How to Evaluate Teacher Classroom Behavior
Classroom behavior sets a tone for the learning environment. Teachers serve as models for students, making the teachers' behavior and mannerisms incredibly important as they lead their classes. Because of this it is necessary to evaluate a teacher's actions when considering the success of the classroom. In order to make the evaluation complete, information should be gathered from a variety of sources.
Instructions
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Evaluating a Teacher's Behavior
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Get feedback from students. They are your best resource to find out about specific behaviors and how they affect the classroom. Giving them an anonymous questionnaire will allow them to be honest. The questionnaire should ask open-ended questions that pinpoint the information you are trying to gain. One example of a question that can be included is, "How do you feel when your teacher speaks to you?"
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Put together a checklist for classroom observation. This is important because it will help you to stay focused on what behaviors you are looking for when you are observing. It is easy to get distracted in a busy classroom. Having an outline of the information you plan to gather will avoid missing the opportunity to find it.
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Observe the teacher with her students. Be as unobtrusive as possible, so you can get the most natural sense of the teacher's behavior. Take into account that your presence might cause a change in him or his students' behaviors, so try weed out what is typical for the class.
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Discuss your findings with the teacher. Let her know what the overall feelings were about her classroom based on your observations and the questionnaires the students filled out. Provide her with specific positive and negative feedback that was given by the students. Use your checklist to give concrete information on what was and was not done while you observed. When discussing things that need improvements, work together to come up with solutions for the future.
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Tips & Warnings
When planning to observe, ask the teacher for a choice of several times when it will be convenient for you to come into the class. By doing this, you know you will be observing at a time that will not be disruptive. Also, this way he cannot plan activities specifically because you will be there.
When gaining feedback from students, try to figure out their average feelings. There will always be some students who like or dislike a teacher in an extreme way, but this will not be an indicator for the overall feeling of the class.
References
- Photo Credit apple for teacher image by max blain from Fotolia.com
