Let Students Evaluate Your Teaching

I've gained great insight over the past many years from John Hattie's book, Visible Learning for Teachers, Maximizing Impact on Learning. Though some have questioned Hattie's measurements, I find that the book's research of over 1,000 studies holds true and creates positive learning/teaching goals for the classroom setting.

I turned questions from the book into a mini poster (see below) that I'll hang by my classroom presentation space. Early in the year, I'll tell students that this poster includes my main teaching goals. Then I'll read the poster to them. After that, I'll tell them that it's their job to evaluate my work in this regard. If I'm not living up to the intent of the poster's words, then I want them to respectfully let me know so that I can do a better job.

By sharing these student-centered goals with children at the start of the year, I set the stage for my work with these young scholars. I also model writing and setting goals. After that, I'll give students a chance to set their own goals and write a question for me to use as I support and evaluate their efforts. I think this will be one way to establish a strong and collaborative learning team at the start of the year. Do you agree?