Teacher evaluation

To be observed 4 times a year can be quite daunting and stressful.  The school board and school administration is required to have teacher evaluations and to provide productive feedback for new teachers. 

New teachers definitely would feel nervous about their feedback because this can affect their future careers and outlook on being a good teacher.  I personally feel that it would be good to have good feedback from colleagues because this would help me grow, learn from my mistakes, and obtain new teaching strategies. 

Teachers should always be prepared and be informative.  That is why I always prepare my lessons days ahead and use great worksheets for the students.  I set clear and obtainable objectives during the semester and the class will do their best to reach that goal. 

Knowing your students would be a great help and how they respond to the lesson.  You can be a great person and funny guy, but if they learn nothing at the end of the week, then something needs to be adjusted.  I try to have the students engaged in the lesson and interact with others as much as possible.

For the evaluation day, I always double check all technology and review all the necessary lesson materials.  You can have wonderful and normal days, but when the evaluation comes by; suddenly, you feel that nothing works and students are not cooperating.  I usually have a backup plan.  For example, if they computer doesn’t work, I use the flatbed projector.  If the IPads don’t work, I use the desktop or cellphone.  If some students purposely cause trouble, I would be more insistent on behaving in class.  The science teacher had a failed experiment, but because of her backup plan, she showed a video of the actual experiment and still allowed students to learn the objective. 

Teachers should always build a good rapport with students ad colleagues as much as possible because it helps the flow of the class in the long run.  Teachers should always try to make the best decisions in class, and that only comes from experience.  The evaluation will ask why you made those decisions and teachers would explain their actions.  If it was a mistake, it’s fine, just learn from it.  If it was a good decision, great. 

I try to use the learning focused approach because I feel that it’s always better for students to be self-learners and able to complete the assignment by themselves, rather than listening to the teacher rambling.  The evaluator was also going into class and actually being a part of the classroom itself.  The approach would give her a better understanding of what happens in class.  Having a 1-1 meeting after the evaluation does make it less stressful rather than sitting in front of a committee or board members.  Well, I have been evaluated many times over the years of teaching, but it’s always good to get productive and constructive feedback from other professionals.