How good was YOUR school Teacher

[Gabriel]

Gabriel, as you so rightly said, the "fake" comments are easy to spot - and hence ignore. Almost everyone agrees that the comments tend to be accurate in general. So therefore it's a useful site.

Each to their own I guess Extopia. My point was how would you be able to tell if you didn't know the teacher in question first???
The 'he's a bad teacher' comments could just as easily have been from some kid who held a grudge and he might be a brilliant teacher. How would you know?

When it comes to it I'll put my trust in my kids and not some very unreliable website.

 

[Eyeseeyou]

I've just read back over this entire thread and one question repeatedly springs to mind. Why is it that we think second level students should have no opportunity to evaluate their teachers?

When a student enters third level education, as little as three months after completing their second level studies, they are expected to provide feedback and complete evaluation forms at the end of course modules. Suddenly teacher evaluation by students is not only desirable, but is an accepted part of the professional development portfolio that third level educators are expected to maintain. It is coupled with exam results and formal peer review to provide a framework on which educators improve their performance and update the content of their teaching modules.

Why are third level teachers thick skinned enough to take the bad with the good, but second level teachers are not? Why (in principle) should the same appraisal process not apply to second level teachers? Perhaps RMT is not the ideal forum as it is accessible to anyone and of dubious quality, whereas third level review is a formal procedure confined to the department or institution which conducts it. Do schools now employ such a process for internal use - in my day they didn't. Does anyone know if they do or think that they should?

ESY

 

[Cahir]

Are you supposed to be able to rate lecturers on all third level courses? At my university we were never given the opportunity.

 

[Gabriel]

I've just read back over this entire thread and one question repeatedly springs to mind. Why is it that we think second level students should have no opportunity to evaluate their teachers? ESY

I don't think that is being suggested at all if you read the entire thread.

When a student enters third level education, as little as three months after completing their second level studies, they are expected to provide feedback and complete evaluation forms at the end of course modules. Suddenly teacher evaluation by students is not only desirable, but is an accepted part of the professional development portfolio that third level educators are expected to maintain. It is coupled with exam results and formal peer review to provide a framework on which educators improve their performance and update the content of their teachig modules.
ESY

Exactly, but this is done in a formal manner, conducted by the proper authorities and in the correct format...not on some second rate website.

If the board of education wants (secondary level) students to assess their teachers then that's fine by me. A good idea no doubt.

 

[Eyeseeyou]

Cahir - yes, all third level teachers SHOULD use a number of methods of appraisal for continuing professional development including student feedback questionnaires. I never got them in my day eiither, but this method is increasingly being implemented mostly for formative purposes by individuals, rather than for summative reasons by educational authorities.

Gabriel - I agree with you completely regarding the use of formal methods of evaluation rather than some "second rate web site", and I do suggest that RMT is not the correct forum. Do you know if such formal strategies exist at either local or national level?

 

[macnas]

When I spoke to a student recently to give out about his/her lack of application I was told that I would get a bad rating on the web and as a result I did.

In my school's site there are several past pupils (the gas men!) included as teachers and rated as such.

There are ratings for a few teachers who are no longer alive.

There are ratings for a few teachers who have been retired for several years.
There are personal references, references to families, insults and uninformed comments and more.

Is it free speech when the identity of the speaker is not known? There is no right of reply.

 

[Gabriel]

Thank you macnas for giving some good 'real world' reasons for why this website (ratemyteachers) is a load of sh*te.