Thank you for posting this Paula! It has certainly given me a lot to think about and raised a lot of important, perhaps rhetorical, questions.
So, how do you evaluate yourself? I'm not a school teacher so my dance studio is the classroom and so how can I judge, evaluate and therefore validate myself as a teacher? Is it by how many kids can do the splits at the end of the year? How many of them remember and know what they're doing on stage? Their dance exam/competition results and grades? Am I bad teacher if my kids can't do the things I think they should do? What is the appropriate, reasonable standard for them to achieve if they only come once a week? I try to live by a philosophy of 'as long as the kids are having fun and learning something new, I am doing my job right' but where parents are paying a lot of money for me to impart my knowledge is it enough that they're just 'having fun'? Joanna's point of there not being enough information about evaluation is interesting because can there ever be enough information? Or is it up to us as educators to be furthering ourselves independently?
And can we base everything on standardized tests? Every year I find certain students of mine come out of there exam classes having performed everything perfectly and then completely crack under the pressure of the exam and get a grade that doesn't reflect the student I see in front of me. Is that a fair base for the student or me the teacher?
The school system here in Canada enforce district wide Professional Development Days where the children do not attend classes while every teacher in the school has to go and take a course/class to further their teaching and learning. An excellent idea to avoid complacency in the workplace and especially important in a occupation that is forever changing. What and how much we think is how we can improve.
Charlotte - many of us have to negotiate teaching evaluations in the work that we do.
There is usually already a system in place to do this, although some need to be invented and others end as they reach their sell-by-date.. Some of the systems within dance education seem to be based on assessing many of the technical competencies that are required for the physical production of 'dance'; although there are also elements of performance. School assessments in any subject can require specific tests for children that are developed for competencies (skills) as well as knowledge and understanding. All of these examinations differ depending on location (English, Canadian etc.), levels, and awarding bodies. Others like yourself might have different views on this as you are the experts in teaching dance.
It might be that the most we can do is to understand thoroughly the regimes that we are delivering and the rationale behind helping learners to develop and progress within these systems. Professional Development Days are often about the system that is currently in use. However, it is interesting to step outside the systems within which we work to 'see' them better and create a more individualised and holistic style of teaching that will benefit our students and their learning. The use of exams is a good talking point for exploring other systems.
I found Charlottes comment very interesting and can definitely relate to her fears and worries that she is not teaching up to a standard that is expected. Working in a secondary school, I have all the exams, tests and evaluations in place for me. However it is still a daunting part of my work. I especailly worry for pupils who do not 'make the grade'. In my school, all we hear about is A-C grades. So many of the pupils will never make an A-C grade but this does not mean they have not achieved. I see a massive improvement in pupils that leave school with grades under C, but these don't seem to be recognised. I don't believe the teacher did a bad job and the pupil has every reason to be very happy with the improvement he or she has made - this leads me to question if exams and tests are beneficial at all? I am inclined to agree with Paula that maybe a more individualised and holistic style of teaching is the way to go. As a teacher, it is so important to always be looking for new ways to teach. In my line of work (teaching assistant), I have so much insight in to different teaching styles and feel that I am always adopting new methods, by watching different teachers at work. Charlotte, I understand the pressure of teaching to paying customers as I also privately tutor. In schools there is the pressure to do well in terms of forms to fill in,targets to reach and please your boss. when you are being paid to teach, it is a completely different sort of pressure which I think comes from you, the individual. There is no 'third party' or system. Just you and the pupil. Personally I think this sort of teaching adds a lot more pressure, especially when there is no 'record' of progress. In terms of dance, I suspect that the only way to evaluate your own teaching is through exams grades. I am not convinced though, as surely this would evenutally lead to the exact problems I have noted within the school system. I think this is an interesting topic, and unfortunately, not one I have the answers to.
Thank you for posting this Paula! It has certainly given me a lot to think about and raised a lot of important, perhaps rhetorical, questions.
ReplyDeleteSo, how do you evaluate yourself? I'm not a school teacher so my dance studio is the classroom and so how can I judge, evaluate and therefore validate myself as a teacher? Is it by how many kids can do the splits at the end of the year? How many of them remember and know what they're doing on stage? Their dance exam/competition results and grades? Am I bad teacher if my kids can't do the things I think they should do? What is the appropriate, reasonable standard for them to achieve if they only come once a week? I try to live by a philosophy of 'as long as the kids are having fun and learning something new, I am doing my job right' but where parents are paying a lot of money for me to impart my knowledge is it enough that they're just 'having fun'? Joanna's point of there not being enough information about evaluation is interesting because can there ever be enough information? Or is it up to us as educators to be furthering ourselves independently?
And can we base everything on standardized tests? Every year I find certain students of mine come out of there exam classes having performed everything perfectly and then completely crack under the pressure of the exam and get a grade that doesn't reflect the student I see in front of me. Is that a fair base for the student or me the teacher?
The school system here in Canada enforce district wide Professional Development Days where the children do not attend classes while every teacher in the school has to go and take a course/class to further their teaching and learning. An excellent idea to avoid complacency in the workplace and especially important in a occupation that is forever changing. What and how much we think is how we can improve.
Thanks again! Charlotte
Charlotte - many of us have to negotiate teaching evaluations in the work that we do.
ReplyDeleteThere is usually already a system in place to do this, although some need to be invented and others end as they reach their sell-by-date.. Some of the systems within dance education seem to be based on assessing many of the technical competencies that are required for the physical production of 'dance'; although there are also elements of performance. School assessments in any subject can require specific tests for children that are developed for competencies (skills) as well as knowledge and understanding. All of these examinations differ depending on location (English, Canadian etc.), levels, and awarding bodies. Others like yourself might have different views on this as you are the experts in teaching dance.
It might be that the most we can do is to understand thoroughly the regimes that we are delivering and the rationale behind helping learners to develop and progress within these systems. Professional Development Days are often about the system that is currently in use. However, it is interesting to step outside the systems within which we work to 'see' them better and create a more individualised and holistic style of teaching that will benefit our students and their learning. The use of exams is a good talking point for exploring other systems.
I found Charlottes comment very interesting and can definitely relate to her fears and worries that she is not teaching up to a standard that is expected. Working in a secondary school, I have all the exams, tests and evaluations in place for me. However it is still a daunting part of my work. I especailly worry for pupils who do not 'make the grade'. In my school, all we hear about is A-C grades. So many of the pupils will never make an A-C grade but this does not mean they have not achieved. I see a massive improvement in pupils that leave school with grades under C, but these don't seem to be recognised. I don't believe the teacher did a bad job and the pupil has every reason to be very happy with the improvement he or she has made - this leads me to question if exams and tests are beneficial at all? I am inclined to agree with Paula that maybe a more individualised and holistic style of teaching is the way to go. As a teacher, it is so important to always be looking for new ways to teach. In my line of work (teaching assistant), I have so much insight in to different teaching styles and feel that I am always adopting new methods, by watching different teachers at work.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, I understand the pressure of teaching to paying customers as I also privately tutor. In schools there is the pressure to do well in terms of forms to fill in,targets to reach and please your boss. when you are being paid to teach, it is a completely different sort of pressure which I think comes from you, the individual. There is no 'third party' or system. Just you and the pupil. Personally I think this sort of teaching adds a lot more pressure, especially when there is no 'record' of progress. In terms of dance, I suspect that the only way to evaluate your own teaching is through exams grades. I am not convinced though, as surely this would evenutally lead to the exact problems I have noted within the school system.
I think this is an interesting topic, and unfortunately, not one I have the answers to.