sự cảm nhận của giáo viên và người đánh giá giáo viên về việc đánh giá giáo viên và các tiêu chí trong bản đánh giá giờ dạy của các giáo viên hiện nay

Abstract
Boyd & Ronald (1989) identify two major goals of teacher evaluation, i.e.
assessment of teacher competence and encouragement of teacher
professional development.
The present study investigates the perception of lower secondary
school teachers in Hanoi about the teacher evaluation through the current
teaching assessment-criteria, which are used in Hanoi. Survey
questionnaires were collected from 30 teachers who are teaching English in
lower secondary schools and 10 teachers’ evaluators from different districts
in Hanoi.
The survey was followed by semi-structured interviews with 7
respondents in an attempt to find out their thoughts about the current
teaching assessment criteria in terms of their objectivity, practicality and
assessibility.
With regard to the role of teaching evaluation, the teaching assessment
criteria make a good contribution to the effectiveness of teaching English at
schools in Hanoi. However, more detailed indicators of the assessment sheet
should be designed and the peculiarities of the subject should be concerned
to make the teaching assessment more effective.
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Part A. Introduction
1. Background
In Vietnam, English is now most widely taught throughout the
country, and it is more popular in big cities such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh
city. Teachers of English are said to find jobs easier than teachers of other
subjects because English is taught systematically at schools from grade 3.
However, it is revealed that after ten years learning English at schools and
even after finishing the university, our students cannot be self- confident
enough to communicate with foreigners or to apply for a job that must deal
with foreigners without studying any further English courses.
Therefore, the issue of quality in English language teaching in

Vietnam has been a matter of concern. Teaching is often said to be an art
rather than a science: hence it is not easy to judge it. However, in all the
schools that are said to be famous for their quality, the teaching must be
good. Good teaching is the result of good teachers. There are many good
teachers of English in Vietnam, that is the undenying fact. Good knowledge
of English is the first characteristic of a good English teacher and then the
teaching methods. In different grades there are different teaching methods.
Many teaching methods and techniques have been applied by the secondary
school teachers to develop their students’ learning ability. Unfortunately the
results are not very satisfactory for various reasons.Teachers all have known
that they must be patient with their students or they must be enthusiatic.
However, they will get angry if their students do not finish their homework
or cannot answer their questions at the lesson. They also understand that
they need to be sensitive to their students through gestures, facial
expressions and should not dominate the lesson but they can hardly do it.
Theoretically, there are teachers training programmes every year to improve
teachers’ knowledge to make their teaching better and better. However, after
years of teaching in lower-secondary schools, teachers find themselves
unable to use English for day-to-day communication, one of the most
important factors in teaching foreign languages. Moreover, some of the
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teachers cannot answer their students’ questions about the information in the
textbook although they all passed the “teaching assessment” every year and
many of them get the prize of “Excellent Teachers”.
To meet the needs of socio-conomic, scientific and technological
development, as well as the intergration of the country, the Ministry of
Education and Training (MOET) requested to reform the teaching
curriculum for all national lower and upper secondary schools toward
greater emphasis on students ability or it is often called learner-centered
teaching. Together with the curriculum changing, the teaching evaluation

and teacher assessment have been renovated. Based on the Teaching
Evaluation Criteria of the Ministry of Education and Training; Hanoi
Department of Education and Training has applied the criteria to evaluate
English teaching as well as other subjects. Twenty teaching evaluation
criteria in the observation sheet, which is mainly used for assessing teachers
after having one or two periods of class observation is so called teacher
evaluation anually. However, after 6 years of its application, the evaluation–
criteria are somehow causing different oppinions.
Theoretically, there have been lots of teaching evaluation models
designed by native speakers and other nations around us such as Britain,
America or Singapore. Many research in this field have been done by
universities or institutes in the world like the Research in Improving Teacher
Evaluations with Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation by American
Institutes or Guidelines for Evaluating Teaching by the University of
Michigan and others. In Vietnam, there is not a standard tool of teaching
evaluation system. That explains why teacher evaluation has not achieved
success in teaching development and in teacher encouragement. It is known
that the MOET has been carrying out the experiment of the teaching
evaluation for primary school teachers since 2003 and it is still in the first
stage of being applied in the South. For the lower secondary school teachers,
the assessment for their teaching depends on their own district.
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In this situation, the researcher would like to focus on this field to find
out a better approach to the evaluation of teachers including its purpose, the
rules and regulations that apply, the target group to be evaluated, the
domains to be covered, the procedures and methods to be employed, the
instruments to be used, the persons to be involved, and the types of reports
and feedback to be provided. However, there is no one complete source for
information on one’s teaching, and no single technique for gathering it.
Moreover, the techniques need to be sensitive to the particular teaching

assignment of the instructor being assessed or evaluated, as well as the
context in which the teaching takes place. Therefore, the reseacher uses an
investigation of teachers teaching English in lower secondary schools in
Hanoi for this reseach through questionnaires and interviews as usual.
2. Aims of the study
Based on the needs analysis mentioned above, the study is aimed at:
- Finding out what teachers and teacher evaluators think about the
current teacher evaluation basing on the teaching assessment criteria of the
observation sheet in terms of their objectivity, practicality and assessibility.
- Finding out the gaps, if any, between teachers and teacher
evaluators’ perceptions of the evaluation criteria.
- Exploring the extent to which the evaluation criteria encourage
teachers’ creativeness in their teaching according to teachers’ perception.
3. Scope of the study
Teaching is a complex and personal activity that is best assessed and
evaluated using multiple techniques and broadly-based criteria.
The study limited to the investigation of teachers and teacher
evaluators’ comments on the current criteria for evaluating teachers’
teaching. These teachers and teacher evaluators are working within a district
of Hanoi city.
The aim of this investigation is to find out space for improvement of
the current teaching evaluation criteria. Findings are used to inform
concerned administrators of empirical evidence from which their decisions
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on teaching evaluation can be derived. However, the study was not intended
to produce new teaching evaluation criteria. Rather, it is just an attempt to
understand the voice of teachers and teacher evaluators – the key consumers
of the current teaching evaluation criteria – about the question under
investigation.
4. Research method of the study

The qualitative approach, which involves survey questionnaires,
interviews and document analysis, is employed combined with quantitative
one which data analysis will be processed by the level of agreement marked
through the 4 options.
The subjects of the study are a sample of 30 teachers teaching English
and 10 teacher evaluators from 10 Districts working in Education and
Training Services in Hanoi.
- Document analysis (the teacher evaluation criteria applied in Hanoi)
is the first stage of the study.
- The survey questionnaire is the second stage and then 5 teachers and
2 teacher evaluators are chosen randomly and voluntarily for semi-structured
interviews to provide an insight into the statistical findings made from the
questionnaire.
5. Organization of the study
Three parts will be presented: Introduction, Development and
Conclusion. In the introduction of the study the background of English
teaching evaluation is presented and the aims, the scope, the methods and
the organization of the study are also mentioned. Part B or the development
is the most important one with three chapters which show the nature of
teaching, the teaching evaluation and the study. The final part summarizes
the findings of the study and some implications for further research are also
mentioned.
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PART B. DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1 - The Nature of Teaching
1. Teaching - a special work
Labaree (2000) indicates that teaching is an enormously difficult job
that looks easy. Generally speaking, the nature of teaching is the process of
transferring knowledge from the teacher-the former to the students-the latter,
that makes the process of becoming a teacher not so complicated. It is said

that teaching is easy because teachers are the people who read materials first
and then repeat the things they have read to their students. However, reality
is quite different. Teaching, unlike other professions, requires teachers not
only good techniques in teaching but also an emotional relationship with
their students; However, there is no guide book for how to accomplish this.
Teaching is a dificult practice because students must be willing to
learn what the teacher is teaching, and students are only present in the
classroom because they are compelled to be there. Like other practitioners in
the professions of human improvement, teachers have to work things out on
their own, without being able to fall back on standards of acceptable
professional practice such as those that guide lawyers, doctors and
accountants. Although teachers have many curriculum materials to follow,
the curriculum developers and others often have failed to take account of the
teachers. The roots of the gap between the reality and the perception of
teaching and learning to teach look easy is that teachers put themselves in
positions that dismish their own status and power in order to enhance the
capacity and independence of their students.
In general, teaching is the specialized application of knowledge and
skills designed to provide unique service to meet the educational needs of
the individual and of society. Teaching is special because teachers must have
charisma. Good teachers are not like skilled craftworkers who know exactly
what they must do and take pleasure in a job well done but quite separate
from their enthusiasm. Teachers are not only skillful workers but emotional
to their students as well. Teaching is special because it is very difficult for
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teachers to make it well but it looks easy for others. Only best teachers can
determine the effects of practice in particular context. They know not only
what they are doing, but why it is working and why it is likely to work in
one kind of environment and not in an other. Although best teachers may
have some natural personality characteristics that support their success, they

also work very hard at their teaching and continually try to improve. That is
really not easy.
Therefore, not so as it is understood, teaching is not simply a process
of transfering the knowledge from the former to the later. It is a special work
that is like an art. The teacher will get success only when he/she acts
wonderfully before his/her students.
2. Teaching - a creative work
Despite the difficulties inherent in teaching, the profession is generally
seen to be relatively easy even among teacher candidates because of many
reasons that teachers have spent a great deal of time as students observing
teachers practise their trade. The time of observation shows them a lot about
what teachers do and the perception of substantive skills and teacher’s
knowledge is thoroughly ordinary. A good teacher is the person who makes
her/ his business unnecessary that means he/she can make his/her
empowering learners learn without the teacher’s help.
Teachers have a right to participate in all decisions that affect them or
their work. The educational interests of students are best served by teachers
who exercise their professional judgement.Teaching, like any forms of
creative invention, is situated in person, and professional growth is an
intensely private affair. In a landscape without bearing, teachers create and
internalize their own maps. Although curriculum designers aim to create
particular kinds of learning experiences for students, they can anticipate only
partially what particular children will bring to instruction and how easily
they will learn. Teachers necessarily select from and adapt materials to suit
their own students. . Curriculum materials are seen to be a guide but to be a
constraint and control both knowledge and teaching, limiting students’
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opportunities to learn. Teachers who invent lessons are said to be creative
and imaginative. Their invention will make the lessons more interesting than
the textbook itself. Therefore, good teaching involves more than the simple

transmission of information and includes motivating students and creating a
possitive classroom environment as well.
3. Effective teachers
During the past 50 years the debate over effective teaching has moved
from a dicussion of technical, classroom skills, or process skills as they have
been called, to a focus on skills necessary to make the subject matter
understandable to the student. From the Cornell Center for Learning and
Teaching, recent work on teacher effectiveness has yielded the following
observations which support an integrative model that is both process-and
content-based:
Teachers promote learning by communicating to their students what is
expected and why. Effective teachers not only know the subject matter they
intend their students to learn but also know the misconceptions their
students bring to the classroom that will interfere with their learning of that
subject matter. Besides, effective teachers are clear about what they intend to
accomplish through their instruction, and they keep these goals in mind both
in designing the instruction and in communicating its purpose to the
students. They make certain that their students understand and are satisfied
by the reasons given for why they should learn what they are asked to learn.
Effective instruction provides students with structured opportunities to
exercise and practice independent learning strategies.
In addition to that, effective teachers create learning situations in
which their students are expected not just to learn facts and solve given
problems but to organize information in new ways and formulate problems
for themselves. Such learning situations include creative writing
opportunities in language arts, problem-formulation activities in
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mathematics, and independent projects in science, social studies and
literature.
Moreover, effective teachers should continuously monitor their

students’ understanding of presentations and responses to assignments. They
routinely provide detailed feedback, but not necessarily in the same way for
all students. And they must realize that what is learned is more likely to be
remembered and used in the future if it serves students’ purposes beyond
meeting school requirements.
Although teachers are human, not machines; effective teachers should
take time for reflection and self-evaluation, monitor their instruction to make
sure that worthwhile content is being taught to all students, and accept
responsibilty for guiding student learning and behavior. Effective teacher
should talk less and teach more. Students always believe in the teachers who
both start and end the class on time. It is important to note that effective
teachers should condition students to respond to their arm motions from day
one and be specific when giving instructions…short, concise information.
Teachers have different perspectives, approaches and objectives to achieve.
However effective teachers should not speak in generalities and should
never work too long on the problems of one section or one structure. On the
other hand, they must know when to practice complete passages vs.
practicing “spots” in the reading lesson and be consistent in correcting their
students’errors and faults. One more important is that teachers should use
the blackboard (whiteboard) to clarify problems. Nowadays, some of the
teachers are not used to using blackboard. They prefered modern facilities.
Finally, students are very sensitive about criticizing. Therefore,
teachers should be careful when giving criticism or praise. Effective teachers
know how to criticize and when to do it. They should never criticize or
praise the same students. And their students must always believe that each
day is new day with them.
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4. Effective teaching
Effective teaching is the basis of successful learning. Effective
teaching identifies and builds on prior knowledge, makes real-life

connection, develops deep understanding and monitors and reflects on
learning.
Although many people believed that good teaching is impossible to
define in any general way, many others suggest that certain characteristics
are associated with good school teaching as viewed by students, other
teachers and administrators. Ebro(1997), presented in a study of winners of
the Alumini Distinguished Teaching Award at Ohio State some
characteristics of effective teaching which are based on traits of effective
teachers such as
The teachers got right down to business.
They began class promptly and were well organized.
They taught at an appropriately fast pace, but stopped regularly to
check student comprehension and engagement.
They used a variety of instructional strategies rather than lecture
alone.
They focused on the topic and their instructional objectives and did
not get sidetracked.
Their explanations were clear.
They used humor that was in keeping with their individual styles.
They practiced good classroom management techniques, holding the
attention and respect of the group.
They interacted with sudents by providing immediate answers to
questions or comments and corrective feedback when needed.
They praised student answers and used probing questions to extend
the answers.
They provided a warm classroom climate by allowing students to
speak freely and by including personal humor or other attempts to relate to
students as people.
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They used nonverbal behavior, such as gestures, walking around, and

eye contact, to reinforce their comments.
Effective teaching is not the same with all the grades. Effective
college teaching that emerge in Joseph Lowman (1996) are the two main
dimensions: interllectual excitement which consits of enthusiasm,
knowledge, inspiration, humor, interesting view-point, clarity and
organization, and interpersonal concern or effective motivation which
emerges in concern, caring, availability, friendliness, accesibility,
helpfulness, encouragement and challenge. They are also the marks of the
effective teacher.
Besides, a number of writers Grasha (1996) and Lowman (1996) have
observed differences in styles among teachers. They classify them according
to a number of dimensions that represent how teachers approach their
students, the way in which they think learning takes place, and personal
strengths and preferences. Examplary teachers are those who are highly
proficient in fundalmental sets of skills: the ability to offer presentations in
clearly organized and interesting ways or to relate to students in ways that
communicative positive regard and motivate them to work hard to meet
academic challenges. Effective teaching is together with teacher
development. A key element in the process of teacher development is
feedback. The most effective teachers employ information on their teaching
from students. Individual teacher will naturally exhibit different style, and
there are many ways to make her/him do effective teaching. However, a
good teacher always makes questions to herself/himself “why you are here
today” when entering class. As it is said above that teaching is not right or
wrong, good or bad, effective or ineffective in any absolute, fixed or
determined sense. On the contratry, some characteristics of good teaching
are defined and in common way quality teaching is that activity which
brings about the most productive and beneficial learning experience for
students and promotes their development as learners. In the material
Teaching Assessment and Evaluation Guide of York University (2002), all

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students, faculty and administrators agree that quality teaching consists of
five main characteristics: establishing a positive learning environment;
motivating student engagement; providing appropriate challenges; being
responsive to students’ learning needs; and being fair in evaluating their
learning.
Besides, the atmosphere throughout the whole lesson was friendly,
informal, and personal, giving each other a kind of relaxation and feeling
free to state and venture any oppinion. The result is a greater sharing of ideas
and debate concerning lessons topics, which are only positive. According to
the Report of the Ad Hoc Senate Committee on Teaching Quality,
Effectiveness and Evaluation, published on May, 1999 there are seven
principles for effective teaching taken together with the exemplary practices-
Those standards are: to set clear goals and interlectual challenges for student
learning, which actively helps students to accomplish goals and meet
challenges as defined in the course outline; to employ appropriate teaching
methods that actively involve learners such as encouraging appropriate
student participation; to communicate and interact effectively with students
like using fair and reasonable methods of evaluating learning; to attend to
interlectual growth of students like providing and discussing with students or
reviewing students’ progress in achieving interlectual goals and learning
outcomes; to respect diverse talents learning styles of students as in
recognizing and accommodating different learning styles ; to incorporate
learning beyond the classroom, which helps students to apply their learning
in a variety of ways; to reflect on, monitor and improve teaching practices
such as seeking regular students’ feedback on teaching effectiveness,
regularly revise and update course content, teaching strategies and create
teaching dossiers and other activities.
The standards shown above not only reflect many aspects of the highest
strategy teaching at University of British Columbia but also the conclusion

of the effective teaching.
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5. The role of the teacher in the language class
Teachers are said to play a very important role in teaching. It is said
that good teachers will give good students. Teachers in language classes are
not the exception. Teachers at different levels have the different roles with
students. In elementary schools teachers are supposed to be surrogate parents
for students. They instruct students steps by steps and must always take care
of them. As the students get older, the roles teachers play change. Education
itself moves to the forefront, and students try to fill their minds with facts,
dates, and ideas as they prepare for high schools and colleges. Teachers are
no longer their mothers, but their guider or counselor. Students need
someone to listen to them and tell them everything would be okay. In the
language class, the teacher is like her/his students’ friend. The learners want
to break out the mole and use language for themselves. They may not be
accurate but they use language as it should be used to say something or to
communicate. The notes of encouragement the teacher give them play an
important role in motivating them to study. In colleges or universities, both
the educational and pesonal impact of the teachers are brought to a higher
level. Students work with teachers in their chosen field, getting to know
them as both instructors and as people. Experienced teachers can maintain
diverse roles in their relationship with students and educate their love for the
languge they are studying besides their mother tongue.
Generally speaking, the first role of the teacher in every class is the
“gatekeeper” of knowledge, the person of authority in front of the room. The
second role of the teacher in a language class is to make her/his students as
active as possible in expressing their own ideas in the new languge and
finally, the teacher must do is assessing her/his students’ progress and giving
them opportunities to share their views of things. People often said that good
teachers were born, not made. Some certain characteristics, such as humor

and interpersonal skills seem to come easily to some people but not others.
Besides, teachers are human, not machines. They have so much time and
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energy, and they have their life beyond their work, which has its own
demand; If teaching is to be adequately rewarded as a valued activity and
contribution to the education, the degree to which teachers contributed to it
far more better.
Teachers are always the people who retain the choice of acting on or
ignoring their students’ input. The teacher is always in control throughout
the entire process of organizing his/her class activities and discussion. In
general, the role of the teacher is quite different in different grades but
always important to the students – he/she is the soul of his/her students in
both sides knowledge and emotion.
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Chapter 2 The Teaching evaluation–
1. Teacher evaluation
Teacher evaluation is a complex process. It is a series of activities and
actions that are interconnected and relate to a specific purpose. Many years
ago, the researchers found that since teachers deal with complex problems,
they should be evaluated as professionals which means that their standards
should be developed by their peers and their evaluation should focus on the
degree to which they solve professional problems competently. The
emphasis of their evaluation should be on their teaching and not on them as
individuals, and take into consideration the involvement and responsiveness
of others involved in the education process.
The evaluation process usually involves preparation, observation, data
collection, reporting and follow-up. Both formal observations and informal
observations are considered. Many unannounced visits usually prove to be
more effective than a few announced visits. However, there are limitations to
classroom observations as an assessment method. They reveal little about the

coherence of the curriculum, the depth and breadth of content covered, the
range of teaching techniques used, the quality and variety of materials
employed, the types and frequency of students’ assignments, the quality of
instruments used for student assessment, the kinds of feedback students
receive on their work or their appropriateness of these techniques for
individual student and for the classroom context as a whole.
Teacher evaluation should be a small but significant part of the larger
strategy for school improvement which would see staff development take
place prior to evaluations. Although agreement on a clear set of criteria on
which a teacher’s performance in class can be assessed has been elusive,
most current evaluation methods seem to be characterized by an allegiance
to a rational or scientific approach to inquiry. In this approach, the
observer’s judgement of teaching behaviours takes precedence, while little
15
or no consultation with the teacher or reflection on the teacher’s and
students’ interpretations of their classroom experiences, is considered.
Teacher evaluations should be dialogical rather than hierarchical.
Evaluators should know the subject matter, pedagogy, and classroom
characteristics of the teacher being evaluated, as well as take into
consideration the fact that experienced and excellent teachers are capable of
pedagogical performances that educational theory and research can neither
explain nor predict.
For many young teachers, the teacher and students take on “artificial
roles” that they believe to be appropriate to the occasion when the class is
being observed; For many experienced and tenured teachers, yearly
evaluations have been more a matter of pride than a job security which
causes evaluation to become an empty, time-stealing ritual. However, there
is general agreement among education writers that teacher evaluation must
satisfy two competing individual and organizational needs. One is the
process of control and surveillence performed hierarchically; the other

develops the educational community into self-knowledge.
Teacher evaluation can determine whether new teachers can teach,
help all teachers to improve, and indicate when a teacher can or will teach
effectively. Personnel decisions of retiring, tenure, promotion, demotion, and
dismissal are greatly influenced by it.
Evaluators competence is probably the most difficult aspect of the
evaluative process. Administrators, whose background may be in widely
different fields are forced to rely on simplistic measures such as checklists.
The degree to which administrators “slip into mindless activity by following
the structure of the evaluation instrument to control their sight and
awareness” makes worse the problem of expertise. Some principals makes
evaluations only after 20 minutes of observation. Some principals gave
outstanding evaluations to teachers who dozed in class because the teacher
was a friend. This affects the soundness and fairness of the evaluation.
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Generally speaking, any system of teacher evaluation however
reliable, must first and foremost be faithful to teaching. Any effort to define
standards for teaching and to operationalize them in an evaluation must
reach beyond the judgement of academic experts. Therefore, we need a form
of evaluation that will reflect a more enlightened view of teaching, that will
inspire teacher educators to aim higher in creating their curricula and
designing their programs in implementing teaching process.
2. Teaching evaluation
Evaluation in Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages
settings is a process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information
about teaching and learning in order to make informed decisions that
enhance students achievement and the success of educational programs.
Variety of forms evaluation can take in TESOL settings throughout
examples implemented by researchers. Evaluation can focus on different
aspects of teaching and learning respectively. Assessment for formative

purposes is designed to stimulate growth, change and improvement in
teaching through reflective practice. Evaluation, in contrast, is used for
summative purposes to give an overview of a particular instructor’s teaching
in a particular course and setting.
Informed judgements on teaching effectiveness can best be made
when both assessment and evaluation are conducted. In this study, teaching
assessment and evaluation of the lower secondary school teachers are the
focus of interest through reporting the results of the assessment criteria.
Just as there is no simple system for evaluating the quality of research,
there is no simple system for evaluating the quality of teaching. However, by
thinking carefully about the purposes of evaluation, and by crafting multiple
methods of evaluation that suit those purposes, one can devise evaluation
systems that are reliable, valid, and fair. Equally important, the process of
discussing and crafting evaluation systems focuses attention on the practice
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of good teaching and helps to create a culture in which teaching is highly
valued.
Some principles of teaching evaluation should be considered. The
most important consideration in teaching evaluation, both for improvement
purposes and for personnel decisions, is the use of multiple methods of
teaching evaluation involving multiple sources of data. Evaluation system
adopted is credible and acceptable when faculty members have a strong hand
in its development. Before departments and schools adopt teaching
evaluation system, the faculty members should determine their criteria for
effective teaching. Departments and schools can then take responsibility for
developing their own evaluation methods and evaluation criteria. Different
disciplines require different methods and criteria for evaluation. Teaching
evaluation systems can be flexible to accommodate diversity in instructional
methods for example lecture, discussion, lab, case study, small group
interaction, etc.

Effective teaching evaluation must be individualized. A uniformed
system discriminates against some individuals, so a plan sensitive to
individual variation should be developed.
Teaching evaluation has its central element the assessment of the
quality of classroom instruction. Since teaching includes activities broader
than classroom instruction, evaluation of teaching must assess more than
classroom performance. There may have different teaching activities;
however, some of the following items may be assessed:
1. Clear explanation of the objectives for the lesson;
2. Good instruction for group interaction and individual student
interaction and encourage class discussion;
3. Relations with students; advising students in the major;
4. Reasonable board presentation;
5. Appropriate use of teaching equipment to the lesson to be taught.
Students, observations, colleagues and teacher self-reflection are the
sources of data for evaluating teaching. They often base on student ratings
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for personnel decisions and teaching improvement; However, student rating
results should be considered in personnel decisions only when most of the
students in class have the same ideas of the special technique.
Rating forms should include open-ended questions so that students can
write their own comments. Written comments are particularly helpful in
improving classroom performance.
Feedback from students throughout the term is also helpful for
teaching improvement purposes. Teachers may ask students to provide
informal assessment of their teaching effectiveness at mid-semester by
interviewing some excellent or bad students or through the use of student
rating forms, especially ones that include open-ended questions. If we want
to know whether students find our explanations of a topic clear, or whether
students find our teaching exciting or dull, who else could possibly answer

these kinds of questions better than the students themselves? Among the
sources of information described here, students are the best source for
understanding the immediate effects of our teaching, that is, the process of
teaching and learning.
Moreover, evaluation of student learning is particularly useful in
improving teaching. Faculty members may act as “classroom researchers”,
gathering measures of student learning in order to provide examples of
student learning as evidence of their teaching effectiveness for personnel
decisions. As the intended beneficiaries of all teaching, students are in
unique position to help their teachers in the evaluation process.
Colleagues who have expertise in the discipline being taught and
training in what to observe can provide important evaluative information
through classroom visits and review of course materials and instructional
contributions. The evaluation process is enhanced when the syllabus and
course-related materials are reviewed by colleagues and course goals and
class objectives are discussed with the instructor. In addition, discussion
among colleagues about the effectiveness of teaching can lead to a better
techniques on teaching and learning.
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Self-reflection or self-monitoring is what people do semi-
automatically and semi-consciously whenever they teach. Most of their
mental activity is concerned with making the presentation or leading the
discussion. But one portion of their mental attention is concerned with “How
is it going?” ; “Are they with me?”; “Am I losing them?” “Are they
interested or bored?”. The first value of this is that is immediate and
constant. You do not have to wait a week or a day or even an hour to get the
result. It happens right away. Hence adjustments are possible right away.
The second value is that this information is automatically created in terms
that are meaningful to the teacher because it is the teacher who creates the
information. It is the teacher, not someone else, who looks at the situation

and says “This is what is happening.” This does not mean that teachers
always knows why it is happening, or what to do about it if it is something
they do not like. But they do have their own sense of what is happening. It
happens all the time while they are teaching. They may only take a mental
pause every few minutes to size up the situation. But by comparison with the
other sources of information discussed, this takes place continuously.
However, the strength of this source is also its weakness, because this
information is created by the teacher and for the teacher. Sometimes they
thought their students understood their lesson, or they looked interested but
in fact, they didn’t. We all have our own blind spots and lack complete
objectivity. This means that, at times, we are going to misread the responses
of students to our teaching. To avoid this possibility, it is essential to give
teachers the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate their students – to
prepare them to use textbooks as sources for creative learning In this way
the potential of teaching can be developed.
Evaluation of teaching is not a science; there is still much to learn.
However, as indicated above, there is already a considerable body of
knowledge about teaching evaluation. In order to reward teaching
adequately, a better system for evaluating it should be crafted.

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3. Observation as a tool of teaching evaluation
3.1 Advantages of observation
It is said there are many benefits from classoom observation. First of
all, classroom observation is not only an educational and pleasant experience
but also a collaborative learning opportunity which enabled teachers and
observers to learn from each other.
Teachers will get much from classroom observation because
classroom observation helps teachers to know their weakness from other

people, which is sometimes very difficult for them to find by themselves. It
is an effective way in improving teachers’ work and let they know where
they are.
Especially, classroom observation is quite useful for some young
teachers, for they seldom learn how to teach, why to teach, and how to
organize the class, and they need experienced teachers’ help. They need
observations to find out how well they can teach and in which way they can
improve. Observation of experienced teachers has always played an
important role in teacher education. It is proved by young Chinese teachers
in the research about self-development through classroom observation (Qun
Wang and Nicola Seth, 1998) that first of all they did not expect to benefit
so much from the classroom observation they were involved in, but then
they realized the value of classroom observation help them much. They
enjoyed the post-lesson discussion most. Through the discussion and
feedback sessions, they were brought in front of a mirror to look at
themselves carefully and thoroughly. The observers helped them find out the
problems and bring up suggestions and advice which are very constructive
for future teaching. And they wished to have more classroom observation in
the future. (ELT Journal Volume 52/3 July 1998)
Traditional views of observation argue that through observing how
teachers conduct their lessons, solve problems of classoom management, and
interact with students, novice teachers can apply good techniques in their
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own teaching. Besides, observation of students’ work habit and their
involement in instructional activities, their patterns of errors, their strategies
for communicating with limited linguistic knowledge, and the questions they
ask about the content could provide an insight into problems with
instructional plans. This can lead to changes in instructional purposes and /or
plans so as to make instruction better suited to the students.
In addition to that, classroom observation both helps to train the

observers/evaluators and the teachers. According to Peter Sheal (1985), who
has worked in staff development for the past six years, and is at present
supervisor of Staff Development, responsible for training English language
teachers in a Middle East oil company, the author of two English language
textbooks: Advanced Writing Skills and Advanced English Course,
classroom observations have traditionally been conducted by administrators
and senior teachers mainly for the purpose of teacher evaluation… However,
administrators and senior teachers want to know how to combine staff
development with evaluation and it can be done only when the feedback
provided useful to teachers. That also raises some important questions about
the role of supervisors of teachers, and discusses the need for training in
supervisory skills. (Classroom observation:training the observers. ELT
Journal 1989, Volume 43, Number 2. p.92)
Generally speaking, classroom observation serves the purposes of
developing teachers; helps the teachers understand that they have a
responsibility for their own development; helps them have a clearer
understanding of their own classroom experiences; introduces the teachers to
a more developmental approach to teacher training; helps the teachers build
a more supportive and trusting relationship with their colleagues and to
realize the mutual benefits that would accrue from this. Moreover, it also
helps to train the observers in their way of observation and in giving
feedback to the teachers.
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3.2 Limitations of observation
Since observation appears to be relatively simple activity to arganize
and one that offers immediate tangible benefits, it is not surprising that it
plays a core role in many teacher education programmes. However, what we
can expect to gain from observation is dependent upon how we understand
the nature of teaching. It is important to recognize that any of observation is
just a “snapshot” of one or two hours within a whole semester’s interaction

by the teacher with the students, and therefore there may not be enough
accurate reflection of their overall contact with them. For this reason, it is
best to have two or three observations of the teaching with different groups
in order to ensure the validity of their actions. Classroom observation has
acquired a bad reputation in the ELT profession because of its subjective,
judgemental, and impressionistic nature. Many teachers resent being
observed at short notice by “important people” who judge their performance
according to their own, not necessarily appropriate criteria, and make
unwelcome “suggestions” for change. It seems as if these observers have the
last word on whether their work is good or bad, right or wrong.
The presence of the observer in the room may affect the behavior of
both the teacher and the class. The teacher may put on a special show that
leaving the students very impressed, but leaving the observer with very little
to comment upon regarding improvement. On the other hand, some teachers
are so nervous that students do not want to make questions even though
they do not understand the lesson very well.
In some cases, even very good teachers may be unnerved during a
formal observation session. Sometimes they break off their lecture to explain
to the observer what they are doing and why. They waste time on giving
more details of the lessons than usual that they do not have enough time for
other necessary activities.
Observation will be valid only when teachers do not appear to be
unduly affected by the presence of an observer as the purpose of observation
is purely for personal feedback.
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It is easy for an observer to form an initial impression based on the
first few minutes of a session and then allow that impression to color their
view of subsequent events as they unfold. For example, a good introduction
may mask a less- than-ideal session structure. Similarly, a tentative start may
have the observer looking for further evidence of presumed impending

disaster. Therefore, it is very important for the observer to view each action
in each segment as objectively as possible. This objectivity may be a
problem for an inexperienced observer to achieve, and it is suggested that
the use of a checklist constructed of those characteristics considered to be
“indicative of effective teaching’, and it is also one way of injecting
otherwise fairly subjective process.
A classroom observation for teaching improvement purposes suggests
that there are many limitations to the effectiveness of the process if school
colleagues or supervisors are used. However, trained, experienced
instructional advisers are able to provide behaviorally focussed feedback and
are able to draw the attention of teaching actions to other teaching strategies
which may be not popular in his/ her school. It is also suggested that the
observers who view the teaching process should encourage teachers using a
greater variety of teaching techniques. Although the subjectivity inherent in
classroom observation is a distinct limitation of its use for school evaluative
purposes, this same subjectivity can become a strength in the hands of a
skilled instructional development specialist for raising the awareness of
teaching activities to these more varied approaches to teaching and learning.
Observation is often based on the assumption that acquiring skill in
teaching involves learning how to do things - that is the mastery of specific
types of behaviors – and that these are observable in the lessons of good
teachers. Examining what teachers do in the classroom is also the good way
to effective teaching. Despite this, we still have some limitations in class
observation which influence teachers’ teaching we must overcome.
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Chapter 3 The Study–
1. The setting of the study
As it is said above, teacher evaluations are designed to serve the two
purposes: to measure teacher competence and to foster professional
development and growth. Evaluators often base on the evaluation-criteria by

the administrators of education for teacher evaluations.
In Hanoi, lower secondary schools are evaluated every year to grade
how successfully they have achieved after a year. A part from giving
assessments to different school activities, teaching assessment must be done
first and foremost.
Most of the teachers of the assessed school must be evaluated after
being observed one or two lessons. Most of the observation is formal and
planned.
Other activities of the school, teachers and students are evaluated
through the porfolio. This kind of school evaluation is somehow like
formative evaluation while it is summative evaluation with the students.
Therefore teaching assessment consists of both formative and summative
evaluation. The results of the evaluation will be recorded as porfolio to grade
the school and teachers. Many teachers will be awarded ‘Excellent
Teachers” at the end of each school year basing on the results of the annual
evaluation.
As an English teaching advisor in Hai Ba Trung Department of
Education and Training, one of the 14 districts in Hanoi, the researcher has
experienced two main objectives of teacher evaluations and teaching
assessment every year: First is to capture teacher practice as well as to
provide on-the-spot mentoring through dialogues in teaching innovation;
Second is to assess the educational operation of the school and professional
development activities carried out by the administrators as well as to check
how carefully the school administrators and teachers plan their work
throughout the school year;
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