Humberto Marino

T.S. Elliot provides a wonderful reflection that can be applied to the end of this module of
the Masters Degree. In his poem he gives wonderful insights about the importance of the
non-ceasing process of researching. I definitely agree with him because even if someone
finishes a teaching training program there will always be something new to learn. This
means that teachers are always in the need to gain more knowledge, training, experience,
reflection and awareness to improve their practice but even if someone knew everything
about teaching he would still have great benefits from reviewing the basics of teaching
and applying them to their daily performance.
Woodward (1991) analyzes 2 models of evaluation. The objectives model evaluates mainly
training and observable aspects that can be measured through performance at the end of
the course usually through a test by strangers who focus solely on specific behaviors and
objectives. Of course there are some advantages to this model because the trainees know
from the start what learning goals they should focus on to acquire and practice, but
learning its not all about knowledge and skills, it also involves a mixture of, attitudes,
beliefs, values and affective responses. In the next kind of evaluation more importance is
given to these other valuable aspects.
The process model measures other aspects that cannot be defined by means of
behaviors, like awareness and attitudes. It requires the trainee and the collaborator sit
down together and discuss how well they think the student has improved at his own pace.
It can use either group or individual diaries to give not a grade but a statement that says
whether the candidate was satisfactory or not. Many student teachers can feel
discouraged in this model since it does not mention specific guidelines as to what they are
expected to do. But what can the collaborator choose in the light of these limitations from
both models?
Woodward (1991) thinks that the deficiencies of the process model can be set right
through action research which involves the use of an observer coming to the classroom,
video/audio recordings, interviews, questionnaires or interaction analysis (Flanders
system). In action research the students and trainers can study the retention of ideas of
what was learned in the training course or teaching patterns the trainees apply in their
everyday practice according to the training theory they have learned. Action research can
also help trainers to find out where they and their trainees are regarding awareness of the

teaching practices. It can even help to come up with a fair grade by taking into
consideration many aspects throughout the course.
Woodwards ideas have helped me to have a wider perspective on evaluating student
teachers. In my context an objectives model is the more common way of evaluation and
teachers sre more comfortable with it. But in the future I would like to try out the process
model alongside action research to help me evaluate the performance of my trainees not
only regarding their knowledge and skills but including also their attitudes, awareness,
beliefs and emotions. As I evaluate all these elements I will make sure that that the
evaluation process would give me a big picture of what my students have learned in my
training course, in this way my students will get an integral development of what a teacher
should be.
Another way to evaluate teachers is through a portfolio which is a collection of information
about a teachers practices (James Stronge, 1997)1, it has a reflective nature and it is of
great benefit for the teachers themselves because it helps them see how they are doing in
their practice. Bailey (2001) makes some suggestions as to what to include in a teachers
portfolio: teaching philosophy, details of courses taught, peer observation notes, journal
entries, video recordings, feedback from learners, examples from learners work, teaching
materials produced, professional papers written, teaching presentations, conferences
attended, committee work and additional support to learners.
I totally agree that teaching philosophy should be the very first thing included in portfolios
because it allows to see what is the vision and mission of the owner. The details about a
course, like syllabi, suggested readings, assignments and procedures, are very valuable
information since they give the teacher a wider perspective with which he can assess his
ups and downs. I would definitely agree with the journal entries of what went well or bad
alongside videos of teachers practice with comments explaining the theory behind the
decisions made throughout the class.
Feedback from learners, evaluations and results are a core item on any portfolio that I will
also include in my personal file plus more data to make a thorough analysis like number of
students, whether they go to extra classes of English, their participation rates. I would
analyze this information to get statistics like: what is the relation between the students who
participate a lot in the classroom with their final grades. I already save some of my best
1 In Bailey, 2001

materials produced like handouts, worksheets, tests and digital resources that have given
good results as well as all my papers from the Masters Degree, my power point
presentations, and the best comments of lectures and workshops I have attended. With
the help of technology I have been gathering all this valuable material and I will surely
include all this information in my portfolio. I will consider it as an instrument to evaluate the
teachers in my training course.
More good ideas to assess my student teachers come from what I have seen throughout
this course such as using a learner centered approach where my students decide not only
the activities we will be doing but also the kind of evaluation I will do at the end of the
course. Irujo(2000) proposes 4 different alternatives to evaluate her students in her
negotiated curriculum: a) class plan for one week with the list of materials to be used and
the explanations of why the teacher chose to do these activities b) a case study of the
teachers efforts during 1 semester to teach English to somebody explaining how well or
bad it went c) a research paper on a topic relevant to foreign language teaching with the
application of the research findings to practice and d) other similar projects with the
approval of the instructor. An evaluation like this would suit the requirements of my training
course as it lets students choose their best option and allows me to give them a final grade
through a project where they apply what they learned in my course.
Another option to evaluate my students would be Esther Ramanis (1987) idea of
analyzing videotaped lessons of a teachers good and wrong teaching habits. This author
suggests the collaborator doing this with his students but I would do it as an evaluation
instrument where the students would describe their appreciation of somebody elses class.
Of course this activity would represent only half of the grade since it assesses only the
knowledge but not the teaching practice. Other parts of the grade would be the teachers
improvement on speaking the language, reflections about their classes and how this
helped them to become better teachers and finally, descriptions of other people regarding
what they saw when they observed the student teachers class.
In this text I have pondered about the different teacher evaluation methods in order to
apply them in the future when I have my own training program. Woodward (1991) analyses
the objectives model where student teachers are graded based on knowledge and the
process model that focuses more on awareness and attitudes; she concludes that action
research is a better option to evaluate since it can measure both teachers knowledge and
everyday performance. A portfolio can be another way to evaluate what teachers have

done throughout the course. Irujos learner centered approach, Ramanis analysis of
teaching videos, reflections and descriptions from teachers and observers provide a wide
range of evaluating options to assess the teachers improvement.

Bibliografa
Bailey, K. e. (2001). Pursuing Professional Development. Newbury House
Teacher Development.
Esther, R. (1987). Theorizing from the Classroom. ELT journal Volume 41/1.
Irujo, S. (2000). A Process Syllabus in a Methodology Course: Experiences,
Beliefs, Challenges. En M. a. Breen, Classroom Decision-Making. CUP.
Woodward, T. (1991). Models and Metaphors in Language Teacher Training.
Cambridge Teacher Training and Development Series.