I have found that "The Art of Possibility" has been an interesting read and also a fast one.
This week I enjoyed hearing about the 'White Sheets" the author would give to the orchestra as a way for them to critique him and also communicate their needs. I found this part of the book to directly relate to the ADDIE model we have studied through the EMDT program. I have always put value into the evaluation and and have began to use this method in my class as well. During the year when the students are given progress reports or final quarterly grades, I allow them to also grade me and give me ideas on how I can improve what we covered.
Here is the form I have given my students after the first 5 weeks of school:
Marc, I also liked the section of the reading on “White Sheets.” I think it’s a great idea to have our students critique us and give us feedback. I think it’s the best way for us as educators to ensure best practices in our work. It let’s us know first hand what is working and what isn’t so that we can make the necessary adjustments to improve how we deliver instruction and even in some cases the way we deliver instruction. I think your survey accomplishes this same goal.
ReplyDeleteMarc, I agree with you and Rosetta who found the “white sheets” to be very inventive and a great way to re-tool the “instructor-learner” relationship. However, giving “white sheets” to my students and telling them they could write whatever they wanted on it would produce a bunch of, well, white sheets. While perhaps a blank slate works well for accomplished and suppressed musicians, my younger students would do much better with an evaluation form with questions (like yours) which could get them thinking and evaluating. Your form generates lots of ideas for me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteExcellent point about evaluation. I never did much of it in the past, but since I have been in this EMDT program I see the benefits. When I first started teaching, I used to give a survey at the end of the year, but much like Jennifer, even junior high students do not give much productive criticism. "You're a great teacher and you are funny" do not really tell me much! However, I really like the idea of giving your Week 5 evaluation in a timely fashion so that you can make modifications before there are problems. I hope to make this modification to my teaching. Thanks for the insight.
ReplyDeleteWow, great job putting the reading to practice... take great care finding the nuggets of truth in the responses.
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