Are you evaluated by your students? I am, and it is something that leaves me in a constant state of wonder. Despite the fact that my evaluations are generally positive, I genuinely don’t know if I like the whole notion. What affects students’ evaluation of teachers? Naturegirl321 discusses the issue: ‘Mine weren’t what I expected, so I’ve been talking to teachers and trying to get some tips. Here’s what they’ve told me. Some are obvious, some aren’t. Some are just odd.’
The 16 point guide to getting good student evaluations
1. Dress up when you go to class.
2. Tall, handsome guys seem to get better evaluations.
3. Start class on time.
4. End on time or even a couple minutes early.
5. Don’t tell students their grades before they give you their evaluations.
6. Offer extra credit points.
7. Have student leaders.
8. Play a couple of games every once in a while.
9. Don’t play too many games.
10. Cancel classes the week before mid-terms so they can study.
11. Give students your cell and email so they can contact you.
12. Give an end of the semester speech on how they’re the best students you’ve ever had.
13. Motivate them with candy, prizes, no homework, bathroom passes, etc.
14. Make small talk during the lesson: show interest in their lives.
15. Don’t be a hard grader.
16. Don’t take points off for the nitty gritty stuff.
What do you think of this list?
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http://www.eltworld.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3640&start=0&postdays=0&p...
Oh, I loved your post! )
I have never been formally evaluated by students but every semester I ask them to give me some feedback such as what they believe worked well for them (i provide a list of tasks: projects, pair work...), what lessons were most motivating, which were otherwise boring and empty, i also ask them to describe a perfect lesson and a perfect teacher (i prefer to be abstract - they are nice kids and if asked directly about my teaching pattern, they would just write smth sweet and not constructive). All in all, this is what I'd add to you list based on their feedback
1. Smile more often and make us feel welcome in class
2. Never play favorites
3. Feedback on you writing in a more explicit way than just "Good job!" or "Poor". Give reasoning.
4. Challenge us, but give a sense of achievability.
5. Be FAIR!
6. Care about what you teach
7. Don't get parents involved
Wow galina_shavard, I thought the original list was long, but your points are all worthy of inclusion. I ran out of words (250 limit) in the post, and something I wanted to add was... do you think it's fair to be formally evaluated on the basis of factors such as this.
I think the points you've made are all facets of good teaching and, as such, wouldn't mind being judged on how I do these.
I agree with # 3, say reasonably "Good Job!" or "Keep up good work!" or "Bad", I mentioned it in my blog: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/victoria-kamchatka/praise-or-enc...
I agree, Victoria Kamchatka. It's useful to know that such things are valued by our students and can help you be more effective in your feedback.
As i said I am not familiar with formal evaluation (conducted by students). It is a sensitive issue, you have to take kids opinion into account, but to what extend?
Though at school we are required to ask sts for some feeback on classes (but you are free in the way you ask and how you word questions). I believe it's just a matter of good partnership, you ask feedback for the area you want to improve in your practice.
I can only guess what it feels like you are put into ratings according to points you earn in formal evaluation. STOP! I remember now! We once had this formal assessment (my first month of work, i didn't take part) and even with a rating (highly HIGHLY questionable thing to do indeed!) Let me expand on it over the weekend, i'd find an evaluation form kids were to fill. If you are interested.
As i said I am not familiar with formal evaluation (conducted by students). It is a sensitive issue, you have to take kids opinion into account, but to what extend?
Though at school we are required to ask sts for some feeback on classes (but you are free in the way you ask and how you word questions). I believe it's just a matter of good partnership, you ask feedback for the area you want to improve in your practice.
I can only guess what it feels like you are put into ratings according to points you earn in formal evaluation. STOP! I remember now! We once had this formal assessment (my first month of work, i didn't take part) and even with a rating (highly HIGHLY questionable thing to do indeed!) Let me expand on it over the weekend, i'd find an evaluation form kids were to fill. If you are interested.
Ss should know that a teacher in the class is not their foe but a friend, a peer. All Ss opinions should be listened fairly. They must be aware that a teacher will never let them down or insult them in any way. That's would be effective!
I'd be very interested to see it, galina_shavard. I'm sure others reading this post would also be inte
This is fair enough and again a sign of good teaching. How would students express this in an evaluation, I wonder?