Taking The Stress Out Of Teaching Evaluations

Being evaluated as a teacher can be a big source of stress, but it doesn't have to be! Tune in to today's episode the learn about what to keep in mind going into a teaching evaluation, how to shine during your teaching evaluation, and why receiving periodic feedback from another teacher is an important part of growing in your teaching career.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to PilatesTeachers' Manual, your guide to becoming a great Pilates teacher. I'm Olivia and I'll be your host. Join the conversation and the Pilates community on Instagram at @pilatesteachersmanual and visit buymeacoffee.com/OliviaPodcasts to support the show. Today's chapter starts now.

[00:00:56] Hello. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. [00:01:00] Today, we're going to be looking at ways to take the stress out of teaching evaluations. Teaching evaluations happen periodically at Club Pilates where I teach. I know that that may not necessarily be a uniform thing. I don't know if every studio has periodic teaching evaluations where either a lead instructor or maybe the owner or studio manager is popping into your classes. A little bit is quality control, a little bit to just check in, see how you're doing, how your classes are going, as well as giving you feedback so that you can continue to grow as a teacher. 

[00:01:41] This could be very informal where someone takes your class and just has a chat with you afterwards. It could be very structured with a rubric and you know, a cadence that happens with it. But either way, if you've ever been assessed for your teaching, this episode [00:02:00] is for you. 

[00:02:02] This is actually one reason why I was really excited to become a lead instructor at Club Pilates, because I think the process of getting feedback on your teaching, especially when you've been teaching for a while- teaching is something where you continue to grow. You don't ever quite finish learning how to teach and becoming a better teacher. It really is a process and a process-oriented profession. And because you're constantly learning, growing and changing, you know, the way you teach often changes as you teach more and more.

[00:02:39] It is so valuable to get feedback from other teachers who are experienced, who've been where you are, who can see what you're trying to do, maybe offer you some guidance about how to get there quicker or noticing things that you may not notice for yourself. Because of course, while you're teaching a class, you're paying attention to all the people in your class and your class [00:03:00] plan. But someone who's observing you may notice things and that kind of outside perspective on your teaching is incredibly important and can help you grow a ton as a teacher. 

[00:03:11] So I say how excited I am to be a lead instructor, be able to lead those evaluations, to be able to give that feedback to instructors, but counterpoint to that is I also get super stressed myself when I'm being evaluated. It can be something that is anxiety producing. There can be some sort of almost test anxiety here and just knowing the fact that someone is coming in to judge me makes me break out in a cold sweat all over my body.

[00:03:42] The ghost of imposter syndrome, like, rears its ugly head and asks questions like, what if someone observes your classes and they realize you have no idea what you're doing and you're not really a Pilates teacher and you've been faking it this whole time. And I know that that's ridiculous. I know that I'm obviously not faking [00:04:00] teaching Pilates, but that's the kind of stress that happens for me when I know that I'm going to be evaluated.

[00:04:08] I think Pilates teachers also, myself included, are perfectionists, and there can be a negative connotation around feedback that's like, you're doing something wrong, you're not good, everything's bad, and it can kind of catastrophe spiral from there. But now that I'm on the other side, and now I'm the person who is leading that evaluation and doing the observation of teaching.

[00:04:34] I see even more value with this process and this idea that it's an opportunity to check in to see what the teacher's doing well, not just things that you might consider changing, but really highlighting all of the excellent things that go into your teaching and then offering suggestions that are oftentimes my opinion about ways that transitions could be smoother or alternate [00:05:00] ways to cure exercises or more places to put in modifications, progressions, things like that. 

[00:05:06] And again, now that I'm on the other side, I wonder why I got so nervous because this is such a valuable tool. Like it has the potential to be nerve wracking, but there's also so much potential to grow. And instead of stumbling through and trying to figure it out by yourself, you ideally have a supportive person who wants you to be the best that you can be and is working with you to help that happen. 

[00:05:33] I'm also just excited to watch awesome teachers teach because I learn so much from the classes that I observe. I think it's why observation hours are such a big piece of teacher training because seeing teachers do things in their own way, seeing what's important to them, seeing how they program their class, seeing how they interact with students and check in and all of the things that we do while we're teaching [00:06:00] is really valuable.

[00:06:01] You know, I learn things all the time. I take things. I just did an observation last week and the teacher queued lying prone on the long box, so lying on your stomach on the long box for like swan, swan press. And they said, arm, arm, thigh, thigh. And I was like, brilliant. That's so good. Like, I'm going to take that. Like, I'm going to use that because that was such a great cue. 

[00:06:25] So now that I've been on both sides of this equation, I've both been evaluated several times and I'm now in the process of evaluating lots of teachers, I want to share what I've learned about this process, what I know and ways that you can decrease that evaluation anxiety that you might be feeling when you know that the owner or lead instructor is coming in to observe your class. 

[00:06:50] A few things to keep in mind is that the person who's evaluating you is also just a Pilates teacher. They're just a person. You [00:07:00] want to think about what are you being evaluated on? You want to think about what you know that you do well and highlighting that. How can you really shine in your evaluation? And I think if you keep those things in mind, it will decrease a lot of the stress. 

[00:07:23] When I was a really new teacher, especially I looked up to anyone who was already teaching as like a mythical being who was all knowing and had all the answers and knew what to do for absolutely every person in the class all the time and that they were always right.

[00:07:39] I was then intimidated by evaluations because what am I going to show you? I don't know anything, you know, I'm a new teacher. What the heck? 

[00:07:47] But now as the experienced teacher in this equation, I realize that there's not that big of a gap from the person doing the evaluation and the person being evaluated. [00:08:00] Every teacher, even when you are the absolute newest teacher and you don't have a ton of classes under your belt and you're just figuring this thing out for yourself, you still have things that you're offering to your students. You've still completed your teacher training. You are still leading a Pilates class.

[00:08:18] Experience doesn't mean that you know everything. It just means that you've tried more things and you have a better idea about what's going to work just because you've tried lots of different options. So an experienced teacher can give you those insights and solve some of those problems that you might be facing with transitions, with cues, with progressions, you know, so they can give you the benefit of their experience, but it doesn't mean that they're the superhero that knows everything and you don't know everything, or anything. 

[00:08:51] You know, like I don't want you as a new teacher to feel shy or ashamed by your lack of experience because every class you teach is giving you more [00:09:00] experience. You are growing in your Pilates career too. You can teach a great class at any stage of your teaching journey. So when you're going into that evaluation and that evaluator is ideally smiling at you in the back of the room and taking their notes, know that you have this class plan, you have these people in your class, you've done the work and you have every right to be there and show off your stuff. 

[00:09:26] When you're being evaluated, if you know the criteria you're being evaluated on, and that will help you plan a fabulous class that checks all the boxes in the evaluation rubric.

[00:09:39] Ideally, if you've been working at the studio for a minute, you are aware of the studio's culture, what they find to be important, what they really emphasize in their teaching, and what they want you to emphasize in your teaching. There is specific criteria for Club [00:10:00] Pilates evaluations. There is a checklist of questions that's everything from using members names when you're teaching your class to moving the spine in all directions to, you know, working all major muscle groups in the body over the course of the class. There's some structure about how the class flows. And whatever that criteria is, knowing it beforehand, just make sure that over the course of the class that you're teaching that you do all of the things that are expected of you.

[00:10:31] If you've been evaluated before, then you know what that criteria is. You might have a past evaluation and any feedback that you got about where you could improve or about things that they want you to work on. And you want to know that going into this class. Showcasing your improvement is a powerful thing that you can do and ideally it's something you've been working on ever since you got the previous evaluation. 

[00:10:59] If this [00:11:00] is your first evaluation or you're completely in the dark about what your evaluator is looking for in this class, you might consider reaching out to the person and saying, Hey, I'm looking forward to, which is, you know, corporate speak for, I may or may not be looking forward to it, but Hey, I'm looking forward to you coming and observing my class. Is there anything in particular that you want to see happen in this class? Ideally, they'll be able to give you a little bit more guidance and direction, which again, knowledge is also really great for reducing stress because if you know what to expect, that releases some of the uncertainty around the situation. And they should be able to point you in the right direction. 

[00:11:43] And if all else fails, you just teach the best class that you can and that will be the jumping off point if there's things that they want to see more of or things that they want to see less of, you've put your best foot out there. 

[00:11:57] Coming up after the break, I'll build on that [00:12:00] idea, really emphasizing what you do well and how to shine in your evaluation, even when you're nervous.

[00:12:10] That's coming up next.

[00:12:17] Hi there. I hope you're enjoying today's chapter so far. There's great stuff coming up after the break too. Be sure to subscribe wherever you're listening and visit Buymeacoffee.com/OliviaPodcasts to support the show. There you can make a one-time donation or become a member for as little as $5 a month.

[00:12:36] Membership comes with some awesome perks, including a shout out in the next episode, a monthly newsletter, a monthly zoom call with me, and more. You can also visit links.oliviabioni.com/affiliates to check out some sweet deals on products I use and love.

[00:12:57] Now back to the show.[00:13:00] 

[00:13:14] Whenever you're being evaluated, do a little bit of soul searching for yourself and just ask yourself, what do I do well, like what is my teaching A game? What is something that you're really proud of that you do? Is it your programming? It, is it a really creative exercise sequence? Is it the connection that you make with the people in your class? Is it your hands on assists? Like whatever it is that you really shine at, that even if you teach a class, that's a little bit meh, there's always something that you do that's really great. Like you want that to be front and center in your evaluation so that the person who's evaluating you sees the best of you.

[00:13:59] This is [00:14:00] something that can really build your confidence because there's things about our teaching that we are proud of, that we know that we do well. And when you build on that, that confidence looks good when you're teaching, like we've all taken classes or maybe we've been the teacher in the class where we're really nervous and we're really quiet and it's just not the same as when the teacher is really commanding the space and speaking clearly and really leading the class. 

[00:14:27] So you want to be confident and doing the things that you're confident in everything from the exercises that you're teaching to, you know, the parts of yourself that you really want to highlight. That's going to look good and you're putting your best self forward like ideally every class you teach you want to be the best version of you, but especially in this instance, you want them to see you at your best.

[00:14:51] So highlighting those skills that you're really confident in is a really big part towards, you know, faking it till you make it. Do the things you're confident in, pretend to be confident [00:15:00] and you will eventually be more confident. It's true. Teaching a program that you're confident in the exercises are ones that you know like the back of your hand, you can give great hands on assists or individual corrections or really connect with the people in your class.

[00:15:15] I think that teaching the things that you know really well frees up a lot of brain space to do the actual art of teaching, which is helping people understand and creating those opportunities for lightbulb moments for the people in your class. So unless this super fancy pants choreography is something that you want to be front and center, like teach the things that you're really familiar with so that you can be a great teacher in more ways than just your program. The more you can do the bit of teaching that is paying attention to the people in your class, you know, getting involved, helping them to do the exercise, whether that's [00:16:00] by offering modifications or offering progressions, checking in with people who you know have stuff going on in your body like that, uh, is always good stuff to do when you're teaching. So I definitely am in favor of teaching something simpler so that you can shine in those other places as well. 

[00:16:19] I think in the best case scenario of evaluations, the person who is evaluating you is someone that you respect, potentially someone that you admire and someone who is on your team. They're not looking to tear you down, but they're really looking to build you up and help you take your teaching to the next level, to get to that next stage of teaching where you are more confident in more things. Where the things that you're stumbling with or struggling with that they can help you, you know, find ease in those places or find alternative solutions, but that they're on your team and they [00:17:00] want you to win. 

[00:17:02] I think good evaluations aren't just, you should do this instead. I think it's very much about celebrating the things that you do well, the things that people love about your classes, what your strengths are, and then helping you add more things to that strengths column.

[00:17:21] I don't think again, and this is my personal philosophy. I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect class or perfect teaching that is replicatable day to day. We work with people. We are people ourselves. There's a lot of variables, but we can improve. We can grow in our art. We can improve and find better transitions. We can connect with members or clients in our classes more. And as we grow and we become better teachers, our classes are full. The studio does well. [00:18:00] Everyone wins. 

[00:18:02] So my opinion is that good evaluations aren't about pinpointing what's wrong, but building a better connection between teachers at the studio. Maybe there's a bit of community aspect here. You, you're not alone in teaching. Like this is something that we're all doing together. We're all growing together. 

[00:18:23] And this is actually now one of my absolute favorite parts of the job. Not only because I get to see amazing teachers do their amazing work, but I'm learning how to be a better teacher by seeing their individual strengths by highlighting those individual strengths and then sharing my thoughts, sharing my opinion, helping them hone their skills is also helping me own my skills a little bit more.

[00:18:52] It's one of those things that the greatest level of knowing something is being able to teach it. And so that is for teachers the [00:19:00] same as it is for students, I think. Evaluations are always a highlight in my week, that ability to connect one on one with teachers, and we do follow up calls afterwards, which I think is a really great way to just check in, see how everything's going, and while it can be stressful, and I still get stressed when I know someone is coming in to observe my class, even if it's not. So, yeah. You know, someone who's in teacher training coming to observe my class thinking like, Oh my gosh, I need to be this pinnacle, perfect teacher. Um, but recognizing that we're all doing our best in an incredibly subjective industry. We care about our clients. We care about Pilates and we all have things that we're good at, that we can teach other people about. Yeah. 

[00:19:47] So I think that evaluations should be something that happen in studios. I think there are other jobs where you do yearly check ins, or every six months or something you meet with your manager, you talk about [00:20:00] your goals, you talk about your performance. I think that it feels corporate, and like, I totally get that, but I do like this idea of not feeling alone and having an avenue of progress, some structured way that you are growing in your field, I think is really important. So I see a lot of value in that. 

[00:20:25] Huge thank you to all my supporters on Buy Me A Coffee. It's March. We're doing the thing. Can't wait to connect for a coffee chat soon. If you want to get on that train, visit that Buy Me A Coffee page and become a supporter. And then you can hang out with me. We can talk Pilates. If you've got an evaluation coming up. I'd be happy to give you even more tips and tricks for taking a big breath and just doing your best. Cause you know, that's what we do. That's Pilates. That's Pilates teaching. I hope you have a great couple of weeks and I'll talk to you again soon.[00:21:00] 

[00:21:07] Thanks for listening to this week's chapter of Pilates Teachers' Manual, your guide to becoming a great Pilates teacher. Check out the podcast Instagram at @pilatesteachersmanual, and be sure to subscribe wherever you listen. For more Pilates goodness, check out my other podcast, Pilates Students' Manual, available everywhere you listen to podcasts. The adventure continues. Until next time.