Generally, there are two main levels for teachers to evaluate themselves:
- Reflection on day-to-day classroom instruction for ultimately evaluating the progress of their students.
- Reflection on their own professional development.
1. Reflection On Day-To-Day Classroom Instruction
Teachers refine their skills by reflecting upon elements of their instruction that includes students’ assessment strategies.
The following questions may assist teachers in reflecting on day-to-day classroom instruction including the assessment strategies, in specific:
- Were the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and processes included in the lesson suitable for the students?
- Were the learning objectives suitable and appropriate for students?
- Were the assessment strategies appropriate for the information that the students acquired and for the instructional strategies used?
- Were the results of students’ assessments meaningfully reported to students, parents, and other educators as appropriate? strategies used?
- Were the assessment conditions conducive to the best possible students’ performance?
- Were the assessment strategies fair/appropriate for the levels of students’ abilities?
- Was the range of information collected from students sufficient to make interpretations and evaluate their progress?
Using the answers to the questions above, teachers will be able to improve their strategies for students assessment.
Checking the Appropriateness of Learning Objectives
Generally, learning objectives are written in terms of learning outcomes: what do you want your students to learn as a result of the lesson?
Objectives should be SMART which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-appropriate.
To define your lesson’s objectives, consider the following questions:
- What will students accomplish during this lesson?
- To what specific level of accuracy will the students perform a given task in order for the lesson to be considered satisfactorily accomplished?
- Exactly how will the students show that they understood and learned the objectives of your lesson? Will this occur through a worksheet, group work, presentation, illustration, etc.?
- Do the learning objectives stem from the set course?
- Do the learning objectives specify appropriate conditions for performance?
- Are the learning objectives measurable?
- Are the learning objectives written in terms of observable outcomes?
- Are the learning objectives student-centred?
- Do the learning objectives utilize an effective action verb that targets the desired level of performance?
- Do the learning objectives match instructional activities and assessments?
- Do the learning objectives measure a range of educational outcomes?
2. Reflection On Professional Development
It is also important for teachers, as professionals, to engage in continuous professional development activities.
Some ways teachers can address their professional growth are:
- Reading professional documents and journals.
- Attending workshops.
- Attending professional conferences.
- Taking professional courses.
- Developing networks with other professionals in their fields.
Why Teacher Self-Evaluation Is Always Encouraged
I always encourage my teachers to evaluate themselves on a daily basis aiming ultimately at:
- Promoting an ongoing, innovative approach to teaching.
- Encouraging their professional growth in areas of interest.
- Improving their morale and motivation by treating them as a professional in charge of their own professional growth.
- Encouraging collegiality and discussion about practices among peers in a school.
- Supporting them as they experiment with instructional approaches that will move all students to higher levels of performance.
Tools for Teacher Self-Evaluation
- Video/audio taping.
- Classroom inter-visitation.
- Action research.
- Questionnaires.
- Audit checklists that cover things such as class organization, use of particular materials, students’ participation, and use of prior learning.
- Students’ results.
Thanks For Reading
If you did find value in this content and want more in-depth articles that cover important topics on education and ELT in specific, I’d definitely recommend you to subscribe to my ELT Premium Content.
Subscribe Now and you won’t regret it.
Want to Continue Your ELT Professional Development?
Click to get a look at my Publications
