Hi Amanda, we also did a revamp of our evaluation form last year in transition to the 2022 EPAS. We really wanted to emphasize to our field supervisors that we wanted them to be thinking about evaluating the competency and practice behaviors based on the activities rather than whether or not the student completed the learning contract activity. I think so often the learning contract is treated as a checklist. Our updated evaluation form can be seen here. It is completed in Tevera, but this is a pdf of what it looks like. We gave the students space to address whether or not they completed the task, and then ask both students and supervisors to evaluate competency emphasizing this is based on completion of the activity, or some other activity that was observed and demonstrated competency.
Similar to what Staci stated, our field courses are graded pass/fail, and the evaluation from supervisors is a factor in students passing, but the grade is determined by the instructor, based upon the evaluation, as well as getting 80% of all points for the assignments. We have a policy where we expect students to have an average score across competencies of 2.5 in their midterm assessment, and if not, this requires an additional check in meeting with the student and field supervisor to assess how things are going. By the final, we generally expect all students to have a minimum score of 3 in each area of their evaluation, but we tell supervisors that if they anticipate students not being at that point, to tell us as early as possible so we can try to problem solve. It is also ultimately at the discretion of our instructors to issue the grade if for some reason we believe the evaluation is not a true assessment.
This is always a challenge and leaves a lot of room for subjectivity. We just developed a new training for our field supervisors about the new evaluation and also strategies for observing, evaluating, and giving feedback. We included activities for supervisors to look at case examples of students and determine in small groups the rating they would give students. We've only put the training on once so far, but it seemed to be well received. It did illustrate though how differently different supervisors evaluate, additionally, in our research for the presentation it was clear the limited research into effectiveness of supervisor evaluations. I'm happy to share info from our training presentation if you are interested. Ultimately, our new evaluation and this training are our attempt to address the challenge you are describing. Whether or not these efforts are effective, I am still assessing as this is the first year we are using this new form!
Best,
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Lindsey Rinehart
Field Education Director
West Virginia University
Morgantown WV
304-293-3501
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Original Message:
Sent: Oct 11, 2024 17:27
From: Amanda Campbell
Subject: Field Evaluation Ideas?
Hello all!
Our program is going to be revising our Field Evaluation as a part of our process of moving to the 2022 EPAS. One of the areas that we are hoping to address in the new Field Evaluation is a way to encourage honest and constructive self-assessment as well as feedback from supervisors. Our current instrument is Pass/Fail but we find that because of how the ratings translate into what is a passing versus what is a failing evaluation, supervisors sometimes struggle to provide nuanced feedback about areas that students need to grow even if they are demonstrating the practice behavior at a "passing" level.
I would welcome any thoughts about ways you have designed your Field Evaluation to both measure actual and demonstrated practice to assess if a student is truly passing while leaving enough nuance to foster those conversations about continued growth (without fear of receiving a failing grade). We really want to design our tool to encourage reflection and a focus on lifelong learning.
In Community,
Amanda
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Amanda Campbell
Associate Director of Field Education
Metropolitan State University of Denver
+1 (303) 615-1835
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