Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Jacob Zhang 校对人员: xuan wang

Everyone needs a coach.

每一个人都需要一位教练。

It doesn't matter whether you're a basketball player,

无论你是篮球运动员，

a tennis player, a gymnast

网球运动员，体操选手

or a bridge player.

或者是打桥牌的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My bridge coach, Sharon Osberg,

我的桥牌教练，Sharon Osberg，

says there are more pictures of the back of her head

说包含她后脑勺的照片

than anyone else's in the world. (Laughter)

比世界上其他任何人的都多。（笑声）

Sorry, Sharon. Here you go.

抱歉，Sharon。这张应该可以了。

We all need people who will give us feedback.

我们都需要能给我们反馈信息的人。

That's how we improve.

这是我们不断自我发展的方式。

Unfortunately, there's one group of people

遗憾的是，有一群人

who get almost no systematic feedback

几乎收不到系统化的反馈信息

to help them do their jobs better,

来提高他们的工作效率，

and these people

而这一群人

have one of the most important jobs in the world.

从事着世界上最重要的职业之一。

I'm talking about teachers.

我指的就是老师们。

When Melinda and I learned

当Melinda和我了解到

how little useful feedback most teachers get,

大部分老师得到的有用的反馈有多么少时，

we were blown away.

我们惊呆了。

Until recently, over 98 percent of teachers

直到最近，超过98%的老师

just got one word of feedback:

得到的反馈只包含一个词：

Satisfactory.

满意。

If all my bridge coach ever told me

如果我的桥牌教练只跟我说

was that I was "satisfactory,"

我的表现“令人满意”，

I would have no hope of ever getting better.

我永远也不可能变得更好。

How would I know who was the best?

我怎么知道谁是最好的？

How would I know what I was doing differently?

我怎么知道什么事我做的和别人不一样？

Today, districts are revamping

现在，各个校区都在改进

the way they evaluate teachers,

评估教师的方式，

but we still give them almost no feedback

但是我们仍给他们很少能够

that actually helps them improve their practice.

提高他们工作水平的反馈信息。

Our teachers deserve better.

我们的教师应该受到更好的对待。

The system we have today isn't fair to them.

今天我们在用的系统对他们不公平。

It's not fair to students,

这系统对学生也不公平，

and it's putting America's global leadership at risk.

而且置美国的全球领导地位于水深火热之中。

So today I want to talk about how we can help all teachers

因此今天我想讲讲我们如何能帮助所有的老师

get the tools for improvement they want and deserve.

获得他们想要而且值得获得的提高自己的工具。

Let's start by asking who's doing well.

我们先来问问谁做得比较好。

Well, unfortunately there's no international ranking tables

遗憾的是，国际上没有一个用来给评估老师的系统

for teacher feedback systems.

分等级的标准。

So I looked at the countries

所以我看了看

whose students perform well academically,

那些拥有学术表现非常好的学生的国家，

and looked at what they're doing

然后看看他们在做什么

to help their teachers improve.

来帮助他们的教师提高教学水平。

Consider the rankings for reading proficiency.

我们来看看阅读水平的排名。

The U.S. isn't number one.

美国并不是第一。

We're not even in the top 10.

我们甚至连前十都没能进入。

We're tied for 15th with Iceland and Poland.

我们和冰岛以及波兰并列排名第15名。

Now, out of all the places

在阅读水平方面

that do better than the U.S. in reading,

做得比美国出色的地方中

how many of them have a formal system

又有多少个拥有能帮助教师提高自己的

for helping teachers improve?

正规流程？

Eleven out of 14.

11个。

The U.S. is tied for 15th in reading,

在阅读方面美国并列第15名，

but we're 23rd in science and 31st in math.

但在科学与数学方面我们分别排在第23名与第31名。

So there's really only one area where we're near the top,

因此我们只有一个方面排名比较靠前，

and that's in failing to give our teachers

而那就是无法提供给教师

the help they need to develop their skills.

发展自己所需要的帮助。

Let's look at the best academic performer:

我们来看看学业上表现最好的地区：

the province of Shanghai, China.

中国的上海。

Now, they rank number one across the board,

他们在阅读，数学以及科学等所有方面

in reading, math and science,

排名都是第一，

and one of the keys to Shanghai's incredible success

而上海能有这种令人惊讶的成功的关键之一就在于

is the way they help teachers keep improving.

他们帮助教师不断自我发展的方式。

They made sure that younger teachers

他们确保年轻的教师

get a chance to watch master teachers at work.

有机会看到资深教师授课。

They have weekly study groups,

他们每周都有让老师聚在一起

where teachers get together and talk about what's working.

并讨论哪些教学方法比较有用的学习会。

They even require each teacher to observe

他们甚至要求每位老师观察

and give feedback to their colleagues.

他的同事并给他们反馈信息。

You might ask, why is a system like this so important?

也许你会问，为什么这样的系统那么重要？

It's because there's so much variation

这是因为在教师这个职业中

in the teaching profession.

有太多的不同。

Some teachers are far more effective than others.

有的教师的教学效率远远超过其他教师。

In fact, there are teachers throughout the country

事实上，在全国各地有一些老师

who are helping their students make extraordinary gains.

正在帮助他们的学生实现难以想象的巨大进步。

If today's average teacher

如果今天的普通老师

could become as good as those teachers,

能和那些老师一样好，

our students would be blowing away the rest of the world.

我们的学生就可以在全世界独领风骚了。

So we need a system that helps all our teachers

因此我们需要一个能使我们每一位教师

be as good as the best.

和最好的教师一样好的系统。

What would that system look like?

这样一个系统会是什么样子的？

Well, to find out, our foundation

为了查明这个事情，我们的基金会

has been working with 3,000 teachers

和全国各个校区

in districts across the country

的3000多名老师合作开展了

on a project called Measures of Effective Teaching.

一个叫“有效教育方式”(MET)的项目。

We had observers watch videos

我们派遣观察员观看

of teachers in the classroom

老师在教学中的录像

and rate how they did on a range of practices.

并且评估他们所做的一系列事情。

For example, did they ask their students

举例来说，他们有没有问学生

challenging questions?

具有挑战性的问题？

Did they find multiple ways to explain an idea?

他们有没有找到多种方式来解释一个概念？

We also had students fill out surveys with questions like,

我们也让学生做包含如

"Does your teacher know

“你的老师是否知道

when the class understands a lesson?"

整个班级听懂了一堂课？”

"Do you learn to correct your mistakes?"

“你是否学会了改正错误？”等问题的问卷。

And what we found is very exciting.

结果令我们非常惊喜。

First, the teachers who did well on these observations

首先，在这些评测中表现很好的老师

had far better student outcomes.

所教出来的学生也更好。

So it tells us we're asking the right questions.

这说明我们问的问题是对的。

And second, teachers in the program told us

其次，参与这个项目的老师告诉我们

that these videos and these surveys from the students

这些录像以及向学生发放的调查问卷

were very helpful diagnostic tools,

是非常有用的诊断工具，

because they pointed to specific places

因为它们指明了教师们

where they can improve.

能够改进的具体环节。

I want to show you what this video component of MET

我想让你们看看MET中的视频部分

looks like in action.

是什么样的。

(Music)

（音乐）

(Video) Sarah Brown Wessling: Good morning everybody.

（录像）Sarah Brown Wessling: 大家早上好。

Let's talk about what's going on today.

让我们说说今天干些什么。

To get started, we're doing a peer review day, okay?

首先，今天将会是一个“同学互评日”。

A peer review day, and our goal by the end of class

这个“同学互评日”的目的就是在下课前

is for you to be able to determine

大家可以好好判断

whether or not you have moves to prove in your essays.

自己作文是不是经得起推敲。

My name is Sarah Brown Wessling.

我的名字是Sarah Brown Wessling。

I am a high school English teacher

我在衣阿华州的Johnston的Johnston高中

at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa.

担任英语老师。

Turn to somebody next to you.

转向你们身边的一个人。

Tell them what you think I mean when I talk about moves to prove. I've talk about --

告诉他们你认为我说“经得起推敲”时我是什么意思。我曾说过--

I think that there is a difference for teachers

我认为对于老师而言，

between the abstract of how we see our practice

我们对我们的表现的抽象看法

and then the concrete reality of it.

和实际情况是有区别的。

Okay, so I would like you to please bring up your papers.

好的，请你们拿出你们的纸张。

I think what video offers for us

我认为视频

is a certain degree of reality.

给我们展现了某种程度的现实。

You can't really dispute what you see on the video,

你无法对你在视频中看到的表示异议，

and there is a lot to be learned from that,

你从中能学到很多，

and there are a lot of ways that we can grow

而且当我们看到它时我们看到有很多方式

as a profession when we actually get to see this.

能让我们的职业水平更上一层楼。

I just have a flip camera and a little tripod

我只有这个轻按相机和这个小小的三脚架

and invested in this tiny little wide-angle lens.

并再花了一点钱买了这个微小的广角镜。

At the beginning of class, I just perch it

在开始上课的时候，我就把

in the back of the classroom. It's not a perfect shot.

相机放在教室的后面。视角并非完美。

It doesn't catch every little thing that's going on.

它没法捕捉到发生的每一件事。

But I can hear the sound. I can see a lot.

但我能听见声音。我能看到很多。

And I'm able to learn a lot from it.

而且我能从中学到很多。

So it really has been a simple

因此它成了一个用于自我反思的

but powerful tool in my own reflection.

简单而强大的工具。

All right, let's take a look at the long one first, okay?

好的，我们先看看比较长的一段，怎么样？

Once I'm finished taping, then I put it in my computer,

一旦录完了，我就把它放到电脑里，

and then I'll scan it and take a peek at it.

扫描一下然后看一眼。

If I don't write things down, I don't remember them.

如果我不把东西写下来我就无法记住它们。

So having the notes is a part of my thinking process,

因此记笔记也是我思考过程中的一部分，

and I discover what I'm seeing as I'm writing.

而当我在做记录时我也就发现了我在看的是什么。

I really have used it for my own personal growth

我把它用于我的个人成长

and my own personal reflection on teaching strategy

以及关于教学方式，

and methodology and classroom management,

教学原则，课堂管理等

and just all of those different facets of the classroom.

各种各样的和课堂有关的方面的个人反思。

I'm glad that we've actually done the process before

我很高兴我们以前做过类似的事情

so we can kind of compare what works, what doesn't.

所以我们能通过比较得出孰优孰劣。

I think that video exposes

我觉得视频揭示了

so much of what's intrinsic to us as teachers

大量的所对我们老师而言

in ways that help us learn and help us understand,

从根本上帮助我们学习和理解的方式方法，

and then help our broader communities understand

并且也帮助社会理解

what this complex work is really all about.

这个复杂的工作究竟是干嘛的。

I think it is a way to exemplify and illustrate

我认为这展现了一些事情

things that we cannot convey in a lesson plan,

他们是我们无法用教学计划，

things you cannot convey in a standard,

一个标准，

things that you cannot even sometimes convey

甚至一个关于教育学的书

in a book of pedagogy.

来表达的。

Alrighty, everybody, have a great weekend.

好了，大家，祝你们周末愉快。

I'll see you later.

下次见。

[Every classroom could look like that]

[每一个教室都能像那样]

(Applause)

（掌声）

Bill Gates: One day, we'd like every classroom in America

比尔 盖茨：我们希望有一天全美的教室

to look something like that.

都可以像这样。

But we still have more work to do.

但我们还有很多事要做。

Diagnosing areas where a teacher needs to improve

梳理出一位老师在什么地方需要改进

is only half the battle.

只是战斗的一半。

We also have to give them the tools they need

我们还要给他们能让他们基于诊断结果

to act on the diagnosis.

采取措施的工具。

If you learn that you need to improve

如果你知道你要提高自己

the way you teach fractions,

教分数的方式，

you should be able to watch a video

你应该可以看一段

of the best person in the world teaching fractions.

世上最好的人教分数的视频。

So building this complete teacher feedback

所以说建立一个完整的能给予老师

and improvement system won't be easy.

反馈信息以及自我发展手段的系统不会简单。

For example, I know some teachers

比如说，我知道一些老师

aren't immediately comfortable with the idea

对于在教室中放一个摄像机这样的想法

of a camera in the classroom.

感到不舒适。

That's understandable, but our experience with MET

这是可以理解的，但是我们在MET中的经验

suggests that if teachers manage the process,

说明了如果老师们能忍受这一个过程，

if they collect video in their own classrooms,

如果他们在教室中录制视频，

and they pick the lessons they want to submit,

然后选择他们想提交的视频，

a lot of them will be eager to participate.

很多老师会踊跃参与。

Building this system will also require

建立这样一个体系也会需要

a considerable investment.

大量的投资。

Our foundation estimates that it could cost

我们的基金会估计会花费

up to five billion dollars.

多至50亿美元。

Now that's a big number, but to put it in perspective,

这是一个庞大的数字，但如果我们换一个视角来看，

it's less than two percent

这比我们每年付给老师的工资

of what we spend every year on teacher salaries.

的2%还要少。

The impact for teachers would be phenomenal.

这样一个系统对于老师的影响是无法估量的。

We would finally have a way to give them feedback,

我们终于会有一个能给他们反馈信息，

as well as the means to act on it.

并让他们照此采取措施的方式。

But this system would have

但是这样一个系统对我们国家

an even more important benefit for our country.

的好处会更大。

It would put us on a path to making sure

它会让我们走上一条能确保

all our students get a great education,

我们的学生能收到良好教育，

find a career that's fulfilling and rewarding,

找到一份报酬丰厚而且令人满意的事业，

and have a chance to live out their dreams.

并且让他们有机会实现自己的梦想的道路。

This wouldn't just make us a more successful country.

这不仅会使我们的国家更成功。

It would also make us a more fair and just one, too.

这也会使我们的国家更充满公平与正义。

I'm excited about the opportunity

我为能给老师们

to give all our teachers the support they want and deserve.

他们想要且应得的支援的机会感到欣喜。

I hope you are too.

我希望大家也是。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）