Parents can learn to evaluate teachers by asking the right questions during parent conferences or during open house gatherings. They can also glean important information by simple observation. Look for important evaluative information when you visit the classroom and teacher. Your child, who attends the high school, can help gather some information for you as well.
Instructions
1. Gather information about the class and homework assignments from your child. If the teacher uses textbooks, peruse the books. Find out what types of assignments encourage higher levels of thinking. Determine if the assignments are just busy work to take up time. Find out if the teacher developed an assignment calendar. Assignment calendars demonstrate long-term planning--especially monthly assignment calendars. Ask your child if students have a choice to turn in different types of assignments. Find out how many projects the teacher assigns during each grading period.
2. Find out what type of tests the teacher gives. Tests normally fall into one of two categories: formative or summative. Teachers use formative tests regularly to check student understanding. Summative tests are, as the name implies, a summary test covering multiple topics. Hopefully, the teacher uses both. If not, find out why. Essay and multiple-choice tests are preferred over true or false. Find out if the teacher publishes the tests on the assignment calendar. Pop-quizzes, or unannounced tests, are punitive and teachers must not use these as evaluation tools.
3. Determine how the teacher comes up with your child's grades. Is there a clear, concise and objective grading plan? Ask for copies of grading rubrics. A vague or incomplete grading plan indicates a subjective grading process. Determine if the teacher objectively administers student grades according to the grading rubrics. Does the teacher assign a minimum acceptable level of performance for passing the assignment and test, such as 70% required on all assignments to receive a passing grade? Find out if students can redo assignments for higher grades.
4. Focus on the communication between parent and teacher. Is the teacher proactive in contacting parents? Has the teacher telephoned you to give you a complement about your child? You do not want communication designed to point out areas of student misbehaviors and deficiencies only. Establish communication with your child's teacher that is positive and proactive.
5. Determine if the teacher is a presenter or a facilitator in the classroom. The best instructors are facilitators. They provide the sequence and direction while students are actively engaged in learning a topic. Students learn best in either individual activities or group projects. Some teachers lecture and students must listen for hours on end, also called industrial teaching.
6. Visit the teacher's classroom during open house night. What is your impression of the classroom? Look for bulletin boards that display interesting and attractive school content. Determine if there is any evidence of poor class control such as spit wads on the walls and ceiling, or drawings on the desktops. If you find that the teacher is engaging, enthusiastic and excited about the topic, you will make a better assessment of him or her. The best way that you can evaluate your child's experience in the classroom is to decide from all of your queries if you would you want to be in the teacher's class. If you would not like that experience, chances are that your child doesn't either.
Tags: your child, Determine teacher, your child, assignment calendar, child teacher