Contact Information
Email: katebarba10@gmail.com
Phone: (267) 261-4551
Evaluation Products
As with any job, it is essential to continuously reflect
upon your work and evaluate your performance. This is particularly important
for new teachers who lack experience and may not understand the value of reflection
and modification. I have only been teaching English for five years now and I
consider myself to be a new teacher. In the past three years, I have reflected
a great deal on my style of teaching, the reasons why I decided to become a
teacher, and how I can improve my teaching skills. The evaluations that I have
received over past two years have provided more insight into the way that I
teach and what modifications I need to make.
Unfortunately, I have not had many opportunities for formal observations of my teaching in a classroom setting but I have received valuable feedback on a few occasions. Recently my supervisor came to observe a class for high school seniors. After watching the class, we discussed the aspects that went well and the areas where I could improve. The most positive feedback that I received from my supervisor was her ability to see the passion that I have for teaching. Since deciding to be a teacher, I have always believed that I made the right choice but hearing that the passion is visible cements my beliefs. The other positive feedback from the evaluation included enthusiasm, use of dynamic activities, energetic, and having a positive relationship with the students which aligns well with my beliefs for what makes a good teacher. However, there are always areas in which one can improve.
I am not surprised by the feedback
I received from my supervisor in regard to suggestions for improving my
teaching. The most common issue that I have is the speed at which I speak. This
has always been an issue for me and it is an aspect of my teaching that I have
to constantly be aware of during class. Although I have made progress with my
rate of speaking, it is still an area that I need to improve. This became even
more apparent in the video evaluation that was required for the Professional
Seminar course. Watching the video clearly showed me that I need to slow down
the speed of my speech and provide more careful and exact instructions. This
has always been an area that I have struggled with but the video and
evaluations have made me more aware of the issues so that I can continue to
make improvements.
The second comment of note from my
supervisor was in regard to giving clear, concise instructions. In my
evaluation, I received a rating of a three out of four in this category. This
is another area of my teaching that I have been focusing on over the past two
years since my feedback from my brief practicum during Summer Institute. Giving
clear constructions is an essential trait of a good teacher and it is
especially important in classes of differing language levels. Despite receiving
a three in this category, I feel that I have greatly improved in this category.
When I taught at Summer Institute, I would simply ask the students if they
understood the instructions. I included few visuals and assumed that the
students understood what I had explained. Now, I am much more aware of my word
choice and try to incorporate visuals and kinesthetic at every opportunity. I
no longer make the assumption that my students understand but rather repeat my
instructions many times in different ways to try and reach each student. However,
there is always room to improve and with thorough preparation and being aware
of the issue will allow me to continue to grow as a teacher.
The evaluations from both the
teachers that I work with in my secondary school as well as the student
evaluations were heartwarming to me and pointed out my ability to form positive
relationships with the people around me. The teachers had only positive feedback
for me and although it was encouraging to hear, it did not help me much to
narrow down the areas that I need to focus on to be a better teacher. The
student evaluations were similar in that the majority of the feedback was
positive and did not direct me to how I can improve my teaching skills.
However, I did find the student evaluations to be very effective in
illustrating what areas of the class the students enjoyed and what they found
less useful. It was encouraging to learn that the students enjoyed the
literature club that I started in the class because reading is not valued
highly in Ecuadorian culture. Although the students and teachers did not offer
many suggestions for how to improve, it is still very beneficial to learn what
they think of you as a teacher, co-worker, and as a person.
This assignment was very valuable
to me because it is unlikely that I would have asked for any evaluations of my
teaching in Peace Corps. As a volunteer, I am constantly changing classes and
working with different teachers which made it challenging for students to fully
evaluate my teaching abilities. However, during the last few months, I decided
to focus on only a few classes which allowed me the opportunity to ask for
evaluations. Between the video and evaluations, I feel that I have a better
idea of the areas in which I need to improve but I am also proud of the
positive feedback that I received. I hope that I will have opportunities in the
future to be formally observed in a classroom but through informal evaluations,
I can continue to improve my skills. I plan to incorporate evaluations into
every class that I teach in the future.
As with any job, it is essential to continuously reflect upon your work and evaluate your performance. This is particularly important for new teachers who lack experience and may not understand the value of reflection and modification. I have only been teaching English for five years now and I consider myself to be a new teacher. In the past three years, I have reflected a great deal on my style of teaching, the reasons why I decided to become a teacher, and how I can improve my teaching skills. The evaluations that I have received over past two years have provided more insight into the way that I teach and what modifications I need to make.
Unfortunately, I have not had many opportunities for formal observations of my teaching in a classroom setting but I have received valuable feedback on a few occasions. Recently my supervisor came to observe a class for high school seniors. After watching the class, we discussed the aspects that went well and the areas where I could improve. The most positive feedback that I received from my supervisor was her ability to see the passion that I have for teaching. Since deciding to be a teacher, I have always believed that I made the right choice but hearing that the passion is visible cements my beliefs. The other positive feedback from the evaluation included enthusiasm, use of dynamic activities, energetic, and having a positive relationship with the students which aligns well with my beliefs for what makes a good teacher. However, there are always areas in which one can improve.
I am not surprised by the feedback
I received from my supervisor in regard to suggestions for improving my
teaching. The most common issue that I have is the speed at which I speak. This
has always been an issue for me and it is an aspect of my teaching that I have
to constantly be aware of during class. Although I have made progress with my
rate of speaking, it is still an area that I need to improve. This became even
more apparent in the video evaluation that was required for the Professional
Seminar course. Watching the video clearly showed me that I need to slow down
the speed of my speech and provide more careful and exact instructions. This
has always been an area that I have struggled with but the video and
evaluations have made me more aware of the issues so that I can continue to
make improvements.
The second comment of note from my
supervisor was in regard to giving clear, concise instructions. In my
evaluation, I received a rating of a three out of four in this category. This
is another area of my teaching that I have been focusing on over the past two
years since my feedback from my brief practicum during Summer Institute. Giving
clear constructions is an essential trait of a good teacher and it is
especially important in classes of differing language levels. Despite receiving
a three in this category, I feel that I have greatly improved in this category.
When I taught at Summer Institute, I would simply ask the students if they
understood the instructions. I included few visuals and assumed that the
students understood what I had explained. Now, I am much more aware of my word
choice and try to incorporate visuals and kinesthetic at every opportunity. I
no longer make the assumption that my students understand but rather repeat my
instructions many times in different ways to try and reach each student. However,
there is always room to improve and with thorough preparation and being aware
of the issue will allow me to continue to grow as a teacher.
The evaluations from both the teachers that I work with in my secondary school as well as the student evaluations were heartwarming to me and pointed out my ability to form positive relationships with the people around me. The teachers had only positive feedback for me and although it was encouraging to hear, it did not help me much to narrow down the areas that I need to focus on to be a better teacher. The student evaluations were similar in that the majority of the feedback was positive and did not direct me to how I can improve my teaching skills. However, I did find the student evaluations to be very effective in illustrating what areas of the class the students enjoyed and what they found less useful. It was encouraging to learn that the students enjoyed the literature club that I started in the class because reading is not valued highly in Ecuadorian culture. Although the students and teachers did not offer many suggestions for how to improve, it is still very beneficial to learn what they think of you as a teacher, co-worker, and as a person.
This assignment was very valuable to me because it is unlikely that I would have asked for any evaluations of my teaching in Peace Corps. As a volunteer, I am constantly changing classes and working with different teachers which made it challenging for students to fully evaluate my teaching abilities. However, during the last few months, I decided to focus on only a few classes which allowed me the opportunity to ask for evaluations. Between the video and evaluations, I feel that I have a better idea of the areas in which I need to improve but I am also proud of the positive feedback that I received. I hope that I will have opportunities in the future to be formally observed in a classroom but through informal evaluations, I can continue to improve my skills. I plan to incorporate evaluations into every class that I teach in the future.
SupervisorCo-Workers
Students