Why you should evaluate every lesson

Great teaching doesn’t come from getting everything perfect, which will never happen. It comes from noticing what worked, what didn’t, and adjusting next time.

Lesson evaluation doesn’t need to be formal or time-consuming. In fact, the most useful evaluations are often quick, honest and simple. Here are a few practical ways to build it into your routine.

Ask three questions after every lesson
• What went well?
• What didn’t work?
• What should I change next time?

This simple practice is supported by Donald Schön’s work on reflective practice. Teachers who reflect regularly tend to make more purposeful decisions and improve their effectiveness over time.

Look at the student work
Instead of relying on how the lesson felt, use student output as your main indicator. Did students achieve what you hoped? Were there consistent gaps or misunderstandings? According to Black and Wiliam’s research on formative assessment, checking in on student thinking during and after the lesson gives teachers the best chance to adjust instruction before it’s too late.

Ask your students directly
Try finishing with a quick prompt:
• What helped you today?
• What was unclear?
Even younger students can offer valuable insight if asked regularly. This kind of feedback loop builds a stronger learning environment and helps students become more metacognitive.

Keep a short teaching journal
Write a one-line note about each lesson. Over time, you’ll notice patterns—lessons or tasks that consistently go well, and others that need a different approach.

Try again with small changes
Evaluation is only helpful if it leads to action. If something didn’t work, don’t scrap it altogether. Try simplifying the instructions, modelling more explicitly, or giving students more scaffolding.

Don’t wait until the end of term
Many teachers don’t evaluate until the end of term, and by then it’s too late and you probably have forgotten a lot of how your lessons went. Adjustments made week by week are more likely to influence outcomes and reduce teacher stress.

Taking a few moments to reflect after each lesson helps you refine your craft, improve student outcomes, and build programs that actually work.

Planuva is designed to help teachers embed evaluation into their everyday planning. All of your evaluations will be effortlessly stored for you to to improve your units and programs at any point in time.

If you want to evaluate smarter, register your interest at https://planuva.com