Teacher Report Cards: Ideas on Teaching

As teachers it is our goal to always be improving and striving to find more effective ways to engage our students and enhance understanding. A relatively recent term for such a teacher is a “reflective” teacher. If we are reflecting then we are growing, the same goes with our students.

A brilliant way to reflect upon how you are doing as a teacher is to ask your students to tell you what you are doing well and what you stand in need of improving. Some students will not take such an invitation seriously and may give nonsensical feedback but the vast majority of students when given an opportunity to truly critique a teacher’s performance will rise to the occasion and give poignant and insightful critique. Also if students understand that their feedback will effect your teaching they are all the more eager to give you good feedback.

So the question is, how does one go about getting feedback from students? The answer is a Teacher Report Card. At the end of every term give the students the opportunity to grade you. Along with a letter grade ask them for specific feedback in certain areas that you want to know their feelings about. The “grade” part of the report card is merely to make your students feel empowered; however, the subsequent questions are what you as a teacher will be more interested in reading. You may ask whatever questions you would like; however, I have found the following five questions to be more than satisfactory.

Question 1: What letter grade does your teacher deserve?

Question 2: What does you teacher do well?

Question 3: What could your teacher do to improve?

Question 4: What was your favorite assignment or activity this term and why?Question 5: What was your least favorite assignment or activity this term and why?

In order to receive honest feedback I also ask that the report cards are confidential. You will be surprised at how much your students know when it comes to education, their comments will often times unwittingly reflect research proven teaching strategies and will help you be a better teacher. At first it may be hard to take critique from students but the more you allow students to reflect upon your performance the better of a teacher you will become. On a final note, you are the expert and there are things you know that students don’t. So though student critique is often insightful and helpful. You must be wise and heed only the criticism you know is applicable.

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If you have a minute or two to spare and would like to share how this teaching idea went in your classroom or if you have any questions, think that the teaching idea could be clearer, find a typo or a mistake, or have any other great lesson plan ideas that you would like to share please e-mail us at: teacherresources@unpracticalmath.com