Tips for filling out the evaluation

Being an educator is more than being a “form filler" - the role of the evaluation process is to provide feedback. The forms are meant to be a tool to help you deliver feedback in a way that is meaningful and quantified, which works to track change overtime. The outcome will enable the student to plan for professional development and maximize their strengths that they will hopefully take into their future OT careers!

Here are some tips to help you with the task of completing the evaluation:

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 of assessments, interventions, documentation and so on that come to mind that the student will be completing over the next few days or has completed.  These cues can help to speed up your process when filling in the form later. Students also often find these examples helpful.

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 and so on from:

o   other staff members

o   discussions with your student

o   any written documentation/material

o   review of reflection journal or project (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 they may find difficult. It may even decrease the meeting time needed. You might even take their self-evaluation and site feedback form (the yellow form) for review prior to meeting too.

6.   If you have questions about filling out the evaluation/providing feedback, contact us at otfieldwork@umanitoba.ca!

Lisa

Revised by Julie, 2024

Stuff from the top of my head: Tips from an OT with 24 years of experience

Sharing tips amongst each of you is an important part of this blog. There is so much we can learn from one another, which is all part of being a community!

We had asked you to share your tips. I offered some sentences for you to "fill in the blanks" to help to get the thinking going. One of our educators took us up on the challenge. This was what came off the top of her head…

Something I do to prepare is… 

Review the student manual and update materials.  This makes me think about seeing my job for the first time. Would this make sense to a first glance?

One thing I’m going to try for this placement is… 

To integrate theory in a more conscious manner, working through it with the student…co-learning!

Something I remember that my educator did when I was a student was… 

Ask me how I felt I did before providing me with any feedback. Self-reflection proved to be a great tool for life.

I would tell a new educator ... 

That you don’t need to know everything.

Something that makes me nervous is…

Not knowing everything! Despite my earlier note…however, it’s okay not to know everything and modeling how to get through an area of limited knowledge / experience is a great teaching moment, both for myself and a student.

I'll add here, with this educator's 24 years added to the 3 OTs in the post “you don’t need to know everything,” we have at least 95 years of experience behind this tip.  If you are pretending that you have all the answers, give yourself permission to stop!

There is still so much more to learn from eachother. For now, thank you to this educator for sharing these insights!

Lisa

Revised by Julie, 2024

 

 

“What I’d tell a first time educator” Advice from OTs with experience

Being part of a community includes supporting the learning and growth of each other - not just of students entering the profession but also of those who are already in the field.

Here are a few suggestions shared by OTs with experience when asked, 

"What would I tell a first time educator?"

I like to sit down with students on their first day and talk about

• the goals they have,
• what they hope to learn,
• what they are interested in,
• and most importantly, what they know about how they best learn and communicate

I have found I have had to change my approach with [each] student, some are “immediately following de-briefers”, some are “take some time to think then debriefers”, some are “list people”, some are “single task oriented”.  If I get that from them [near the start of placement] then we can work more effectively and efficiently together.

One thing I try to do is seek out feedback from my student:

• what does he/she feel comfortable taking on?
• what does he/she want more opportunities to observe?
• does he/she feel like she is getting enough feedback? The right kind of feedback?

I also make a point of using the eval package to plan out our goals for the following week of placement (e.g., observing a specific type of assessment, doing an initial interview, planning and running a group therapy session, writing a discharge summary, etc.). This keeps us on track and is an opportunity for my student to highlight things he/she is particularly interested in or wanting to work on.

I would say that my process has always been to give them a good introduction to the environment and to the key people that they would need to rely on for information.  Then, to observe me in various interactions, practice them with each other (if in a collaborative placement), be observed interacting with clients, then doing it independently and talking it about it later.

I really like to try and be collaborative with students and clearly outline expectations or reasonable progressions for the goals they are trying to achieve.

I tell all my students that I feel the first (and perhaps the most important) step, with any patient, is to establish a rapport with the patient.  Nothing can move forward without such rapport.

Be open to feedback, you likely will learn more from your student then you think and take the experience as the gift it is.  

Lisa

Updated by Julie, 2024