Even when they involve students in peer assessment they did not take it seriously as an important assessment activity. As noted in chapter 2, the active involvement of students in taking responsibility for their learning is central to the theory of formative assessment. (Black & William, 2004). Therefore, we can conclude that despite the importance of self-peer assessment in learning, teachers rarely implemented it in teaching. Even they used it; it was not as effective as expected.
Even students are tired of being deprived creativeness in the classroom and they are only learning certain objectives that will help them do well on a standardized test. Standardized tests do not show student success or help the students; therefore, we should have less standardized testing. A deteriorating factor of standardized test is they do not show student achievement very well because it only tests certain subjects with a multiple choice format. They unsuccessfully give credit to different skills students have. These tests don’t show student excellence in creativeness or critical thinking.
The methods of assessment need to impartial. Sometimes, teachers focus on drilling concepts and the children learn by rote, unfortunately learning is then distilled to nothing more than recall of facts. Assessment should be holistic causing a change and transforming one`s outlook. Some learners associate assessment with failure as one can either pass or fail as it does not spur one to improve in a particular area as it has no impact on how a learner views their learning. Assessment should require learners to demonstrate evidence of their understanding and the capacity to transfer their knowledge.
1.Robinson argues that education systems and society are at fault for the low amount of creativity found in students. 2. Ken Robinson suggests there is a decrease in creativity as a result of an academic inability to nurture individualism as well as a societal pressure to become academically similar. Robinson effectively brings to mind the inadequacy of the education system by addressing its failure in equalizing the importance of all subjects and developing different types of intelligence. His line of reasoning mainly built upon a logical narrative that succeeds in persuading his audience.
Underprivileged students have no access to resources like reading materials, lack of uniforms, lack of enough food and this may lead to uncompleted homework or assignments. The problem facing educators is helping students to achieve optimal learning that is the conceptual understanding and ability to apply the knowledge to learning. Teachers are not using teaching techniques that match different kids’ modes of learning. With negative attitudes from the teachers, this leads to poor quality teaching. There are many solutions to curbing the negative attitude towards students like incorporating technology in curriculum to increase students’ motivation to learn and improve their grades and talents.
It clearly displays the number and the percentage of lesson these strategies were utilized and which strategy was most popular among the observed teachers. The figure 1.2 below, shows a chart made to depict the above information in detail. The chart (figure 1.2) compares the different motivational strategies used and how many teachers have used the same methods in their lessons. FIGURE 1.2 The pie chart shows the motivational strategies found in the lessons. Praising their efforts technique is found in most of the lessons while assigning tasks/roles to students and attention seeking techniques are the least used method.
Other characteristic that was perceived effective by the student was kind, even though kind can include general meaning but the students perceived that kind personality is very important for the teacher. This was accordance with study conducted by the Demirel & Saraç-Süzer in Arikan et.al (2008) stated that effective English teachers among which possessing positive personal characteristics. Possessing positive characteristic, that is kind will make the students free to conceive their ideas. Even though being kind is general but if the students meet the teacher at first meeting and they felt that teacher was good, they would say that the teacher was kind. Another characteristic that was really impressing the students was the ability of the
My students and I grew bored, disinterested, and unmotivated, yet all the while, my observers praised my teaching methods and classroom “management”. As a new teacher I found this disheartening. I was relieved after I began teaching in a different school district where I was encouraged to implement teaching techniques that involved my students in engaging opportunities of inquiry and collaboration. And as I began graduate coursework in Curriculum Studies I started to truly grasp the fundamental aspects of student centered learning (SCL). Student-centered learning is supported by some of the most influential theorists, “...such as Dewey, Montessori, Rousseau, and Paulo Freire, all of whom posited sometimes quite different versions of student-centeredness” (Newman, 2013, p. 164).
Peer observation is commonly carried out for principles of appraisal or judgment of the observed, and this can be detrimental both to teacher confidence, and to a supportive teaching environment. Furthermore, this approach seems to have a little value for active teacher development, since the focus is on being developed, rather than on self-awareness and self-development. Peer observation, therefore, should not be a vehicle for the evaluation of others on the basis of our hypothesis, but a reassessment of these hypotheses on the basis of their teaching. The focus of peer observation is on the student experience and how their learning can be promoted through improved
Being a teacher is a journey that has much to do with learning about yourself and being aware that what happens in your classroom reflects only on how are you with yourself. Teachers are not conscious that they project into students, and that affects how things go in the classroom. I believe the first characteristic of a good teacher is that he/ she is always willing to analyze his/her teaching performance. Second the teacher is humble enough to receive input about the development and application of techniques, learning from it and improving. Third is not being shy to ask peers or the psychology department for advice about something you are dealing with and trying it in the classroom.