There are two levels of teacher self-evaluation: reflection on day-to-day classroom instruction and professional self-evaluation.
Teachers refine their skills through reflecting upon elements of their instruction that includes evaluation. The following questions may assist teachers in reflecting on their evaluations of student progress:
· Was there sufficient probing of student knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes, and processes?
· Were the assessment strategies appropriate for the student information required and for the instructional strategies used?
· Were the assessment conditions conducive to the best possible student performance?
· Were the assessment strategies fair/appropriate for the levels of student abilities?
· Was the range of information collected from students sufficient to make interpretations and evaluate progress?
· Were the results of the evaluation meaningfully reported to students, parents, and other educators as appropriate?
Through reflection on questions like those above, teachers are able to improve their strategies for student evaluation.
It is also important for teachers, as professionals, to engage in self-evaluation. Teachers should take stock of their professional capabilities, set improvement targets, and participate in professional development activities. Some ways teachers can address their professional growth are by: reflecting on their own teaching; reading professional documents and journals (including Mathematics Teacher and The Numerator); attending workshops, professional conferences, and courses; and developing networks with other professionals in their fields. For more information regarding curriculum reflection, curriculum inquiry, or curriculum networking, refer to Classroom Curriculum Connections (Saskatchewan Education, 2001).