The Agreed Minimum Set of Criteria and the Assessment Procedures

by Reet Valgmaa, Tatjana Koke, Roma Juozaitienë, Sturla Bjerkaker, Arne Carlsen

Background

The idea of this project has been to establish a module-based training course in non-formal adult education by laying foundations for the good adult educator. Defining or describing the features or characteristics of the good teacher should be at the heart of the construction of the programme of education. Thus the task of the STEE-group has been to create a programme of education that would promote in the students the formation of the competencies that meet the minimum set of criteria for the good teacher. The task of the CREE group was then to come up with the minimum set of criteria. The CREE-group also had to suggest the measurement methods and tools for assessing the acquired knowledge and/or previous experience against the set of criteria.

The project core-group of practitioners from the Nordic and three Baltic countries have been working with and discussing the relevance of the proposed criteria during three International modules (Viljandi in May 2001, NFA in Januari 2002, NFA in December 2002).

In order to have both the practitioners and theoreticians in the CREE-group, it was composed of representatives from two NGOs and three universities. The group has related its work to the actual educational debate as to what constitutes the good teacher, how to obtain good teachers and how to measure that the good teacher has been obtained. These are debates that are constantly going on in the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as in the OECD.

First of all, the group has suggested, that there is a need of different teacher roles in contemporary society. A teacher of today has to able to fulfil all of these roles. They are suggested to be as follows: the teacher as a guide, as a classical teacher, as a facilitator and as a coach. The roles are described in detail:

Guide – to be a Guide means that a person acquaints others with new possibilities of development and perspectives of action. This role presupposes the ability to orient learners to work not only towards the final goals, but also towards the processes. The main task is to look for and encourage the inner motivation of learners.

Teacher – to be a Teacher means that a person behaves as an expert who is a mediator of knowledge. The main task is to create a positive learning environment, supporting the formation of self-directed learners who value lifelong learning.

Facilitator – to be a Facilitator means that person leads group-dynamics and helps everybody find their role in a network of relationships, with the main aim to act both effectively and with care.

Coach – to be a Coach means that a person is able to influence the shaping of a learner’s personality, forcing and providing the learner with the needed skills for self-actualisation.

How to find a path in the landscape of the roles of an educator and their relations

Every adult educator has a unique style, although he or she may use the same methods as everybody else. This original style depends on personal abilities and enables the educator to behave effectively in some concrete role (teacher-guide-facilitator-coach). But it may be also a danger – to start to apply only one’s strong sides and forget about developing the weaker ones. Talking about teacher education (learning) means that one of our aims is to offer the possibility for self-development in the field of the “opposite-role” (teacher-coach; guide-facilitator). Learners have different needs and therefore the educator should be very flexible in choosing/changing his or her role, because it may be crucial for important dimensions of the learning process.

Click to see Fig. 1.

In order to measure whether the educational programme has successfully developed competences in the students that comply with the minimum set of criteria in relation to the different teacher roles as guide, classical teacher, facilitator and coach, the CREE-group has developed a system for self-evaluation, the user’s evaluation, the employer’s evaluation and the colleagues’ evaluation. This four-dimensioned evaluation is meant to be both an evaluation of the success of the educational programme and of the individual student.

Good Adult Educator Criteria – Evaluation Scheme

Based on the most important and relevant roles of the adult educator in the future: Guide, Facilitator, Teacher and Coach, we have listed four competence fields, and for each field a set of criteria for guiding an adult educator towards improvement and acting as a good adult educator. For the list of the minimum set of Criteria, (see Appendix 3).

We have built up a system for a) self-evaluation, b) -users/student evaluation, c) employer’s evaluation and d) colleagues’ evaluation. The following scheme contains all the rubrics, but when in use for measuring results we propose only one column (self, users and employers) in each scheme.

The question for self-evaluation will be:

  • To what extent would you say that you have improved the listed skills (tolerance, responsibility etc) by taking part in a programme of education for adult educators-practitioners? Answer range is from 1 to 4)

The question for the user/student, the employer and the colleague will be (could be supplied with interviews):

  • To what extent would you say that he/she has improved the listed skills by taking part in a programme of education for adult educators-practitioners? Answers range from 1 to 4.
  1. At present you are not meeting this
    criterion, although the opportunity is
    available. This needs to be considered as a priority area for your development;
  2. This has been demonstrated. You need to consider how you will develop this further;
  3. You have met this criterion at a level which is appropriate;
  4. Excellent, over expectations.

For the help of student/user and the colleague evaluation in table 3 there are described Measures and some (not all!) possible measurement tools. Table 4 presents 3600 assesment approach which helps to evaluate the whole scope of criteria. Concrete procedures for teacher assessmentwill be set in each country differently and according its own interest.

Table 3. Measurement of Criteria

CRITERIA CRITERIA
DESCRIPTIONS		 MEASURES LEVEL OF
ACHIEVEMENT
(from 1 to 4)		 LIST OF POSSIBLE TOOLS
Knowledge about
how adults learn
and understanding the psychology
sof adults 		Knowledge about adult learning specifics, difference between pedagogy and andragogy; understanding of adult psychology. The ability to use the knowledge
to help learners achieve better results in education and to develop their personality 		Understanding
of adult learning
specifics 		  Observation;
accreditation
procedure;
diaries;
publications
Knowledge of
methods in AE
and learning		 Knowledge and ability to choose different ways of teaching and learning according
to the content of learning and participants’ interests, abilities
and experience 		Appropriate method
usage skills

Aplication of method variety

  Observation
by colleague(s)
Skills in preparing value-based
(democratic
and humanistic)
programmes		 Content of learning which emphasises learners’ capacities
for choice and growth in combination with
responsibility, respecting learners’ subjective experience and sense
of freedom 		Appropriate
demonstration in
the programme		   Self-assessment;
CV analyses
Planning and
organisational
skills 		Skills to plan your own and participants’ activities in the learning process and the ability to implement these plans Learning materials are clearly structured and relevant to
learners’ needs and context		   Checking documents
Good knowledge
of the subject		 Good orientation in
the subject in order
to arouse students’
interest in it 		Knowledge
demonstration

Basic content and
orientation in new
tendencies

Awareness
of the resources
of information

   Testing
Ability to motivate for learning –
before, during and after the learning process		 Ability to promote
participants’ personal interest, involvement and activity in the learning process
 Ability to involve
learners in the
learning process

Ability to create
follow-up learning
activities for learners

   Number of drop-outs/graduates – reasons why
Development of learning environment in accordance with students’ needs, focusing
on self-directed learning
 Learning organised
in accordance with learner’s individual growth and readiness for new knowledge
independently, very
often process based
on knowing how
to learn		 Appropiate variety
of teaching and
learning approaches are used

Learners are treated appropriately

Group is managed
effectively

  Document analysis;
Observation
Skill to activate
learners 		The process of fulfil-ling learner’s potential on the basis of interest and discovery The interest
of students is keen
and sustained

Positive relationships developed and
maintained

Adjusting
problem-based
activities

  Observation
Skills in self-reflection and critical thinking To raise awareness
of learning process
and its results and
to stimulate ability
for analysis and
viewing things and
issues from different points of view 		Activity to set
self-analysis tasks
for learners

Facilitating critical thinking

Encouraging review
of learners´ learning and participation
in the group

  Observation
by colleague(s)
Skills in evaluating
and promoting
self-evaluation
in oneself and
students		 development of ability to follow and assess one’s achievements in the learning process Skills to set clear
learning target and
test learners progress against

Clear information
about learning
outcomes and
assessment criteria

   Document analysis;
Observation
by colleague(s)

Table 4. Assessment Sheet (range from 1 to 4)
A. Personal developement

Criteria Keywords Self-Evaluation User/Student Evaluation Employer Evaluation Colleague Evaluation/Peer Review Total
Self-esteem          
Tolerance          
Responsibility          
Communication skills          
Empathy          
Flexibility          
Total          

B. Professional development
Organising stage

Criteria Keywords Self-Evaluation User/Student Evaluation Employer Evaluation Colleague Evaluation/Peer Review Total
Knowledge about how adults
learn and understanding
the psychology of adults		          
Knowledge of methods
in AE and learning		          
Skills to prepare value-based
(democratic and humanistic)
programmed 		         
Planning and organisational
skills		          
Knowledge of the subject          
Total          

Performance stage

Criteria Keywords Self-Evaluation User/Student Evaluation Employer Evaluation Colleague Evaluation/Peer Review Total
Ability to motivate for
learning – before, during and
after the learning process		          
Development of learning
environment in accordance
with students’ needs, focus-
ing on self-directed learning		          
Skill in activating learners          
Total          

Evaluation stage

Criteria Keywords Self-Evaluation User/Student Evaluation Employer Evaluation Colleague Evaluation/Peer Review Total
Skills for self-reflection
and critical thinking		          
Skills in evaluating and
promoting self-evaluation
for oneself and students		          
Total          

 

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