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PURPOSES FOR EVALUATION 259Teacher developmentUsing observation merely to grade teachers, for example, with a vicw to promotion, isextremely limiting. It is important to use observation to provide information that teacherscan use as a basis for future action. Here we refer to the formative value of classroomobservation where the feedback from evaluation will he used to further develop or improvcan aspect of classroom practice, or as part of curriculum bettrrment or tcacher selfde\elopment. Consider this following way of evaluating teacher performance:The classroom assessment process should consist of three stagrs:1 prc-lesson matcrial2 the lesson3 the trainee’s post-lesson evaluation1 Thr pre-lesson material includes:(a) information about the class: descriptive and evaluativc(b) the scheme of Lvork and the place of the assessed lesson in it(c) the lesson plan (normally accepted form)2 The Icsson; attention to the following:(a) classroom pcrsonality(b) classroom management(c) awareness of learners(d) what is being sought(e) how it is being sought(f) what thc learner is doingThe above should be gone into in detail.3 Post lesson evaluation; written self-assessment on:(a) the lesson plan(b) the major headings on the asse5smcnt schedule(c) any additional releiant points(James 1983)In this approach not only is the tcachrr formally included at stage 3 by means of awritten self-assessment, but also there is an attempt to examine the process or teaching andlearning. The category ‘what the learner is doing’ could highlight, for example, the natureof the interaction (teacher to learner, learner to learner, learner to teacher) or the type ofwriting that the learners are doing: copying from the blackboard, filling in a gapped passage,reordering words and sentences). An item on a checklist which focuses on ‘how’, i.c. whatthe teacher is doing, can also identify a wealth of information about the teacher and teaching,for example, ‘What are the different question types that the teacher uses?’ ‘How are visualaids used at the different stages (presentation, practice, or production) of the lesson?’Checklist items such as these focus attention on details of the teaching and learning processand provide information that is useful in terms of modifying and improving classroompractice. It is, therefore, an example of formative teaching evaluation.Peer teaching is an alternative mcthod of evaluating teachers in training. Here trainees‘teach’ a lesson to their colleagues.Tutor and learner observers look out for specific pointsin the teaching practice. Feedback can come both from the trainer and fellow learners.Another way is using microteaching. In its simplest form a trainee teaches a group of learnersfor a short period of time, for example, fifteen minutes covering a specific topic or skill