Teacher Evaluation in Second Language Education

Effective language learning depends on effective instruction. In order to investigate whether or not this is taking place, teachers' classroom pedagogical practices, both in-service and pre-service, are frequently monitored by means of observation and feedback. However, research indicates that although this process has potential value for teacher learning and development, there are also a number of attendant problems and it is therefore important that practitioners share their experience with others in the field in order to expand the existing knowledge base. This volume investigates participant experiences, looking beyond the materials used and examining the way in which language teachers are evaluated and supported throughout their careers. Particular attention is given to the practices and frameworks involved, outlining key approaches and discussing tools for investigation and collaboration. The book highlights the importance of the use of talk to foster reflection and teacher learning, the value of learning from experienced others and the importance of giving voice to all those involved in the process of development and evaluation.

Table of Contents:
Notes on Contributors Transcription Conventions Acknowledgements Introduction, Helen Donaghue and Amanda Howard Part 1: Key Approaches 1. Reflective dimensions of CPD: supporting self-evaluation and peer-evaluation, Steve Mann and Steve Walsh 2. Mentoring for teacher evaluation and development, Leonardo A. Mercado and Steve Mann 3. Observing for feedback: a counselling perspective, Mick Randall Part 2: Tools for Investigation and Collaboration 4. From bit to whole: reframing feedback dialogue through critical incidents, Radhika Iyer-O'Sullivan 5. Artifacts in scaffolding the construction of teaching knowledge, Marion Engin 6 .A system for teacher evaluation, Phil Quirke Part 3: Focus on Discourse 7. Differences between supervisors' espoused feedback styles and their discourse in post observation meetings, Helen Donaghue 8. Evaluative talk in feedback conferences, Fiona Copland 9. Student teacher placements: a critical commentary, Neil Hunt Part 4: Participant Responses 10. Evaluating experienced teachers, Mick King 11. Reflective peer observation accounts: what do they reveal?, Wayne Trotman 12. Giving voice to participants in second language education, Amanda Howard Index

About the Author :
Amanda Howard has worked as an English language teacher, teacher educator, lecturer and coordinator for institutions and universities both in the Middle East and the UK and has extensive experience with both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She researches and writes in the areas of teacher evaluation, observation and feedback in educational settings, language teaching pedagogy and Young Learner education. Helen Donaghue is a Senior Lecturer in English Language Teaching at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She has worked in TESOL and teacher education in Hungary, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. Her teaching interests include EAP, teaching L2 reading and language testing and her research interests focus mainly on institutional interaction in educational settings. She is currently researching the co-construction and negotiation of face and identity in post observation feedback meetings.

Review :
This book is timely and very relevant in today's world of increased accountability and performance reviews related to teaching a second language. This edited book provides a wide variety of excellent ideas for reflectively evaluating (e.g. self-peer-mentor evaluation) teachers, whether novice teachers in teacher education programs or experienced teachers in in-service programs and written by practitioners and researchers from a variety of international contexts. -- Thomas S.C. Farrell, Professor in Applied Linguistics, Brock University, Canada This is a collection rich in insight and brimming with practical suggestions. It should be essential reading for anyone involved in evaluating the work of teachers, whatever the subject. -- Keith Richards, Associate Professor in the Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, UK This book offers unique insights into the purposes, policies and practices of teacher evaluation. With its combined academic and practitioner perspectives which amplify the voices of those at the centre of the evaluation process, i.e. the language teachers, the volume represents a valuable reference for anyone involved in language teacher education research and practice and offers a range of innovative research as well as pedagogical tools for critiquing existing approaches and advancing those teacher evaluation practices that have meaningful development of language teachers at their heart. -- Maggie Kubanyiova, Senior Lecturer in Educational Linguistics, University of Birmingham, UK Teacher Evaluation in Second Language Education provides another invaluable piece of the puzzle that helps us to uncover, understand and appreciate the very complex world of second language teacher education. The specific focus on teacher evaluation, moving from the broad framework of reflective practice to a detailed examination of observation and feedback from different perspectives, allows for a more comprehensive discussion around these themes than has been seen previously. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of international contexts, the contributors use evidence-based accounts combined with intelligent interpretations to bring the reader through a myriad of teacher evaluation experiences, tools, methods and accounts. This book is a must read for anyone involved in second language teacher education and will take pride of place on my own book shelf. Congratulations to the editors on a job very well done. -- Fiona Farr, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Senior Lecturer in TESOL, University of Limerick, Ireland