While browsing Yahoo.com's front page this morning, I came across a rather amusingly titled article: "A Warning to Young People: Don't Become a Teacher." At first I thought that this article was probably nothing more than a grumpy educator looking for an outlet to express himself. And, for the most part, it did feel that way as I read it. But he does have a point: education in this country is changing. But how much so?
Aside from the well-known issues with standardizing testing, the author brought up something that is being introduced in Missouri that would have a direct affect on an educator's job: "student surveys," which would "become a part of the evaluation process" for educators.
Receiving feedback from students is a great idea - something I discussed in a previous blog post. The author also acknowledges this: "Each year, I allow my students to critique me and offer suggestions for my class. I learn a lot from those evaluations and have implemented some of the suggestions the students have made." But he finishes his thought by saying how "there is no way that eighth graders' opinions should be a part of deciding whether I continue to be employed. Does he have a point? I think so.
As I said - student feedback should be something ALL educators take advantage of, but informal feedback written on a sticky note is one thing. What if this feedback was a portion of a teacher's overall performance evaluation? Should students have that type of a power?
After further research on this topic, I came across a point that I feel is right on. Would this cause teachers to begin putting student approval above student learning? Wouldn't that negate the entire point of this strategy?
Other states have considered this as an option; but as expected, it hasn't been accepted with open arms.
So, what do you think?
Link to article: A Warning to Young People: Don't Become a Teacher
Article discussing "student surveys" http://gothamschools.org/2012/11/28/student-surveys-seen-as-unlikely-addition-to-evaluations-for-now/
I don't think that schools will ever take student feedback personal enough to decide whether a teacher keeps their job or not, but I do think that schools should use student feedback to possibly take notes of trends and find out things that they can address to better education. Maybe there is a teacher that is getting students to work and produce good work, but that teacher cuts students off when they speak and the students feel like they have no voice in the class. These students may not want to say anything to the teacher and the teacher may not know they are doing it. I think that a student survey ran by the school might take note of this and the teacher maybe able to adjust. I don't think that student surveys will ever determine employment though, and if they do, they schools are doing something wrong.
ReplyDeleteYeah I think for me it goes back to what prof K said in sed 406. It doesn't matter if the student likes you, it matters that the student is learning. Don't get me wrong I want my students to enjoy their class but at the end of the day if they hate me but still learned hamlet then I call that a win. I think what's most important is to look at their assessments. That should be the student's voice as to whether or not the teaching is working or needs improvement.
ReplyDeleteThat being said I think it is always great to hear from the students as they have a genuine insight into how the classroom is running. Their voices should be heard.
Student feedback, to me, is vitally important. Yeah, maybe your students can recall Hamlet, but will they carry that knowledge with them past high school if they hated learning it? I think an excellent way to adapt to student opinions is to hand out exit slips for students to fill out a few times a week at the end of class in order to gauge a few things: did they learn what I set out for them to learn?, are there improvements I could have made to help them learn more effectively?, and what else do they want to learn about this topic? That was a big-time run on sentence, but the point is there; students will learn more and participate more if the lessons are at least partially based on what they want or need to learn. If they see that you are adapting to what they say in their responses, your rapport with them grows and your lessons become more effective.
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