So, appraisal season is looming (or perhaps upon us!). We, as a language school leaders, probably understand thewhyof appraisals – it's about quality, professional development and a thriving language school. But let's be honest, sometimes translating that understanding into something truly effective feels… well, a bit like assembling flat-pack furniture without the instructions.
In this edition of Managing in TEFL we’ll look at how to prepare and carry out appraisals to make them genuinely helpful for everyone involved while ensuring they're constructive, not confrontational. We’ll try to streamline the process and make it a productive and positive experience for the teachers and for the school.
Managing in TEFL is a fortnightly companion for language school leaders written by Simon Pearlman and brought to you by Active Language Teacher Training. To subscribe, click here
Start with Self-Reflection
Ideally we want appraisals to be a process where each teacher identifies their own strengths and weaknesses as well as direct their own professional development, with us there to support the process. We also want it to be a space where they give us quality feedback about the school and finally we want to ask them about their plans for the coming year. It should be a dialogic process, we should ask more than we tell. This shouldn’t be an exercise in manager power where we tell them how things are, that way can often lead to problems and maybe even confrontation. In the best appraisals, the teacher will do most of the talking, hit all the salient points and we can just agree and add suggestions. How do we get to that stage? Let’s start with an appraisal form which teachers fill in and send back to us before the appraisal conversation.
What should the form include? Perhaps the easiest way is to ask “How far do you…?” type questions which can have a 1-5 quick answer and space for teachers to comment further, this means that people can do it quickly and thoughtfully and can have space to expand if they choose to. Ask questions about all aspects of the job that you consider to be important. It will probably include general questions around learning outcomes and the classroom environment, for example “How far do students achieved the learning outcomes you want to in your classes?”. It should probably get specific too, for example around use of technology in the classroom “How successfully do you use technology in your classes?” or classroom management techniques; “How successful are your classroom management techniques?”. We might also want to include questions that are important to the school and echo the values; “How much do you and your students enjoy the classes?” or “How inclusive is your teaching?”. And finally we probably want to include questions about day-to-day mechanics, “How good are you around your administrative responsibilities?” or “How punctual are you?”
To get feedback on the school and on us we can have a dedicated section, here we can ask questions like “How happy are you working here? Would you recommend it as a place to work? Why or why not?”, or “What do you like about working here and what would you like to change?” This gives teachers the chance to give you feedback. Of course, it’s not the only way but it is a fairly formal way to do it and to include it our processes feels important.
A quick note on timing here. We might like to do appraisals at the beginning of this third term for two reasons, the first is to be able to listen and give us the possibility to respond quickly to some suggestions and it also helps us find out about staffing needs for the coming year
We can shadow-fill the form too if we want to, we can fill in the form as if we were that person, it’s a great way to help us prepare for the meeting and to think deeply about each person. We can consult with other managers too and build up as complete a picture as possible, this way we can ensure nothing is left out. It’s always interesting to compare the shadow form written by us to that written by them. It’s interesting to take them both into the next step, the appraisal conversation.
Moving into the appraisal conversation
Try to make the appraisal conversation at a time and place that best suits the teacher, rather than it being most convenient to us. Do we need to travel to a different centre or at a time we’d rather not? We are here to help the people that work with us, adapting to them, especially in an appraisal conversation, illustrates respect and gratitude, it gives them control and helps them to feel valued.
During the appraisal conversation, they should speak more than we do. It should feel like a supportive chat rather than an interrogation. Generally people enjoy talking about themselves and a 30-minute meeting all about them gives them space to do that. We can ask extra questions about anything we want to go into more deeply and we also probably have our agenda to ask them about.
When there are potentially more difficult things we want to say, we can ask them about it first, it can come from the questions and hopefully they will say it themselves, if not we can ask follow up questions and, finally, if necessary, we can spell it out in no uncertain terms. It is an appraisal, it is there to praise, to support and to help people improve.
30 minutes feels like a reasonable time for the conversation, it might go over but try not to. It’s a good idea to schedule it for a time that is convenient for the teacher and also a time when they are less stressed and hopefully in reflective mode. Is just before or just after class the best time? It might be most convenient but is it going to be more stressful? It might depend on the teacher concerned and what you need to discuss. Does it need to be face-to-face? Could it be a call or a video-call? Teachers often appreciate the options and the flexibility. When and where these conversations take place can be so important to how it unfolds.
A key piece of the professional development calendar
The appraisal should take up an important space in the professional development calendar, it should sit along with observations, termly check-ins and professional development meetings. Its a key moment when we can help teacher think about their personal professional development and we can be instrumental in that.
Different teachers are at different points in their careers and will benefit from different things, it's interesting to think about how people can develop as teachers. It could be attending or speaking at conferences, or maybe it could be about working with different students and extending their teaching range or experience, or perhaps a position of responsibility in the school. It might be about a programme of observation or peer observation, it could be encouraging them to keep a reflective teaching journal. There are so many possibilities. We might want to think about SMART goals; specific, measurable, appropriate, relevant and time-bound. Perhaps our question should always be “how can we help you more?”, then we can't go too far wrong.
Appraisals are indeed well worth praising and a successful appraisal can boost teacher well-being, performance and also retention leading to a happier, more successful language school.
If you'd like to discuss appraisals or professional development at your school, please feel free to get jn touch with Simon at training@activelanguage.net
Managing in TEFL is brought to you by Active Language Teacher Training providers of Trinity DipTESOL, CertTESOL and Teaching Younger Learners courses, see www.activelanguage.net for more information.
Wishing you all the best Managing in TEFL.