How To Evaluate Classroom Teaching
Evaluators Can Encourage Teaching Excellence With a Proper Review
Nov 11, 2008
Evaluating teacher classroom performance is an integral part of school supervision and contributes to the on-going mission of the educational institution. Teacher evaluations, when properly facilitated, function as professional barometers that encourage excellence, offer praise for good methodologies and strategies, and highlight areas that need upgrading. If conducted properly, teachers should view periodic evaluations as necessary adjuncts to daily instructional routine with an end result focused on collaborative means to more effectively teach.
Evaluating the Basics
Stepping into a classroom should create a particular ambiance unique to the subject being taught. This includes decorations, bulletin boards, posters, and other visuals designed to complement classroom instruction. Classrooms cluttered with non-related paraphernalia are distractive and bespeak of disorganization. Classroom decoration should augment instruction and provide visual interpretations of instructional goals or create an academic sense of being.
Classroom management is a cardinal element in effective teaching. Do students arrive habitually late to the class? Does their demeanor reflect respect for the teacher? Are students focused on the lesson, being on task – or are they distracted, socializing, or working on another teacher’s assignment? How does the teacher address these problems?
To what extent is the teacher using technology in the classroom? If the school has Smart Boards or LCD projectors, the teacher can vary lecture and discussion with power point presentations, internet projections, and video or DVD clips. Are available technologies being used to maximum efficiency?
Critiquing the Specifics
How well does the teacher know the subject area and to what extent is this material being properly taught? Schools following state guidelines will adhere to the Standard Course of Study established for every discipline. If the teacher is explaining the causes of the Civil War in an American History class in March, there may be a significant problem (assuming the school follows a traditional, non-block schedule). Other aspects to review should include:
- Student interaction, questions, and answers
- Reviewing homework or other assignments
- Teacher feedback and input during class
- Following a clearly established lesson plan
- Reviewing key concepts
The evaluator must enter the review process with acute objectivity toward the teacher although past evaluation recommendations must be weighed against present performance. Teachers can have bad days. In order to obtain a truly reflective picture of classroom performance, evaluators should visit several classes taught by the teacher and at different times.
Writing the Evaluation
The easiest method, but not the most productive, is to use a form that allows the evaluator to check off key functions. The best technique involves a form whereby the evaluator checks off non-essentials such as classroom organization but incorporates lengthy written analysis of how the teacher navigated from the opening to the closing bell. This requires work and mandates that the evaluator takes good notes during the classroom session being reviewed. The analysis should be written lucidly and include specific, realistic recommendations for improvement.
Many administrators and department heads are very busy and too often teacher evaluations are viewed as burdensome. This is unfortunate because the evaluation process is a significant tool in creating excellence in every classroom. If facilitated properly, it can be a collaborative vehicle for in-house professional development.
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