Some states and districts are finding new ways to ask, what do students know about their teachers? Research shows that students’ perceptions of teachers are highly correlated to student performance on standardized tests. Discover several tips that help teachers capture and use student input to improve practice.

1. Title
• Body
Students talk back:
Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

2. Student perceptions
• Student surveys are one of multiple measures
of teacher effectiveness.
• Students can identify what teachers do well.
• Students’ perceptions of teachers correlate to
student performance.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

3. Define the desired outcome
• Measured learning?
• Self-directed learning?
• Balance engaging with challenging.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

4. Ask the students
• One or two open-ended questions per week.
“What is working well in our class?”
“What things do you think I could do better?”
• Ask students to formulate next questions.
• Follow up with students through discussion.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

5. Prepare for the results
• Results should guide teacher practices.
• Reactions depend on teacher’s personality
and skill level.
• Leaders can guide how the feedback is used.
• Ensure there are no repercussions for
students.
• Make counseling services available for when
results are different from self-perception.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

6. Use the information
• Recognize connection between actions and
student results.
• Use feedback to fine-tune practices.
• Use feedback in a collective learning
experience within learning teams.
• Create norms and values for how the feedback
will contribute to teacher learning.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

7. A higher awareness
• Student input can raise awareness of goals.
• Posing questions about classroom practice
can improve perception and preparation of
practice.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

8. Download the article and
accompanying tools
Read the full article, with more THE LEADING
Teacher
Inside
• Coaches recognize learning is change, p. 2
• Little by little, classroom doors become revolving
doors, p. 3
• Build student feedback on trust and respect, pp. 6-7
Winter 2013
Vol. 8, No. 2
EVERY EDUCATOR ENGAGES IN EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVERY DAY SO EVERY STUDENT ACHIEVES
information, resources, and tools to Students
talk back
help you implement these ideas in
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
LIE IN STUDENT PERCEPTIONS
By Valerie von Frank
S
ome states and districts now are finding new ways
to ask, what do students know? Not just about
reading, writing, and arithmetic, but what do stu-
dents know about their teachers? Who are good
teachers, and in what ways?
States and districts revamping their formal teacher
evaluation systems in some cases are using student surveys
as one of multiple measures of teacher effectiveness (Burni-
ske & Meibaum, 2012). They generally use standardized them to work hard and think hard, deliver lessons in ways
student surveys, such as the Questionnaire on Teacher Inter- that captivate, confer with them about their ideas and con-
The Leading Teacher (Winter, 2013).
action, the Pupil Observation Survey, the Student Evalua- solidate lessons to make learning coherent,” Ferguson has
tion of Teaching, or Ronald Ferguson’s student perception written (2010, p. 7). Other research also concludes that stu-
survey for the Measures of Effective Teaching project of the dents — who naturally spend hundreds of hours with their
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (MET, 2010). teachers — are capable from the early grades of identifying
Good teaching can be defined by common traits, ac- what teachers do well, and what they don’t (Murphy, Delli
cording to Ferguson, senior lecturer in education and public & Edwards, 2004).
policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, who Students’ perceptions of teachers are highly correlated
categorizes these common traits into “seven C’s” (see box on to student performance on standardized tests — when stu-
p. 4). dents find teachers effective, achievement gains as measured
“Researchers over many decades have suggested that on the exam are greater for all the students of that teacher
students will engage more deeply and master their lessons (MET, 2010). Research finds students from different classes
more thoroughly when their teachers care about them, share similar responses to the same teacher, according to
control the classroom well, clarify complex ideas, challenge Continued on p. 4
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Available at www.learningforward.
org/publications/leading-teacher.
Source: von Frank, V. (2013, Winter). Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie
in student perceptions. The Leading Teacher. 8(2). 1, 4-5

9. Learn more with
Learn more about professional learning at all
levels of education with Learning Forward, an
international nonprofit association of learning
educators:
www.learningforward.org
Membership in Learning Forward gives you
access to a wide range of publications, tools,
and opportunities to advance professional
learning for student success.