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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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 Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:46 am Post subject: Teacher Evaluations To Begin This Spring |
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/113_81901.html
Korea Times is full of it today! 
Another interesting article for all public school teachers. For those of you who claim to have bad co-teachers, now maybe you'll have some evidence to back it up! |
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Patrick Bateman
Joined: 21 Apr 2009
Location: Lost in Translation
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| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:21 pm Post subject: Re: Teacher Evaluations To Begin This Spring |
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On on the fence about teacher evaluations, but one thing I don't think is right is letting the parents alter a teacher's evaluation. I understand trying to get parents involved, but what kind of valuable input could a parent provide, especially considering they are never in the classroom.
Also, I think it's important to structure it so that way the system fairly represents the quality of a teacher. I remember at University I'd check ratemyprofessor and reoccurring negative comments included assigning too much reading/homework and/or being too difficult. Personally, I'd rather have a teacher set the bar very high and do their best to get students over it. However, such teachers may be more likely to receive lower evaluation scores, which I think is unfair.
I also worry that this may force some teachers to teach a certain way to garner the best score. There's a problem though if the best way to get a high score is not the best way to teach. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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| I wholeheartedly agree that the parents should not be involved. All that really does, IMHO, is give the student two cracks at the evaluation. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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I can see value in peers and supervisor evaluations. But relationships in schools (and offices) seem to get SOOO political. So even that can be tainted. If they are going to do evaluations, there should be a board of experienced teachers and administrators who come from other schools to observe and evaluate. It has to be kept as objective as possible. These teachers should be trained in how to evaluate objectively.
Students, parents, and many supervisors will be too subjective. Which teacher drinks soju with their VP at dinner gatherings? Which student didn't like the grades he got? Which parent thinks their little angel could never have been the one to stand on his chair in the middle of class every day and do the "juh-jil-dance"?
At least they aren't tying the evaluations with pay and other benefits. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| jrwhite82 wrote: |
| At least they aren't tying the evaluations with pay and other benefits. |
That's the line I heard about NET evaluations. For the past few years now, those evaluations are part of the renewal qualifications. And these evaluations for the Korean teachers are tied to pay and benefits. How can they not be if the teacher must attend mandatory training if the score is too low or gets free vacation if the score is very high? Aren't those lack of benefit and extra pay, respectively? |
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calicoe
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:14 am Post subject: Re: Teacher Evaluations To Begin This Spring |
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| Patrick Bateman wrote: |
Also, I think it's important to structure it so that way the system fairly represents the quality of a teacher. I remember at University I'd check ratemyprofessor and reoccurring negative comments included assigning too much reading/homework and/or being too difficult. Personally, I'd rather have a teacher set the bar very high and do their best to get students over it. However, such teachers may be more likely to receive lower evaluation scores, which I think is unfair.
I also worry that this may force some teachers to teach a certain way to garner the best score. There's a problem though if the best way to get a high score is not the best way to teach. |
Could not agree more. I am finding this to be a persistent issue. |
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Morticae
Joined: 06 May 2010
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:43 am Post subject: |
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My students have received evaluations about me... and some CT's mentioned evaluating me, so I think I already get this. I never heard anything about it again (that was several months ago) so it must not be that important. It's all about good relations!
I've never done an open class, so I'm not sure what parents would think. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:02 am Post subject: |
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| CentralCali wrote: |
| jrwhite82 wrote: |
| At least they aren't tying the evaluations with pay and other benefits. |
That's the line I heard about NET evaluations. For the past few years now, those evaluations are part of the renewal qualifications. And these evaluations for the Korean teachers are tied to pay and benefits. How can they not be if the teacher must attend mandatory training if the score is too low or gets free vacation if the score is very high? Aren't those lack of benefit and extra pay, respectively? |
I forgot about the extra vacation they promised. But they aren't docking pay for a bad eval. |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:01 am Post subject: |
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| More evaluation and standards, less focus on the teaching. This is Korean education. No wonder why there are so many hagweon. |
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misher
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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I would think that most hagwons have evaluations all the time. One hagwon I work for has evaluations every month. Then management knows who to fire and who to keep. Sink or swim. You work for a business so make the business money. Sucks but that is the way the world works.
In terms of PS we are not tenured teachers here nor do most of us have the qualifications to be one even in out home country. W are temporary contract workers and if management needs to decide who to keep and who to let go when they finish their contract with the assistance of regular peer/student evaluations then so be it. There is some cause for concern in that evaluations will not reflect the teachers actual teaching ability but I generally think if you are delivering what is expected (make the kids learn, make it fun) one really won't have to worry. I have found in my limited experience that the people who complain about evaluations are the ones who do a slackass job in the first place. An evaluation will expose things that they know they should work on(although this is not always the case and evaluations MAY shaft people who do a good job). Just my 20 won.. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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^^^ Agreed.
The article from Korea Times is actually about KOREAN teachers though. |
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calicoe
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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| misher wrote: |
I would think that most hagwons have evaluations all the time. One hagwon I work for has evaluations every month. Then management knows who to fire and who to keep. Sink or swim. You work for a business so make the business money. Sucks but that is the way the world works.
In terms of PS we are not tenured teachers here nor do most of us have the qualifications to be one even in out home country. W are temporary contract workers and if management needs to decide who to keep and who to let go when they finish their contract with the assistance of regular peer/student evaluations then so be it. There is some cause for concern in that evaluations will not reflect the teachers actual teaching ability but I generally think if you are delivering what is expected (make the kids learn, make it fun) one really won't have to worry. I have found in my limited experience that the people who complain about evaluations are the ones who do a slackass job in the first place. An evaluation will expose things that they know they should work on(although this is not always the case and evaluations MAY shaft people who do a good job). Just my 20 won.. |
Sorry, but I could not disagree with you more. Student evaluations are controversial even in the best circumstances in the most professional environments, which are mostly lacking in Korea. There are much less standards for professionalism and objectivity here, and this includes survey design and the way they are administered.
Secondly, the claim that evaluations are all "blind" because students fill them out before receiving their grade is also misleading. If you believe in transparency and use tests as an educational tool to test and reveal areas that have improved or need improvement, then you should be handing back graded work long before the final grade. Students then build up their own grade expectation, and also jump to conclusions on this expectation if the final exam is at all challenging, regardless of whether or not they have been thoroughly prepared for it the entire semester, and by review.
I have experienced this myself because I do give challenging final exams (read - not entirely multiple choice), because I also have to grade on a curve and need to see who actually listened and learned, rather than who knows how to parrot a book - which they ALL know how to do. I also know that this brings my ratings down.
I also do play games with them and incorporate fun activities, but I do not use them as a centerpiece or my only activity. There are times when they have to produce, and it has to be with full sentences and thoughts, and preferably thoughts that are not memorized in advance. Now, if you want to argue that my actual belief in grade transparency, reviews and some academic exercises, as well as challenging tests and speaking exercises are more deserving of bad evaluations than the guy next door that does little more than play speedy regurgitation games - so be it. There's a reason why Korea has one of the poorest cost/effect ratios in ESL acquisition in the OECD, and why you frequently see "advanced" students who can barely complete a sentence.
There needs to be more of a realistic balance between fun AND effective. And there needs to be a REAL dialogue on the role of NET language education here. But, that won't happen, because it is more convenient to blame. |
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calicoe
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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| double post. |
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