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Teacher evaluation problem at school
For the last decade, education reform has been a major area of policy action in Korea. Governors and state legislatures across the country have been actively instituting new policies that can induce teachers’ effort more systemically. ‘교원능력 개발평가’ is one of the significant reforms that affect teachers in the classroom. It is estimated that this reform will greatly influence teachers’ instructional behavior by using incentives selectively according to their performance. While there is growing consensus about introducing teacher evaluation system and merit payment at school, there is little agreement over the details of incentives system. The reason for little agreement is partly due to the fact that there is no consensus on the list of critical ingredients that make up good teaching. In the light of these facts, it is not that strange that there exist continuous of disputes and turmoil over the teacher evaluation reforms.
Although one could argue that it is too early to see the effect of this reform, I can say with confidence that this reform is misplaced. Superficially, this reform may induce teachers’ effort and improve their teaching performance but could backfire against its original object and bring side effects in the long run. In what follows I shall analyze the worries over the teacher evaluation and merit payment problem from my view point.
Teaching is a complex and imprecise activity involving multiple objectives, many different types of tasks, and the possible use of a large variety of different materials. To put it briefly, teaching practice can be grouped into two categories. One is teaching of basic skills and the other is teaching of higher order skill. Literally, teaching of basic skill involves training ability that can be used to manage basic and fundamental problems. Drills and practices of basic calculations, for example, may help student to solve basic math problem and learn principles of various theorems. Memorizing vocabularies and idioms may increase students’ reading comprehension of abstract text. These sorts of thing are basic skills and their teaching methods.
On the other hand, a teaching of higher order skills involves developing student’s critical thinking, creativity, writing skills. The characteristics of higher order skills are that they cannot be achieved over short time and also cannot be evaluated precisely because it is nearly impossible to measure the exact extent of one’s ability to come up with critical ideas or creativity.
To put it more concretely, a teaching of basic skills is different in two important respects from higher order skill teaching. First, we are able to measure the acquisition of basic skills accurately by checking out the scores of standardized exams whereas the measure of acquisition of higher order skill is really tough. Secondly, there are developed technologies for teaching basic skills when there are no agreed instruction methods for teaching higher order skills. That is to say, teaching higher order skills is particularly demanding type of teaching. Definitions of it are not specific, and there are no clear guides to instructional practice.
However, teacher evaluation systems tend to focus the teachers’ effort on teaching basic skills because they are easily measurable. One cannot verify that he put a great effort on teaching and improving students’ critical thinking because students’ capabilities for higher order skills are hard to measure. Therefore, this analysis follows justly that teacher evaluation will undermine teachers’ effort to develop higher orders skill of students. Teacher’s allocation of his or her time between these two activities- developing basic skills and higher skills-will be distorted and their attention will be diverted to teaching only basic skills.
To put it in a nutshell, teacher evaluation systems or merit pay according to teachers’ performance may direct teachers’ all energies to teaching basic skill and reduce the likelihood of their diverting attention to other areas such as teaching higher order skills. This redesigning of teachers’ job is not advisable however, because teaching is a complex activity involving multiple objectives and one cannot underestimate the value of student’s higher order skills. So I opposed to the current teacher evaluating system or merit payment and anticipate for more elaborate incentive devices that can induce teachers’ effort efficiently at the same time not undermine teachers’ attention to higher order skills.
엄마표 영어 어디까지 가능한가?
저도 궁금했습니다.
엄마표 영어의 빛나는 결과물들을 보며, 영어 좀 더 시킬 걸, 아쉬움이 남습니다.
그러나 영어보다 중요한 것들을 우선 할 수 밖에 없는 우리의 교육현실입니다.
우리집의 경우는 여기까지 입니다.^^아직 첨삭은 하지 않았습니다.
가을에 시행했던 중,고등학교 교원능력 개발평가에 대한 글이네요.
교원능력 개발평가를 하고 느낀 점을 에세이로 썼습니다.
고등학교가서 특별한 영어활동을 하려면 이정도 영어가 필요한 것 같습니다.
그러나 입시에서는 이정도 롸이팅능력은 요구하지 않습니다.
예전 게시판 활동 시기에도 여러번 이야기 했지만
학기 중에는 수학과 학교공부를 집중적으로 하며
방학을 이용해서 집중적으로 했습니다.
초등시기 우리 아이들에게 가장 도움이 되었던 영어공부 과정은 Literacy Place 과정이었습니다.
읽고 듣는 과정을 거쳐 글로 자신의 생각을 확인해 보는 과정이었습니다.
중학교 시기는 영어뉴스와 영자신문,영어인증 시험 대비공부.
가장 중요한 것은 영어를 집중적으로 해야만 한다는 동기부여입니다.
수학공부와 악기,학교성적을 최고의 목표로 두고 공부 하는 아이들에게 영어는 늘 뒷자리가 되지요.
7세 정도 부터 영어공부를 시작했는데 아무 생각 없이 시작하였습니다.
아이들 영어공부에 대한 특별한 목표와 철학도 없었구요.
아이들 영어공부에 야망이 있었다면 가는 길에 갈등이 많았을 것 같습니다.
왜? 영어공부 시키냐 묻는다면 ' 그저 웃지요.'
목표가 뭐냐고 묻는다면 대학가는데 영어가 걸림돌이 되지 않는다면 만족한다고
솔직하게 대답하겠습니다.
그냥 가다보니 여기까지 왔습니다.
은혜둘 
