Evaluation of performance is pretty common and integral to all jobs. Evaluation is important to a teacher for the school but more so for the teacher. Formal evaluations give administration the chance to see a teacher perform and recognize how well the teacher is doing but also provide feedback on what can be improved for success. That feedback is what is most critical for a teacher, especially a new teacher like myself.
I have had the pleasure of being evaluated this school year and I loved it. I was notified of the need for evaluation and I chose the date so that it wasn’t a surprise. I provided a lesson plan to my boss the week before. I wasn’t nervous because I was eager for someone with experience to sit in my room and provide me constructive criticism so that I could gain foresight that I couldn’t even conceive with my inexperience.
The areas that I received evaluation were almost like a whole person concept. It wasn’t just my lesson plan and English but instead included other aspects of my class and my personality. Here are the areas that I think should be evaluated:
Environment: My professionalism, like my appearance and performance in the classroom. The consistency in which I enforced standards and norms, also consistency of expectations as far as student achievement and the distribution of information (like assignments and due dates, or formatting). The environment of my classroom is safe, as in students feel safe physically and emotionally. I should develop appropriate relationships with my students based on trust and respect.
Instruction: I should be well versed in the content and the content should be consistent with the standards. I should vary the methods for delivery of content and use differentiation. I should engage my students in the learning process to maximize their performance. My planning should include activities that teach the standards and assess students for comprehension.
Collaboration: I should be collaborating with my peers, seeking advice and providing support. I should be collaborating with parents, providing feedback and dialoging effective plans to support student progress. I should be participating in school events and seeking leader/support roles outside of my classroom.
Evaluation should occur regularly because even after I have more experience, there is always something that can be improved. Evaluation is a good way for a school to decide if a teacher is a good fit for their school too. The standards of evaluation should be provided to all teachers so that they can use the evaluation as a guide or scaffolding to design their classroom and career. If a teacher can’t meet the needs of a school then the evaluation is a good record to show a lack of improvement or change, which may translate to a lack of effort on the teacher’s part.The observation also lets a teacher decide if they don’t know how to execute something and ask for help or instruction. It also lets a teacher decide if they aren’t capable of fulfilling the requirements of the evaluation and opt to take another direction (e.g. change involvement in the district or stop teaching).
References:
“Teacher Evaluation: A Resource Guide for National Education Association Leaders and Staff”. NEA.org. Web. 15 Oct 2017. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzYfzjQoASL_eGdtNFdsbXRIRDQ/view
Cristal Cassel 