Does that really meet my expectations?

This tip was inspired after chatting with an educator shortly after midterm.  What I believe I heard from her was that she had a little of voice inside her asking, "did that really meet my expectations?"

I've heard this story many times before.  We want to give the benefit of the doubt. We're not sure if what we did (or maybe, did not) observe was that big of a deal.  But something just doesn't feel right giving a "meeting expectations" when your gut feeling is that your student isn't.

Do either of these examples resonate with you (which I have often heard over the years):

You have outlined some things for the student to complete (e.g. chart reviews), however the student doesn’t seem to be taking the initiative.  It isn’t until you remind them that there is follow through, which may even be after the deadline you originally gave.  

You have a student who is very shy.  While polite and responsive to questions, they rarely initiate conversation with you and you have not observed them talking with other team members - even communication with clients is minimal unless prompted by you.

While in many cases, students make improvements and meet your expectations by final without specifically targeting the area, some students need a stronger cue. It is better to err on the side of being explicit and upfront than to assume your student understands they are not meeting expectations in some way (since they very well might not know until you say so!).

So what do you do?

Midterm has past or is still a ways away ... 

Give clear and specific feedback as soon as possible. The sooner they understand what particular skill(s) are not meeting expectations (and how!), the sooner they can start the work.

As placement continues, make this a priortiy area to provide consistent feedback about so there is no “guessing” involved on how they are progressing.  That said, ensure that you continue to focus on their strengths too!

To support your student's understanding of what it means to meet expectations, consider sharing these points:

·       Share your observation with the student. “I’m noticing that….”

·       Support their ability to understand how this concern has implications for practice now and in the future. “This behaviour might be misinterpreted as…..” or “The impact this might have on creating connections with our clients is…..”

·       Explain what your expectations are (i.e. what would meeting expectations look like) and link it directly back to the evaluation. “By midterm I expect that you will be able to….." or "For this placement level, my expectations are that you can do this skill independently..."

Midterm has arrived ...

Continue to provide clear and specific feedback as described above.

Use the Competency Rating Scale to quantify your students performance to help support their understanding about the signficance of the concern(s). The scale is a great way to show how far 'off' your student is from meeting expectations and open discussion on what would need to be done to reach expectations by final. If you choose to evaluate them as not "meeting expectations," it is essential that you contact the Fieldwork Team so we are kept updated and can add support sooner rather than later.

If you choose to still evaluate them as "meeting expectations," be very clear that your expectations will be rising for final.  Simply performing as they have been will no longer be enough—they must actively work towards making improvements. 

Ask the student to create an action plan for meeting the expectation.  Students get experience with developing professional development plans in the program (and this is practice for real life also!). Yes, it is fine to expect this be done outside of fieldwork hours. You might have some suggestions here on some strategies they can use. 

The thought that your student may not be meeting expectations will never be an enjoyable one to entertain. Please do not grapple with these feelings too long. Connect with the Fieldwork Team so we can confirm what it means to be "meeting expectations" at each placement level and how we, altogether, can support your student to move forward.

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 Lisa

Updated by Julie, 2024