Teacher performance evidence: 10 interactive activities that create it in the lesson itself

Why evidence starts in the lesson, not the folder

In Saudi Arabia, the performance cycle for the 1447/1448 AH school year bases a teacher’s review on tangible evidence of what they actually did, across three stages: planning at the start of the year, a mid-year review, and a final review. The published review elements include varied teaching strategies, varied assessment methods, analysing and diagnosing learners’ results, improving those results, using suitable learning technology, preparing the learning environment, classroom management, and working with parents.

Many teachers gather evidence in a rush at the end of term and look for a ready-made evidence file to fill in. But a ready-made file proves nothing about your own class. The strongest evidence is what came out of your lesson, with its date: what your students wrote, what they answered, and what changed afterwards.

When the activity is on screen and students answer from their phone browsers, the evidence is ready before the lesson ends: a screenshot of the result and one line about what you did with it.

Elements and activities in one table

Ten interactive activities and their evidence

1. Brainstorming on an idea wall

Ask an open question: “How can we cut water waste at our school?” Every student writes as much as they like from their phone, the ideas land on screen as they arrive, then the class votes and the best rise on their own. The student who never raises a hand writes here, which turns brainstorming into a real brainstorm, not a chat with three students.

Evidence: a screenshot of the wall after the vote, with the number of ideas and the top ones, under varied teaching strategies.

2. Hot seat without the embarrassment

In the hot seat strategy, a student takes the role of a character, a scientist or a concept, and the class questions them. Let the questions come from phones, let students upvote each other’s questions so the ones most people want rise, then choose who sits in the seat with the random picker. Weak questions sink on their own, and shy students ask without being heard.

Evidence: the question list ranked by votes, which shows students thinking, not memorising.

3. Six thinking hats in a shared table

Split the class into teams and create a shared table whose columns are the six hats: facts, feelings, risks, benefits, new ideas and process. Each team fills one row from its phone, the table builds itself on screen, and you see how each team looked at the topic from six angles.

Evidence: the completed table, a clear example of a structured thinking strategy for your portfolio.

4. A mind map that starts from a word cloud

Before you draw the mind map, ask: “What is the first word that comes to mind about renewable energy?” Each word grows with how often it is given, so you see what the class knows before you explain. The big words are the first branches, and the small odd ones open a good question.

Evidence: the word cloud before the lesson, a diagnosis of prior knowledge.

5. Crazy 8s for differentiated learning

Eight ideas in eight minutes: each student fills numbered boxes on their phone and sees a counter, “3 of 8”. Stronger students finish all eight, struggling students write three and still take part, and both are in the same activity. That is differentiated instruction in a simple form: a goal that pushes, not a cap that stops. Then the class votes on the best ideas.

Evidence: the class’s ideas at their different levels, with the winning idea.

6. Exit tickets for formative assessment

In the last five minutes, ask: “One thing I learned today, and one question I still have.” Answers arrive as cards on screen. You can hide names so students write honestly, and hide any unsuitable answer the moment it appears. The exit ticket is one of the simplest and most honest formative assessment tools, because it tells you what actually landed, not what you explained.

Evidence: all the cards, plus one line on how you will open the next lesson because of them, under varied assessment methods.

7. A short quiz before and after teaching

Five questions at the start of the lesson, the same five at the end. The first shows what needs teaching, the second shows what changed. A question with a low correct rate both times is a diagnosis the monthly test would only show you late.

Evidence: two screenshots of results from the same day, under analysing and improving learners’ results. On the Pro plan you can export the results to a spreadsheet and analyse them as you like.

8. A team competition for review and motivation

Before a national assessment or any final test, turn review into a team competition: timed questions, points for speed, and a leaderboard that adds up each team’s points live. Motivation comes from the team, not the grade: a student who does not care about their own points cares about their team’s. To ease speed pressure on struggling students, give each team one phone so they discuss before answering.

Evidence: the leaderboard with team names, and the first round’s result next to the last.

9. An icebreaker at the start of the lesson

One question in the first two minutes: “In one word, how is your day so far?” or “If this lesson were a food, what would it be?” Icebreakers do not waste time. They get every student writing something before the explanation starts, and a student who wrote in minute one answers in minute twenty. With names hidden, the disengaged and the shy both take part.

Evidence: how many of those present took part, shown live on screen, under preparing the learning environment.

10. Random picker and teams board for classroom management

“Why is it always me?” goes away when the random picker chooses in front of everyone and skips those already picked. Teams form as students join, and the teams board fills with names without the noise of splitting up. You decide when interaction opens and closes, from ten seconds to eight minutes, so nobody is busy with their phone outside the activity.

Evidence: a screenshot of the teams board, and a line in the lesson plan on how roles are assigned.

The other elements

Using learning technology: the interactive deck itself shows digital teaching skills. Students join from the phone browser with a code or QR, with no app or account, and the whole deck runs right to left in Arabic.

Preparing and running the learning plan: describe your lesson in two lines and Engage builds an interactive deck with its questions. You review the outline first, then change anything. Then download the deck as a PDF in one press, and your planning evidence is in the folder.

Working with parents: at a parents’ meeting, run a short poll on study time at home, or open audience Q&A so every parent can ask and the others vote. After the meeting, share the deck with a view-only link. The result is evidence of communication that had an effect, not just a meeting people attended.

And if you are preparing for a teaching licence exam: using active learning strategies and formative assessment tools in your own class makes them stick better than memorising their definitions.

How to organise your digital evidence portfolio

1. One folder per element. Name folders after the review elements, not the months.
2. Hide names before the screenshot. On written-answer slides, turn on hide names. Evidence does not need students’ names.
3. Screenshot the result. Add the date, class and subject.
4. Three lines with each piece of evidence. The goal, the strategy, and what you did with the result. The third line matters most, because it shows you analysed and acted.
5. Spread it across the cycle. Evidence from the start of the year, more before the mid-year review, and more before the final review, so improvement shows, not a single snapshot.

If phones are not allowed in your class

Follow your school’s policy first. If students cannot use their phones, one phone or device per team is enough, or the computer lab, because everything runs in the browser. Team activities are often richer anyway, because the team talks before it writes.

Try one activity in your next lesson

Every engagement slide is on the free plan, with no card. Start with one activity, a word cloud at the start of the lesson or an exit ticket at the end, and screenshot the result. That is the first piece of evidence in your folder. More details: interactive presentations.

Sources

• Okaz: an education expert explains the performance review criteria for teaching staff (Arabic)
• Okaz: the review elements for school staff (Arabic)