Formative assessment is all the rage now, and rightly so. It's important for teachers to check on their students throughout the learning process to see how they're doing, to take steps to correct any misunderstandings, to strengthen any weaknesses, and to avoid a costly "gotcha" at the end when the grade counts. Teachers who use formative assessments are in a constant state of troubleshooting; they're adjusting course at every turn to steer their students onto the road to success.
As reflective practitioners, many teachers solicit feedback from their students. The end-of-course evaluation was a staple in my college classes but not so much in the earlier stages of my education. Sometimes--time and self esteem permitting--I polled my own students with a feedback form at the end of the school year, asking them to tell me what went well and how they thought I could make the class better. I vividly remember the elation when students said kind things and being a bit hurt when they were frank about their dislikes. Occasionally, a particularly negative comment gnawed away at me for weeks into the summer.
The feedback I received, overall, was extremely helpful, and I would compile a list of things I wanted to make sure I did differently the following year.
This was helpful for next year's students, but it did little good for the ones who were giving me the helpful feedback. They moved on to someone else's class while I changed for the better.
Why is it, I now wonder, that I never thought of the idea of having my students evaluate me in the middle of the year so I could actually do something about it? A formative assessment in December would give me some insight about how I'm doing as a teacher, and I could return in January ready to announce any changes that resulted from the students' feedback.
Imagine how awesome it would be for a student to know they had a teacher who asked for their opinions, considered what they had to say, and then did something about it. What a great way to model the way I hope they'd respond to the feedback I give them on essays and assignments!
This would, of course, necessitate having a thick skin. Asking for honest feedback from kids runs the risk of unveiling some answers I don't want to hear. But if I can dish out the comments on students' papers, shouldn't I be willing to hear some of their remarks about me?
I'd also have to carefully consider the questions I ask. No amount of student complaining is going to convince me that writing and reading are unnecessary components of my classroom instruction. And I'm not likely to install a vending machine in back of my classroom, no matter how vehemently the students argue that having snacks would help them learn.
Here's a list of the things I'd ask in a mid-year survey:
_________________________________________________________________________
Answer the following on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = definitely yes; 3 = sometimes; 5 = never)
1. Does Mr. McKinney treat you and other students with respect and fairness?
2. Do you enjoy the class?
3. Do you feel like you are growing as a learner in this class?
4. Do you receive feedback about your assignments in a timely manner?
5. Do you know what to do if you want to improve in this class?
6. Is Mr. McKinney available and approachable if you need help?
7. Is the classroom environment suitable for learning?
8. Are the homework assignments useful and meaningful?
9. Is Mr. McKinney prepared for class on a daily basis?
10. Do you feel successful in this class?
11. Do you have enough opportunity to interact with your classmates as you are learning?
12. Does Mr. McKinney communicate his expectations clearly?
13. Does Mr. McKinney use class time effectively to help you learn?
14. Does the use of technology help you learn in this class?
15. Do you understand what you are supposed to be learning each day?
16. Do you have the opportunity to show what you are learning in multiple ways in this class?
17. Do you think this class is challenging enough?
Respond in the space provided:
18. Outside of class time, how much time do you spend preparing for this class (homework and studying) in an average week?
19. What could Mr. McKinney do to help you be more successful in this class?
20. What else do you want Mr. McKinney to know about you or about this class at this point in the school year?
_______________________________________________________________________________
Being a bit of a technophile, I'd probably create a Google Form for the survey and allow my students to respond electronically so I could compile the data online easily. I could, however, also conduct my survey on paper the old-fashioned way.
Here's the catch. Since I'm not in the classroom anymore, I don't have a class of students to take this survey. So I'm daring you to make yourself vulnerable and conduct a similar survey in your own class in the next two months. The data will give you a clearer picture of how you're doing, you'll have the opportunity to fix some issues in the middle of the year to help your students succeed, and you can even follow up at the end of the year with another survey to see how you've improved. And, perhaps most importantly, you will create a classroom community that honors student voice and will model a growth mindset--something all students can benefit from witnessing in action.
If you take me up on the dare, shoot me an e-mail to let me know how it goes. I'm excited to hear about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment