11/1/2012

How to Evaluate Your Students in the Class

Educators are always eager to know the answers to the following fundamental questions: Are our students learning well? Do they understand what they are studying? Are we teaching effectively? What methodologies should we be using? Never assume that your students are learning successfully. To assess your students, you need to consider the following approaches:

1. Learner-Centric Approach: Some students learn effectively if they are encouraged to speak up in the classroom, especially during class activities. When students are given autonomy in class activities, they feel freer to talk. The teacher can evaluate them by observing them when they discuss or give their ideas and opinions. Such evaluations based on observations give the teacher an indication of the extent her students have achieved the objectives and goals of the course.

2. Teacher-Centric Approach: Teachers must be given full autonomy to make professional judgments about their students. Teachers know their learners better than an external examiner. It is important to test what the learners know, not what they do not know.

3. Cooperative-Centric Approach: Students learn better if they are given the chance to learn together. Similarly, when evaluating students, the teacher should also observe them when they are interacting in a group.

4. Formative Approach: Instructors assess their class at each stage of the course; so that they can help, their students master certain skills before they proceed to learn new ones. The results of the assessment will give invaluable feedback to instructors to make decisions about the next stage of their instruction.

5. Specific Approach: Students learn differently, so one size does not fit all in the class. Just as the teacher has to use a different approach to teach a different class, she has to do likewise when evaluating her students. How or what the teacher teaches in one class may not apply to another class due to the differences in environment and styles of learning. So a specific approach to evaluation is needed for each class.

6. Constant Approach: If you want to evaluate your class, do it on a regular basis. Regular monitoring of the class progress will give you useful feedback so that you can redesign your lessons, if necessary, for better learning outcomes. Look for your students’ body language and facial expressions in the classroom. These expressions act as signals, indicating whether she needs to modify her teaching methods or materials.

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© Dr. Qais Faryadi (FST)