Judging the Effectiveness of Teaching Styles: The Perceptions of Principals

Abstract

Principals rated teachers in their schools whom they had previously nominated as either effective or ineffective on the four dimensions of the Tuckman Teacher Feedback Form (TTFF): creativity, dynamism, organized demeanor, and warmth and acceptance. One hundred eighty teachers were rated, one-third each at elementary, intermediate, and high school levels. Elementary principals rated ineffective teachers higher on dynamism than effective ones and rated effective teachers almost twice as high on warmth and acceptance as ineffective ones. Intermediate principals rated their effective teachers higher on creativity than did high school principals, while high school principals downgraded warmth and acceptance and upgraded dynamism as characteristics of effective teachers. Principals of all three levels rated organized demeanor as an important trait of effective teachers. Differences were seen as consistent with the teaching requirements at the different levels. This rating could be effectively incorporated into the supervision/feedback process.