This year I aim to model how someone can use SBG to improve. Students are going to assess me on eighteen standards based on the areas of performance from The Skillful Teacher*. No rich feedback on this assessment, just a chance to identify problem areas that will then get deeper conversation. So, students will just circle one choice for each standard: 4 (Always), 3 (Usually), 2 (Sometimes), 1 (Rarely), 0 (Never).
In this class:
- Attention
- Momentum
- Space
- Time
- Routines
- Discipline
- Clarity
- Principles of Learning
- Models of Teaching
- Expectations
- Personal Relationship Building
- Class Climate
- Curriculum Design
- Objectives
- Planning
- Learning Experiences
- Assessment
- Overarching Objectives
I get help to stay focused on learning.
Class moves smoothly without wasted time.
I like being in the room, and I can see, hear, and work well.
We spend the right amount of time on each activity each day.
I know how we get stuff done (how we start class, how I get help, where and when to turn in work, etc.)
People behave well; when they don’t, it is handled well.
I understand the teacher, and I know what I’m supposed to be doing and why.
Lessons are interesting, connected to my goals, and long-lasting. I get help when I need it, and not when I don’t.
I am learning ways of thinking and working with others that will help me outside of math.
My teacher knows I am brilliant and expects me to show it.
My teacher knows me personally and cares about my success.
I am happy to share my ideas and questions even if I am completely lost or have a weird idea.
I know what the big idea of the course is and how each day connects to it.
I know what we’re learning each day, it’s the right level of challenge, and it’s worth doing.
What we do each day helps me achieve the day’s objective.
The things we do are a good match for my interests and the way I learn.
I know what things I can do well and what I need to work on next.
Working hard and succeeding in this class makes me feel smart and free.
The concepts behind these standards are complex (each is treated with at least a chapter in TST) and I may have over-boiled. What I am going for is, for each area of performance, if I am performing ideally on that dimension, what will students say is “Always” true about class?
After each assessment, I’ll share with the class the distribution of responses for each standard, and get help from the class with making, then doing, my plan for improvement.
Word-smithing or other suggestions welcome!
*Jon Saphier, Mary Ann Haley-Speca and Robert Gower (2008) The Skillful Teacher: Building Your Teaching Skills (6th Ed.), Research for Better Teaching, Acton, MA, 544pp.
Work in Pencil 
Brilliant. (And brave.)
Wow. I was going to write “I don’t think I have the courage to try this my first year teaching”, but the more I think about it, the more I want to. How often do you plan on doing this?
@Sue: Awww … … thanks Math Mama.
@Kevin: I was thinking twice per term (we have 4 terms) so the first one would come around the end of September or early October. I suppose if you wait at least that long you’ll have a concrete sense of who you are working with and what would be useful to them and to you, and you could decide at that time what (if anything) you wanted to do along these lines.
I love this. It’s a really nice idea and giving the students a chance to grade you exactly like you’re grading them gives them an opportunity to really invest in how their grades work and understand the differences between the caregories. i totally want to do this, but i would say that i think i’m going to try to cut the list down to 10. and i haven’t read the skillful teacher yet, though i want to, so what i think i’m going to do is have them assess me on these topics and then read the chapter on the ones in which i need improvement. might be a cool way to motivate my personal PD. thanks for the great great great inspirtation
Holy smoke. Why didn’t I think of this? It’s the most logical outcome of SBG. It gives me a chance to do some modelling. It helps me learn about my students’ expectations. It gives me a chance to articulate what I think the “teacher’s job” is, and to hear from them about that too.
Ok, off to create my teacher standards now…
My first reactions:
1) Bravo! We evaluate our students all the time. It should not be a one way street
2) I think that this is a great opening to the discussion of class norms. You lay out what they should expect of you. Give your students the opportunity to talk about what they expect of each other.
[…] and their expectations about learning. Dan Goldner’s got a great idea about how to clarify what the teacher’s job is, and I’m going to try […]
@Bowman: In a previous career I learned that when people spend more than 90-120 seconds filling out or responding to a survey, they zone out and start answering thoughtlessly or impatiently, just to get it overwith (my own experience with telephone surveys supports this). So trimming to 10 is probably a good move. I’m going to leave it at 18 to cover the waterfront but that’s why I’m not asking for anything more than picking a frequency (always, usually,,,) for each one.
@Mylene and Jim: you both raise a great point. These standards are my (adopted) definition of a teacher’s job, but there’s an opportunity here to find out what standards my students would hold me to and whether they are the same. Perhaps to be discussed with them after the first survey (“What should be on here that isn’t?”)
Thanks everyone for the encouragement….
[…] Goldner proposed an elegant solution: have them assess me. It gives me a chance to show (not tell) what assessment and grading will look like. At the […]
[…] teacher’s skill sheet was a success (thanks, Dan). Today was our third day with the first-year students, and my first time explaining […]
Dan, thank you for sharing this with all of us. This is a great idea. In the course we have a page that talks about standards based instruction and how it is a “two way street” where the teacher communicates to students first what the teacher is responsible for in a standards-based classroom and then what they, the students, are responsible for. Doing this with students is walking the talk/practicing what you preach about accountability; about high standards; about effective effort. It’s saying to your students “I will be working hard (which includes the use of feedback) and employing strategies right along with you because I want to achieve at high levels as your teacher”.
I like how kid-friendly each question is. You’ve captured the heart of each area of performance in a way that is clear and accessible to the students evaluating you. By doing this you are also modeling that there is no fear in getting feedback — on the contrary, it is the only way forward. Your determination to learn and grow at this work, in this case using data about your students’ experiences of your teaching to do so, shows your courage and commitment.
By the way, I also love the quote from the student about feeling “smart and free”, doesn’t that capture so well what the aim of education is.