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Our lesson started by a handout of sample questions from California State Board Examination for Elementary School Teachers in 1875. The teachers' appraisal system there consists of exams which include 90% different subject matter questions and 10% teaching matter questions. In order to be an elementary school teacher, one has to pass the exam. In Israel, in order to be a teacher, one must have an academic degree and a teaching certificate. Then after two or three years of work, an inspector observes one of the teacher's lessons and decides whether the teacher can continue his work. Later on, the teacher is assessed according to his students' achievements. In terms of reliability, several questions arise: The answers for these questions are negative. Therefore, there is a crucial need to develop tools that can comprehensively assess teachers' work. In our class discussion many interesting thoughts were mentioned in regards to who should assess teachers' work, what to assess and how. Samar told about the pedagogical coordinator in the school where she teaches, who observes lessons and pay attention only to teacher-students interaction but not to the subject matter content. Tamara told about an inspector who observed her lesson and asked her to tell what her students learnt. Orly, in response, told a story of herself asking her own students to write down three things they have learnt from a lesson. Surprisingly, most of the answers were about teaching methods rather than subject matter. Finally we concluded that the basic notion of appraisal is not object in principle, however, the way it is done is discussed. Recently, RAMA (The National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation) has developed tools for nation-wide teachers' appraisal. The purposes of teachers' appraisal are mainly to stimulate the teachers' professional development, and to identify needs at an individual, school and the entire system level. Teachers' appraisal is done according to [|tables of specifications]that include criteria of performance expected from a teacher. Meanwhile, official assessment using these tools is piloted and is not done on a nation-wide range yet. In principle, assessment is an integral component of the teaching/learning process. In all its levels, assessment is a mean to evaluate and improve the teaching/learning process. Thus, teachers' appraisal is meant to encourage professional learning and growth. According to literature, more and more countries are using teachers' appraisal through portfolio. The portfolio enables us to assess the teacher's work from different aspects. [|(Dr. Orly Sela's PPT)] A [|teacher's portfolio]is a structured collection of the teacher's best work supported by evidence. A teacher's portfolio is: The class was divided into groups. Student-teachers were asked to make a list of [|what should be included in teacher's portfolio]. The final list included the following: A teacher's portfolio is a framework for how to put things together, and everything is companied by reflections. Finally important points were discussed:
 * Teachers' appraisal through portfolio **
 * 1) Is every person who has an academic degree and a teaching certificate a good teacher?
 * 2) Is one lesson observation enough to conclude whether the teacher is good or not?
 * 3) Do students' achievements in [|high stake exams]truly reflect the teacher's work?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Varied- allows assessment of different aspects of the teacher's work.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Original- it is the teacher's, completely authentic and supported by actual evidence.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dynamic- collected over the year and shows movement, it also can show improvement.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Based on clear instructions in advance.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Reflective- includes reflections.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Owned by the teacher.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Multiple uses- for going up, hiring, firing or finding a new job.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Copies of all certificates, in service courses, CV
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Copies of tests results and future plans
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Copies of worksheets and activities
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Special lesson plans and reflections
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Diagnostic exams
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Observations feedback
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students reflections on different activities/lessons
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Yearly plan in general
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pictures and details of the students
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Educational vision
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Recommendations
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Plans for LD pupils
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Discipline issues
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Assessment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Thank you letters
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Academic performance literature that support the teacher's vision
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Weekly schedule
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">List of course books teacher uses
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Out of school activities
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Personal experience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Time aspect- ideally it takes a year
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">School project- it is much better if it is done by the entire school not only individual teachers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Recognizing teacher's effort- in some countries, not Israel, teachers are paid for time they spend on doing this
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Instruction manual- which says exactly what should be in the portfolio
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Varied evidence- not just a pile of papers, but to include varied evidence such as pictures and cassettes.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Practice before beginning to teach- to start in teaching colleges