ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

Unit 9: Teaching effectiveness and assessment

Concept and criteria for assessing teaching effectiveness – Assessing teaching using
observation schedules – Student evaluation of teaching – student’s ratings of teaching
effectiveness, dimensions and problems. – Uses of assessment for feedback for improving
instructional process – System (Flander’s) for observation for recording classroom interaction
patterns and uses –Use of interaction analysis in the classroom for teacher assessment.

Introduction

Before knowing the meaning of teacher effectiveness, it is essential to know the meaning of
effectiveness. Effectiveness is a term used extensively by different people in different contexts. So
it is defined in different ways. Teacher education and job performance of a teacher are the contexts
in which this term is used. Effectiveness are the requirements of a competency based teacher
education, which includes knowledge, skills and values the trainee teacher, must demonstrate for
successful completion of the teacher education programme.

Definition

Anderson (1991) stated that “… an effective teacher is one who quite consistently achieves
goals which either directly or indirectly focus on the learning of their students”.

Dunkin (1997) considered that teacher effectiveness is a matter of the degree to which a
teacher achieves the desired effects upon students. He defined teacher competence as the extent to
which the teacher possesses the requisite knowledge and skills, and teacher performance as the way
a teacher behaves in the process of teaching.

The term “teacher effectiveness” is used broadly, to mean the collection of characteristics,
competencies, and behaviours of teachers at all educational levels that enable students to reach
desired outcomes, which may include the attainment of specific learning objectives as well as
broader goals such as being able to solve problems, think critically, work collaboratively, and
become effective citizens.

In order to be an effective teacher, one that inspires and motivates students, it is essential to
have a well developed pedagogy. It is important to have vibrant classroom activities and have a
positive demeanour when teaching, as this will encourage students to be present at school everyday
and to engage in their learning activities.

Teacher Effectiveness in the Classroom

When a teacher is practising effectively, students feel better supported to gain knowledge
and participate in learning activities. As a teacher, you are able to be an agent of social change and
be a leader in inspiring students to reach their full academic potential.

Challenges in Teacher Effectiveness

As a teacher, it can sometimes be difficult to engage the community, as parents may feel
they know what is best for their child in terms of education. Students can be difficult to motivate
and it could be a challenge to understand cultural diversity. It is essential to be able to see through
‘multiple lenses’.

9.1 CONCEPT OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

Three views of ‘teaching effectiveness’

 the ‘style’ view

 the ‘outcomes’ view
 the ‘inquiry’ view

 The style view (It is not what the teacher does that matters – it is what is happening for
the students.)

Effective teachers (style view)…

Personality characteristics
• display warmth
Teaching techniques
• provide an overview at the start of teaching something new
Teaching approaches
 • minimise the amount of time they are teaching the whole class from the front (direct
instruction)

 The outcomes approach (While the assessment of teaching effectiveness must attend to
student outcomes and a teacher’s role in developing these, outcomes do not determine
effectiveness. )

Teaching effectiveness (outcomes approach)

The effectiveness of teachers is best determined by
• comparing the achievement of the students they teach.
• comparing the added value they contribute to the achievement of the students they teach.

 The inquiry approach (More than style and it is more than outcomes)
 Continual interrogation of the relationship between these two dimensions with the
aim of enhancing student achievement.
 Quality of inquiry into the relationship between teaching actions and student
learning.

9.2 CRITERIA FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Criteria 1: Care about helping your kids to do the best that they can

Effective teachers are passionate about helping their students to learn. They form warm and
caring relationships with their students. However, they also set high expectations, and they demand
that their students meet them. This leads to a situation where the teacher and the students are
working together towards a common goal – helping every child to learn as much as they can.

Criteria 2: Understand but don’t excuse your students

Effective teachers seek to understand their students, but so do most teachers. The difference
is that effective teachers still expect each of their students to behave and to achieve well. Effective
teachers use their understanding to adjust their approach to teaching, but they did not use it to
excuse misbehaviour, poor effort or a lack of real academic progress.

Criteria 3: Be clear about what you want your students to learn

Effective teachers are clear about what they want their students to learn and they share this
with their students. Everyone understands what success entails. Effective teachers also know where
students are currently at in this area. They then work towards developing the understanding and
skills their students need to demonstrate that they have mastered the material.

Criteria 4: Disseminate surface knowledge and promote deep learning

Effective teachers want their students to be able to think critically and to develop a deep
understanding of the material being taught in class. However, they recognise developing this deep
understanding requires sharing a foundational set of knowledge and skills. Armed with this
foundation, teachers can help students to develop a deep understanding of the topic at hand.

Criteria 5: Gradually release responsibility for learning

Effective teachers do not ask their students to perform tasks that they have not shown their
students how to do. Rather, they start by modelling what students need to do. They then ask their
students to have a go themselves, while being available to help as needed. Only when students are
ready, do they ask their students to perform the tasks on their own. Finally, they offer ongoing
cumulative practice, spaced out over time, to help students retain what they have learned.

Criteria 6: Give your students feedback

Effective teachers give students dollops of feedback. This feedback tells students how they
are going and gives them information about how they could improve. Without feedback, students
are likely to continue holding misconceptions and making errors. Feedback allows students to
adjust their understanding and efforts before it is too late.

Criteria 7: Involve students in learning from each other

Effective teachers supplement teacher-led, individual learning, with activities that involve
students in learning from each other. When done well, strategies such as cooperative learning,
competition and peer tutoring can be quite powerful. Yet, these activities must be carefully
structured and used in conjunction with more traditional teaching.
Criteria 8: Manage your students’ behaviour

Effective teachers know that students’ behaviour can help or hinder how much students
learn in the classroom. They implement strategies that nurture positive behaviour and minimise
misbehaviour. They are consciously aware of what is going in the classroom, and they nip
problems in the bud before quickly returning the focus to the lesson at hand. Finally, they follow
up on more serious misbehaviour and help students to change any entrenched bad habits.

Criteria 9: Evaluate the impact you are having on your students

Effective teachers regularly assess student progress, and they then use this insight to
evaluate the impact they are having on their students. If what they are doing is working, they
continue to use or even make more use of a particular approach. If what they are doing is not
having the desired impact (even for just one student), they reflect on and refine what they are doing
until they are getting the results they want.

Criteria 10: Continue learning ways that you can be of even more help to more students

Effective teachers love learning and are always seeking to improve their own practices.
They seek out evidence-based insights, and they are happy to challenge their existing beliefs about
teaching. However, they are also critical of mindless innovation, innovation for the sake of it, and
innovation that adopts practices that are not supported by research.

9.3 ASSESSING TEACHING USING OBSERVATION SCHEDULES

Observation schedule is a method in which data in the field is collected with the help of
observation by observer.

An observation schedule should include items that

• are relevant to the research questions or other objectives of the survey

• are appropriate for the culture and environment

• do not require effort beyond observation

• can be completed within the time constraints of the survey

• are clearly formatted and leave space to write observations

Types of observation method:

• Structured and unstructured observation

• Controlled and uncontrolled observation

• Participant and non participant observation.

Structured observation Un structured observation

When observation is done by characterizing When observation is done without any

style of recording the observed information thought before observation then it is called
,standardize condition of observation, unstructured observation.
definition of the units to be observed,
selection of pertinent data of observation
then it is structured information.

Participant observation Non participant observation

When observer is a member of group which When observer is observing people
he observing then it is called participant without giving any information to them
observation then it is called non participant observation.

Controlled observation Un controlled observation

When observation is take place according
When observation is take place in natural
to definite pre arranged plan, with
conditions then it is called uncontrolled
experimental procedure then it is called
observation.
controlled observation.i.e observation done
in laboratory under controlled conditions

Advantage of observation Disadvantages of observation

• Relatively inexpensive method • It requires more time
• The observation technique can be • Extensive training is needed.
stopped or begun at any time.
• Subject are usually available.
• Information researcher get is current
information.
9.3 STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING (SET)

WHAT IS THE STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING?

Teaching quality is extremely important for the teaching learning process. Therefore,
several initiatives, among which the student evaluation of teaching, are undertaken to check the
quality of teaching. Via the online student evaluation students are given the opportunity to voice
their opinions of the teaching and courses they have received during the semester.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING?

Through the online student evaluation of teaching, good practices can be acknowledged and
problems can be tackled. Furthermore, the results from the student evaluation are added to the
lecturers’ personnel files.

HOW OFTEN ARE THE COURSE UNITS EVALUATED?

The online student evaluation of teaching is organized twice a year (at the end of each
semester), but the evaluation of the course units is spread over a period of three year. This implies
that each semester only one third of the courses are being evaluated and that students will be asked
to evaluate only a fraction of the courses they were enrolled for. However, a number of course
units are re-evaluated quicker:

 Course units that were evaluated as “adjustment needed” must be re-evaluated the
subsequent academic year.
 New course units or course units of new lecturers must be evaluated during the academic
year in which they were taught for the first time.
Furthermore, faculties are allowed to apply a higher evaluation rate for specific types of
course units.
WHICH COURSE UNITS AND PROGRAMMES CAN BE EVALUATED?

 All bachelor and master’s programmes, advanced master’s programmes, preparatory and
bridging programmes, and shortened trajectories.
 In exceptional situations it can be decided to exclude a particular course unit (When there is
no clear connection between the course unit, the lecturer, and the student. E.g., in course
units with several lecturers) or a programme (e.g., interuniversity programmes) from the
evaluation
WHICH LECTURERS ARE BEING EVALUATED?

 In theory, students will be asked to evaluate the lecturer who taught the course (so that the
evaluation results can be added to the personnel file of the lecturer).
 Depending on the specific circumstances, a faculty can decide to evaluate a course unit at
the level of the supervisor (e.g. in course units with several lecturers).
WHICH QUESTIONS ARE BEING ASKED?
Each faculty is responsible to construct a questionnaire that will be used for the course units
that fall under the responsibility of her POC’s. The questionnaire consists of a number of open- and
closed-ended questions.

 The two open-ended questions ask, on the one hand, about the good aspects of the course
unit and, on the other hand, about the aspects that are open to improvement.
 The closed-ended questions ask about different educational aspects (e.g., presentation skills,
exam,…)

9.4 STUDENT’S RATINGS OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS, DIMENSIONS AND

PROBLEMS.

Student ratings of teaching effectiveness provide feedback that can be used to identify your
teaching strengths and weaknesses, as perceived by your students. Analyzing this information
objectively provides valuable insights that can be used to make positive changes in your teaching
and lead to enhanced student learning. Taking that next step, however, and determining how to act
on your analysis of student feedback can be difficult.

Faculty commonly ask:

• Now that I know the areas that I would like to address, what do I do?

• What changes do I make?

• How do I make the changes?

• What strategies do I implement?

Effective uses of student ratings

  focus on accurate, timely, and usable measures of learning outcomes

 are commonly understood and accepted

 serve to improve instruction as well as to evaluate faculty performance; such uses should be
commonly understood and accepted by institutional stakeholders

Dimensions of Effective Teaching includes

• Student Learning

 Learning Outcomes
 Student Effort and Involvement

• Teaching Practice

 Organization and Preparation

 Communication
 Faculty/Student Interaction

• Course Elements

 Grading
 Examinations
 Assignments

9.5 USES OF ASSESSMENT FOR FEEDBACK FOR IMPROVING INSTRUCTIONAL

PROCESS

Feedback is an essential part of education and training programmes. It helps learners to

maximise their potential at different stages of training, raise their awareness of strengths and areas
for improvement, and identify actions to be taken to improve performance. Feedback can be seen
as informal (for example in day-to-day encounters between teachers and students or trainees,
between peers or between colleagues) or formal (for example as part of written or clinical
assessment). However, 'there is no sharp dividing line between assessment and teaching in the area
of giving feedback on learning'. Feedback is part of the overall dialogue or interaction between
teacher and learner, not a one-way communication.

If we don't give feedback what is the learner gaining, or indeed, assuming? They may think
that everything Is OK and that there are no areas for improvement. Learners value feedback,
especially when it is given by someone credible who they respect as a role model or for their
knowledge, attitudes or clinical competence. Failing to give feedback sends a non-verbal
communication In Itself and can lead to mixed messages and false assessment by the learner of
their own abilities, as well as a lack of trust in the teacher or clinician.

This module offers some suggestions on how you can improve the feedback you give so that
you are better able to help motivate and develop learners' knowledge, skills and behaviours.

Feedback Is important to the ongoing development of learners in healthcare settings. Many

clinical situations involve the Integration of knowledge, skills and behaviours in complex and often
stressful environments with time and service pressures on both teacher and learner. Feedback is
central to developing learners' competence and confidence at all stages of their medical careers.

Learners value feedback highly, and valid feedback is based-on observation. Deal with
observable behaviours and he practical, timely, and concrete. The one to one relationship enables
you to give feedback with sensitivity and in private. Begin by asking the learner to tell you what he
or she feels confident of having done well and what he or she would like to improve. Follow up
with your own observations of what was done well, and then outline one or two points that could
help the student to improve.

She, goes on to note that one of the main purposes of feedback is to encourage reflection,
Just as many learning opportunities are wasted if they are not accompanied by feedback from an
observer, so too are they wasted if the learner cannot reflect honestly on his or her performance.
One to one teaching Is ideally suited to encourage reflective practice, because you can model the
way a reflective practitioner behaves.

Two key skills are,

1. ‘Unpacking’ your clinical reasoning and decision making processes.

2. Describing and discussing the ethical values and beliefs that guide you in patient care.
 Grounding feedback within an overall approach that emphasizes ongoing reflective practice
helps learners to develop the capacity to critically evaluate their own and others’ performance, to
self-monitor and move towards professional autonomy.

Who gives feedback?

 Teachers
 Parents
 Peers and colleagues
 The learner themselves
 others

9.6 FLANDERS’ INTERACTION ANALYSIS SYSTEM

Flanders’ interaction analysis system

Flanders’ system is an observational tool used to classify the verbal behavior of teachers,
and pupils as they interact in the classroom. Flanders’ instrument was designed for observing only
the verbal communication in the classroom and non-verbal gestures are not taken into account.

Basic theoretical assumptions of Interaction analysis

The various theoretical assumptions, which are basic to very idea of interaction analysis, are
as follows:

1. In a normal classroom situation, it is verbal communication, which is predominant.

(Flanders 1965)
2. Even though the use of spoken language might be resort to non-verbal gestures in
classroom, verbal behavior can be observed with higher reliability than most non-verbal
behavior and also it can reasonably serve as an adequate sample of the total behavior in
classroom.
3. We can normally assume that verbal statements of a teacher are consistent with his non-
verbal gestures and, in fact, his total behavior. This assumption was sustained in terms of
experience in Minnesota studies. (Flanders,1966).
4. The teacher exerts a great deal of influence on the pupils. Pupil’s behavior is affected to
great extent by this type of teacher behavior exhibited. (Anderson and others,1946).
 5. The relation between students and teacher is a crucial factor in the teaching process and
must be considered an important aspect of methodology.(Haggerty,1932)
6. It has been established that social climate is related to productivity and to the quality of
interpersonal relations. It has been proved that democratic atmosphere tends to keep work of
a relatively high level even in the absence of the teacher. (Lewin and other, 1939)
7. Children tend to be conscious of a warm acceptance the teacher and to express greatest
fondness for the democratic teacher. (H.V. Perkins, 1950)
8. The role of classroom climate is crucial for the learning process. (Perkins 1956)
9. The teacher-classroom verbal behavior can be observed objectively by the use of
observational technique designed to ‘catch’ the natural modes of behavior, which will also
permit the process of measurement with a minimum disturbance of normal activities of the
group of individuals. (Wrightstone J. Wayne, 1958)
10. Modification of teacher classroom behavior through feedback is possible (Flanders 1963),
though how much can change occur and more knowledge relating to the permanence of
these changes will require further research.(Flanders, 1963,1966)
11. Teacher influence is expressed primarily through verbal statements. Non-verbal acts of
influence do occur, but are not recorded through interaction analysis. The reasonableness of
this assumption rests upon the assertion that the quality of the non-verbal acts is similar to
the verbal acts; to assess verbal influence, therefore it is adequately a simple of all
influences.

These assumptions focus our attention on the verbal participation of teachers and students in
teaching-process.

Flander’s Ten Category System

The Flander’s system attempts to categories all the verbal behavior to be found in the
classroom. It has two main categories: teacher talk and pupil’s talk. A third category covers other
verbal behavior, i.e., silence or confusion.
Flander’s Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC)

Category Activity

number
1. Accepts feeling: Accepts and clarifies an
attitude or the feeling tone of a pupil in a non-

Teacher talk threatening manner. Feeling may be positive

or negative. Predicting and recalling feelings
are included.
2. Praises or encourages: Praises or encourages
pupil action or behavior. Jokes that release
tension, but not at the expense of another
Response individual; nodding head, or saying “Um hm?”
*Indirect or “go on” and included.
influence 3. Accepts or uses ideas of pupils: Clarifying or
building or developing ideas suggested by a
pupil. Teacher extensions of pupil ideas are
included but as the teacher brings more of his
own ideas into play, shift to category five.
4. Asks questions: Asking question about
content to procedure, based on teacher ideas,
with the intent that a pupil will answer.
5. Lecturing: Giving facts or opinions about
content or procedures; expressing his own
ideas, giving his own explanation, or citing an
authority other than a pupil.
6. Giving directions: Directions, commands or
orders to which a pupil is expected to comply.
7. Criticising or justifying authority:
Statements intended to change pupil behavior

*Direct Initiation from non-acceptable to acceptable pattern;

influence bawling someone out; stating why the teacher

 is doing what he is during; extreme self-
reliance.
8. Pupil-talk response: Talk by pupils in
response to teacher. Teacher initiates the
Response
contact or solicits pupil statement or structures
the situation. Freedom to express own ideas is
limited.
Pupil talk 9. Pupil-talk Initiation: Talk by pupils, which
they initiate. Expressing own ideas; initiating a
Initiatio
new topic; freedom to develop opinions and a
n
line of thought, kike asking thoughtful
questions; going beyond the existing structure.
10. Silence or confusion: Pauses, short periods of
confusion in which communication cannot be
Silence
understood by the observer.

Procedure of Flander’s Interaction Analysis

Encoding and decoding are the two process of interaction anaylsis. The encoding process is
used for recording classroom events and preparing observation matrix by encoding the numbers of
ten category system. The decoding is process of interpreting observation matrix.

a)Encoding Process: The first step in the process of encoding is to memorize the code
Numbers, in relation to key phrase of words, which are indicated in capital in ten-category system.
An observer sits on the last bench of the classroom and observes the teacher when he is teaching.
At an interval of every three seconds he writes down that category number which best represents or
communication event just completed. For instance, when teacher is lecturing the observer puts 5;
when he asks question he puts 4; when student replies he put 8; when teacher praises he puts 2;
when teacher asks to sit down he puts 6; when again the teacher starts lecturing he puts5. The
procedure of recording events goes on at the rate of 20 to 25 observations in per minute.

b) Decoding process: After encoding the classroom events into ten-category system 10x10
matrix table is prepared for decoding the classroom verbal behavior. The generalized sequence of
the pupil-teacher interaction can be estimated in this matrix table. It indicates, what form a pair of
categories. The first number in the pair indicates the row and the second number shows the column
for example (10-6) pair would be shown by a tally in the cell formed by row 10 and column 6. For
example the observer has written down the code numbers beginning with 6 as follows:
6,10,5,1,4,8,8,2,3,6,4,8,9,7.

Tabulating a matrix

To tabulate these observations in a 10 into 10 matrix, the first step is to make sure that the
entire series begins and ends with the same number. The convention is to add 10 to the beginning
and end of the series, unless 10 is already present. So our earlier series now become
10,6,10,5,1,4,8,8,2,3,6,4,8,9,7,10. The observations are now entered in a 10x10 matrix so that the
sum of column one equals the sum of row one, the sum of column 2 equals the sum of row 2, etc.
The numbers are tallied in the matrix one pair at a time. The first pair in this case is 10-6; the tally
is placed in row 10, column 6 cell. The second pair is 6-10, tally this in row 6, column 10 and so
on. ‘N’ always will be tabulated by N-1 tallies in the matrix. In this case, we started a series of
sixteen numbers and the series produce 15 tallies in the matrix .

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total
1 1 1
2 1 1
3 1 1
4 11 2
5 1 1
6 1 1 2
7 1 1
8 1 1 1 3
9 1 1
10 1 1 2
Tota 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 15
Advantages of FIAC
l
 Ned Flanders’ technique of Interaction Analysis is a boon for observing student-teacher
interaction. As Dr. M.B. Buch says, it is “ a bold step in the right direction to improve the quality
of education” Several advantages are claimed for this method of analysis. The following are a few
among them.

1. The analysis of matrix is so dependable that even a person not present when observations
were made could make accurate inferences about the verbal communication and get a
mental picture of the classroom interaction.
2. Different matrices can be made and used to compare the behavior of teachers at different
age levels, sex, subject-matter etc.,
3. This analysis would serve as a vital feedback to the teacher or teacher trainee about his
intentions and actual behavior in the classroom. The supervising or inspecting staff can also
easily follow this system.
4. It is an effective tool to measure the social-emotional climate in the classroom.

Precautions in use of Flanders Interaction analysis

1. The classroom encoding work should be done by an observer, who is familiar with entire
process and knows its limitations.
2. It is an exploratory device therefore value judgments about good and bad teaching behaviors
are to be avoided. This technique is not an evaluator device of classroom teaching.
3. The questions regarding classroom teaching can only be answered by inspecting the matrix
table. The observer cannot answer the question relating to teacher behavior.
4. A comparison between the two matrices can be reliability terms of behavior ratios,
interaction variables and percentage of frequencies in each category and calls frequency but
value judgment is not possible.
5. The accuracy of the observation depends upon the reliability of the observer. The classroom
recording should be done after estimating the reliability of observers.
6. At least two observers should encode the classroom interaction for analyzing teaching and
teacher behavior.

Limitations of Flanders interaction analysis

 1. The system does not describe the totality of the classroom activity. Some behavior is
always over looked and who is to say that the unrecorded aspects of the teaching act are
more important than those recorded.

2. Efforts to describe teaching are often interpreted as evaluation of the teaching act and of
the teacher. While descriptions may be used as a basis of evaluation, judgment can be made
only after additional value assumptions are identified and applied to the data.

3. The system of interaction analysis is content-free. It is concerned primarily, with social

skills of classroom management as expressed through verbal communication.

4. It is costly and cumbersome and requires some form of automation in collecting and
analyzing the raw data. It is not a finished research tool.

5. Much of the inferential power of this system of interaction analysis comes from tabulating
the data as sequence pairs in a 10 x 10 matrix. This is a time consuming process.

6. Once the high cost of tedious tabulation (electric computers) is under control but the
problem of training reliable observers and maintaining their reliability will still remain.

7. Its potential as a research tool for a wide application to problems is to be explored.

The system devotes little attention to student talk and focuses a great deal of attention on
direct/ indirect nature of Teachers performance. It is considered a great drawback of Flanders
system.