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Quest
Enhancing teaching skills
NIRMALA RAGHAVAN
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The quality of teachers depends on decisions and choices. Self-assessment is likely to ensure that quality is maintained.
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Mohammed_Yousuf
Identify strengths...
Evaluation is the innate need to make judgment and express opinions. It forms an integral part of the teaching process.
Evaluation by pupils:
Some teachers encourage pupils to evaluate their teaching and offer feedback. Students are best equipped to give feedback on overall course quality. Their insights and perceptions regarding the lessons, performance, and professionalism can assist teachers in building clearer and more objective images of the quality of teaching and in identifying areas for improvement. But unfortunately there are times when a pupil's assessment is biased.
Evaluation by supervisors and inspectors:
Senior management curriculum advisers and inspectors regularly evaluate teachers.
Complaints about the practice of supervisory observation include its anxiety producing aspects and the fact that it is sometimes considered a waste of time, because teachers may put on a show or follow the party-liners when a supervising observer is in their classroom.
There are two main factors that determine the value of classroom observations — for the teacher being observed, the nature of the feedback and the evaluator.
. Of course all teachers are subjected to inspection and observation of their lessons, but they may find this stressful and this may even hinder the relationship between the teacher and the taught. Also, the presence of an observer changes the classroom atmosphere and the teaching situation.
Peer observation:
This is less threatening than management observation and evaluation. All the same this doesn't happen with the same spirit of assessment and evaluation.
Sometimes it encourages misunderstandings, even fights and that could result in unpleasantness.
Self-evaluation:
Why self-evaluation? Because no professional can acquire the skills of a peak performer without absolute willingness to assess, explore, examine and improve their practices constantly.
Am I doing the right thing in the classroom? Are my pupils learning all that they can? Am I teaching well?
V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Student evaluation...
These are questions, which will help teachers reflect actively, and enable practising and training teachers to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Due to the fact that the quality of teachers depends on decisions and choices, interest in self-assessment in teaching is growing. One of the goals of the teacher-support and in-service programmes is to provide teachers with tools that direct and facilitate reflection. It is through such processes that teachers grow.
Benefits of self evaluation:
It facilitates learning and development of self-knowledge.
It directs professional development and career planning, thereby increasing professional satisfaction.
It enhances feelings of job security and opens the doors to growth and promotion opportunities
It arms teachers with tools for raising their awareness about their teaching and identifying problem areas.
It ensures systematic and ongoing work on improving teaching patterns.
It helps teachers better comprehend and articulate the rationales behind classroom behaviours, activities and events.
The benefits for departments and schools include:
It ensures systematic work in professional growth.
It promotes professional development, but still allows for individual differences.
Staff evaluation becomes a more collaborative and participatory process.
It ensures quality of delivery.
As a group project, it fosters growth in the entire department or school and enhances congeniality.
It reduces the need for formal management evaluation.
The easiest and recommended strategy for self-evaluation is reflective writing in journals or diaries.
Teachers can express their feelings about their teaching, working environment, relations with pupils, concerns and successes.
The professional literature has always recognised the effectiveness of keeping a teaching diary or journal for purposes of self-evaluation and professional growth.
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