback was not sought in one form or another.

How silly it would be to think that you should teach and never ask your students what they think is going on in the classroom and how it might be improved!

How arrogant it would be to think that you can/should teach your way - only your way - and the victims (I mean students) should not have feedback?

As an experienced teacher trainer - I have found students to be quite nurturing of teacher-trainees and they often have excellent feedback about where and why they got confused or had problems - what discouraged them, how things could have perked up a bit.

I have to admit though - that such feedback depends a LOT on what country you are in. I've certainly taught in countries where when I asked for feedback from the students they were quite surprised and tended to say it was the TEACHER'S JOB to sort things out - not theirs - and it any request for information was an abdication of responsibilities. Student as passive observer they were - no change agent notion in their thinking.

[spiral78]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses! I think it's a particularly good point that student feedback to trainees might be different depending on the culture of the students...
I'm still wondering about potential approaches to doing this. Perhaps the students could collaborate after the lesson to produce a very short written report noting the highlights and 'improvements needed' parts of the lesson? Even if they did the collaboration in L1, the report would be in English, so a useful exercise for them.
Maybe the reports could be handed to the teacher trainer, who could then present the information on it that he/she felt relevant in an appropriately tactful and positive way.

Obviously wouldn't work with very low-level learners.

What do you think?

[Jetgirly]

I'm doing a B.Ed program right now and I am evaluated by a supervisor from the university, a partner teacher in the school, and the students I teach. We usually get student feedback through a written evaluation at the end of a unit or term. The form asks about their favorite and least favorite activities, what they learned, if they thought the assessment was fair, etc. When you're a teacher-in-training it's also very easy to sit down with the students and say, "Look, do you REALLY think that was a useful lesson? When I'm on my own, in my very own classroom, what do you think I could do to make it better?" In a way this is formative assessment because it will shape future practice, but I think it would be even better if the feedback was continual from Day One so that the students could see their feedback shaping what you do in the classroom. Most students understand that in this context you are a student as much as they are. Now is the time to fess up that you're not an expert- yet! If a TEFL course doesn't include this kind of feedback during class time, I would hope that teachers in training invite their students out for a few drinks after class to get some honest feedback!