“This course was a complete waste of my time and money!” (What? No way!) “We need a better instructor who actually knows what he is doing.” (I bet I know who wrote that one.) “The teacher is a great person, however I don’t feel he knows how to teach what he knows.” (Seriously?)

 To identify areas of improvement  To promote change  To assist with staffing needs  To hold teachers accountable for student learning  To provide incentive for teachers who wish to increase their ‘rating’ WHY SHOULD STUDENT S EVALUATE THEIR TEACHERS? According to this class.

 In the early 1970’s, student evaluation of professors was supported by 3 main groups: 1.students, who wanted a say in teaching 2.administrators, who were concerned with accountability and good public relations 3.young faculty, who wanted their salary, promotion and tenure evaluations to be based on something other than number of publications Historically Harry G. Murray Department of Psychology University of Western Ontario

Validity of student ratings? Classroom Observation Studies  Trained observers visit classes to record the frequency with which instructors exhibit “low- inference” teaching behaviours  Attempts are then made to predict student ratings of the instructor Multi-Section Validity Studies  Different sections are taught by different instructors with a common syllabus and a common exam  Observations are made comparing student ratings to student achievement

It is claimed that since faculty members know that student evaluations are used in personnel decisions and are afraid that giving low grades to students will cause retribution from students in the form of low teacher ratings, they respond by raising grades, which leads to rampant grade inflation. Dilemma  1. high or low grades do cause students to give high or low ratings  2. more effective teachers foster higher levels of learning in students which is justifiably reflected in higher grades

 Student evaluation of teaching can lead to improved teaching if the feedback is accompanied by expert consultation  The evaluations increase the need or demand for faculty development programs  Student feedback is therefore translated into actual improvement of teaching Have student evaluations made a difference? studentsadministratorsyoung faculty

 Individual teachers, who value feedback, would take the initiative to target areas of need  Others would need to be nudged into professional learning opportunities In the high school setting…

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AQ COURSES (OECTA) MOTIVATION  Ongoing professional development  Salary advancement DISINCENTIVES  Time commitment  Cost Shorter modules More affordable Credits can be used towards completing a full-course credit

Self-directed professional development  TLLP (Teacher Learning and Leadership Program)  Self-directed, advanced PD for improving practice and supporting student learning through pilot projects  The funding supports release time, test trials, materials  Supported by OTF and the Ministry of Education

 math talk  use of technology in the classroom  a networked community of writers  English and French teachers working side by side  learning journey with the Monarch butterfly  improving boys’ literacy through best practices  blogs as motivation for reading and writing examples of TLLPs

 A group of educators who are motivated by a vision of learning and who support one other toward that end  PLCs involve structured and continuous teacher collaboration  Members must be open to sharing with others, having their beliefs and practices open to questioning and encouraging feedback  This involves a certain level of vulnerability and risk-taking  The success of all students is at the core of PLCs not just those in specific classes  PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES (PLCs)

a simple solution for those who wish to inform their practice… At the end of every test or quiz, elicit some feedback by asking questions like…  “What did you like most about this unit?”  “Which teaching/learning strategies did you respond best to?”  “How could I have made the information more understandable, applicable and relevant?  “What do you want to see more of in this class? Less of?”