I've heard this story many times before. We want to give the benefit of the doubt. We're worried about the consequence of giving a "2" on our evaluation. We're not sure if it's that big of a deal. But something just doesn't feel right giving a "meeting expectations" when your gut feeling is that he/she isn't.
While I know in many cases students can make improvements and meet your expectations by final without
specifically targeting the area, some students need a stronger cue to specifically work on an area in order to meet your expectations
at final.
So what do you do?
· Be very clear (and as soon as possible) that
even though he/she received a “3/meets expectations” at midterm, that your
expectations will be rising for final. So simply doing as he/she has been doing will no longer be enough—he/she must actively work towards making
improvements.
·
Ask the student to create an action plan for
meeting the expectation. Students get experience with this develop
professional development plans in the program (and this is practice for real
life as those who just submitted PDPs know). You might have a few suggestions as well. You may even want
to involve us in helping the student.
Here are a couple of common examples I have heard over the
years:
You have outlined some things for the student to complete
(journal reflection, intervention plan, creating a resource list etc), however
the student doesn’t seem to be taking the initiative to follow through.
It isn’t until you remind him or specifically ask for it again that there is
follow through, which may even be after the deadline you originally gave.
(So in this case it might fit best under C.1. Demonstrated ability to assume
responsibility for working with clients and to carry out assigned duties).
Or
You have a student who is very shy. While she is very
polite and responds to questions, she rarely initiates conversations with you
and you have not observed her talking with other team members even
communication with clients is minimal. (In this case it might fit best under
B.11 Initiated communication with fieldwork educator(s), other staff and
clients as indicated by the situation)
·
Share your observation with the student:
“I’m
noticing that….”
·
Let him/her know the implications of her not
initiating communication.
“This
behaviour might be interpreted as…..” or “The impact this might have on your
practice is…..”
·
Let him/her know what your expectation is for
final (what would meeting expectations look like) and link it directly back to
the evaluation
“By
final I expect that you will….. in order to meet the expectations for the for
this section of the evaluation”
·
Much like for a client, have the student create
an action plan to meet this as a goal.
“I
would like you create an action plan for how you plan to meet this goal” (It
is fine to expect this to be done outside of fieldwork hours). You might
have some suggestions here on some strategies.
·
Make this a priority area to provide feedback
It
will be important that the student is receiving feedback specific to these
areas along the way so there is no “guessing” involved. That said, ensure
that you continue to focus on their strengths too!
As always, let me know if you have any comments or questions. Lisa
