8/14/2019 Teaching Young Inspectors

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TTTT e a c h in ge a c h in ge a c h in ge a c h i n g Y o u n g in s p e c t o rY o u n g in s p e c t o rY o u n g in s p e c t o rY o u n g i n s p e c t o r ssss

One of the best ways to improve ones way of teaching is the action taken to globally evaluate our

performance in class during the whole year. Evaluating ones way of teaching and reflecting on it

provide the teacher with a precious opportunity to notice his or her points of strength as well as the

areas that need improvement. Yet, the way the global evaluation of our performance is done is not

authentic or even real. It is usually inspector-dependent and surrounded with instantaneous official

statements and protocol, passing heavy judgments on us without any sense of objectivity or enough

data to rely on. Consequently, the inspector-judge falls into making up false testimonies on theteacher observed just to cover certain, often personal, administrative requirements. I herby

say:students can notice what theories and theorists fail to.

First, inspectors, at least in our educational system, cant provide authentic remarks about the

teacher observed, simply because their visits are brief and seldom. This is to say that there is no way

to objectively estimate ones general performance in the classroom until the person carrying out that

estimation is always present on the scene where the action of teaching takes place. A short visit to

the field doesnt guarantee any objective outcome. It happens that the teacher might be under

unprecedented bad circumstances, which made him confused even well prepared, and surprised by

the observer visit at that hour. Imagine the situation!!! Would the inspector half-an-hour visit per a

year or half a year be sufficient to recognise the teachers skills, potentialities, and philosophy of

teaching?

Second, even if the observer had been able to daily attend your sessions, would he have, again, been

able to provide an authentic estimation of your performance? Of course not. The observer couldnt

have been so, because your teaching messages are not directed to him, but to your students. Then,

the one(s) who is supposed to provide his or her feedback about what you teach, how you teach, and

the effects your teaching results in is the student himself. If teaching was a matter of dry techniques

and structures, then the observer would ever be the best one to supply objective observations. Yet,

teaching is more than that; Teaching, or rather learning is a question of meta-cognitive and affective

factors operating inside students. These factors determine how students feel whenever a lesson or

even a quick and brief teaching action is performed. Satisfaction or discontent, understanding or

misunderstanding is to be expressed by the one(s) who is targeted, undergoes the action, and always

present in the field: the student.

Third, students can notice what theories and theorists cant. This is one of the basic outcomes I came

up with when I conducted an open survey including thirty questions about my performance in

teaching this year. My students answered the questions, expressing their feelings and opinions, and I

was really astonished at their feedbacks. They drew my attention to many things I didnt pay

attention to, or I simply didnt consider so crucial. For instance, some of the students complained

about allocating a special test to the fliers in my classes. They consider this as a sign of discrimination

and injustice among my students, and they suggested to me to be just and look at them as equal.

Another wrote that I hurt her feelings when I laughed after her answer to a question. Others argued

that the space of my voice is too fast, and my handwriting on the board is a bit small though

beautifuletc.

These remarks are undoubtedly authentic and INNOCENT, for they reflect what students feel and

experience in their depth and, therefore, address me to make the necessary modifications to meet

students expectations and learning preferences. These facts would never come to existence if the

evaluation was left to the inspector alone, and students-actors were not involved in the feedback

process.

Abdelouahed OULGOUT