6 Tips to Ease the Evaluation Process

We’re going out on a limb here…and guessing that filling out the evaluation is not your favourite part of providing fieldwork.  To help you with this task we offer some tips:

1.    Review the evaluation a week to a few days before you need to fill it out. 

This should refresh your memory about the areas you said you’d be evaluating.  With the areas fresh in your mind, you can watch for specific examples or direct the student to specific tasks.

2.    While reviewing the evaluation, write in client initials or other cues if assessments, interventions, programming etc. come to mind that you know the student will be completing over the next few days.  These cues can help to speed up your process when filling in the form later.

3.   Whenever something comes to mind that you would like to capture, write it on a sticky note and just stick to the top of the evaluation…you can add the thought to the actual evaluation when you’re ready.

4.   Remember: direct observation is not the only place to look for material for feedback/evaluation.  You can gather information on a student’s communication, reasoning, organization etc from:

o   other staff members

o   discussions with your student

o   any  written documentation/material

o   review of journal (if available)

5.   On evaluation day, consider arranging a time for the student to review your evaluation before meeting to discuss it. This can give the student opportunity to “digest” any feedback he/she may find difficult. It may even decrease the meeting time needed. We recommend discussing this as an option with the student before hand. You might even take their self evaluation and feedback form (the yellow form) for review prior to meeting too.

6.   If you have questions about filling out the evaluation/providing feedback, call us!

Want more resources?  Check out the top 2 links under “Lisa’s Links” on the right hand side of this blog.  Each of these resources has a module on filling out formal evaluations and providing feedback (and other areas you might find helpful).

Remember:  Being an educator is more than being a “form filler”…the role of evaluation is to provide feedback…the outcome will enable the student to develop a plan for professional development.

Top 3 Characteristics for Effective Clinical Teaching

Today’s topic was sparked by a Department of Medical Education workshop I attended here at the University of Manitoba.  It was put on by Dr. Dieter Schönwetter and was entitled “Evidence-Based Teaching Behaviours that Impact Student Centred Learning”.   Dr. Schönwetter was sharing his findings in a study that set out to look at the strategies that students found to be effective in teaching.  Although the study focused on dentistry and dental hygiene, I can’t help but make the leap that the same would likely apply to fieldwork in occupational therapy.

The quick overview:

The quick snapshot of this workshop/study was this: the top 3 characteristics that students identified for effective teaching in clinical settings were:

1. Individual rapport
2. Organization
3. Enthusiasm

I think I am sharing these results because sometimes as educators we are most concerned about questions like, “will my caseload be interesting enough/calm enough/busy enough/diverse enough/ homogenous enough to provide a good learning experience?”  But really, what really counts for student learning is within us as individuals.

Individual rapport.  We know the value of rapport when working with our clients; the same goes with students.  Study participants consistently indicated that a personable, approachable person interested in the student’s learning was a major part of the effectiveness of an educator.  A safe learning environment can go a long way.

Organization.  The descriptors in this study included things like being clear with instructions and expectations, being well organized, being professional, and being straightforward and practical.

Enthusiasm.   Learners appreciate a teacher that is enthusiastic, encouraging, motivating, wants students to learn, and has a positive attitude.  

As I think about these areas, I can’t help but think that these characteristics not only help our students learn on placement, but they are also strategies that they will incorporate into their therapeutic approach with clients as they develop their skills.  After all, we are not just educators but role models too.  I commented earlier that these results from dentistry and dental hygiene could be generalized to OT students.  But in many ways we have teaching/learning relationships with our clients where these characteristics would apply.  I wonder if these characteristics sometimes become so embedded in our practice that we “forget” to give credit to their effectiveness.  

So, let’s be mindful of our understanding of the effectiveness of rapport, let’s appreciate our organization (FYI the study said nothing about having a clean desk), and let’s give an enthusiastic cheer.  Happy educating!

Lisa

Schönwetter, D. J., Lavigne, S., & Mazurat, R. (2006). Students’ perceptions of effective classroom and clinical teaching in dental and dental hygiene education.  Journal of Dental Education, 70(6), 624-635.

The Student-to-Student Binder

Many sites have a student fieldwork binder where you’ll find policies and procedures.  Having a “student to student” binder is an additional strategy for facilitating student learning and success in your workplace.

The “student-to-student” binder is a resource that students create (or add to) while they are on placement for the benefit of the next student(s) to be placed at your site.  The binder serves as an additional learning tool that can supplement the orientation that you already provide. 

What can go in the binder?

Practical details:

•  Lists of resources (vendor lists, community agencies, client handouts).  
•  A list of “who’s who” or “what’s where” (support staff, team members, where things can be found).  Some places will have organizational charts as part of their policies, but the day-to-day details that are most helpful aren’t always captured.  This list could include anything from “where to ask if you need a wrench” to “what do I do if I need something copied”.

Templates:

• What templates would be helpful?  What are typical letters and/or reports that are completed as part of your program? Having some generic templates as a starting place can help the student develop their charting/letter writing skills.

o   Funding letters?

o   Reports?

o   Initial assessments?

Resources:

• Background information:  This might be basic information on the typical diagnosis of the clients in your program and may or may not be specifically related to OT. 
• Literature review:

o   What’s best practice in this area?

o   What evidence is out there?

o   What is happening across the country in other programs?

What’s in it for you?

• Having a student work on/review/add to this binder can help you feel less guilty and responsible for the time that you spend on the phone, write notes, or are in meetings that aren’t appropriate for your student. 

• Having a literature search done each time you have a student helps you to ensure that you have the most up to date evidence and research that pertains to your area (this is especially important for those of us who feel we don’t have the time, access, or skill to look on our own!)

•  Once the resource is developed it relieves some of the pressure placed on you for orientation.  Sometimes it’s hard for us to know what is helpful information for students to access (remember that our “common sense” isn’t always common--there was a time when we didn’t yet know what we know!)

What’s in it for the student?

Process:

• Creating the binder can be a great learning tool and will develop self-directed learning skills.  Students need to ask themselves:

a) what do I already know?

b) what do I need to know?

c) how should I go about finding out about what I don’t know?

Product:

• Concrete learning tool for future students.     
•  Decreased anxiety: Tools that improve the orientation to a site help to create a safe learning environment for students to learn.  It is also comforting to know, “Oh good, another student needed to know that too”
• Improved learning: having a good foundation of resources can help facilitate better learning later in the placement.

The students might come up with other ideas, but this is definitely a start! 

Thank you to Cynthia P. for sharing this idea with us!

 -Lisa and Teresa