ANSF Faculty Development Course: Medical Education 1 Providing Feedback and Evaluating Students Instructor Development Course : Session # 4

ANSF Faculty Development Course: Medical EducationANSF Faculty Development Course: Medical Education

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Providing Feedback and Evaluating Students

Instructor Development Course : Session # 4


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Objectives

• Understand the importance of providing feedback in the learning process, and define the various types of feedback

• Describe a proven method of systematically evaluating the learner’s performance in the classroom setting

• Provide an overview of ways to give feedback to the learner

• Note the importance of having student evaluations of courses.


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Module Outline

• 1. Importance of Feedback

• 2. Evaluating the Students Performance

• 3. Providing Feedback

• 4. Student Evaluations of Courses, Clinical Rotations, and Faculty


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I. Importance of Feedback


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What is Feedback ?

• Information you provide to students about their performance that is intended to guide and improve their future performance.

– Formative: Informational

– Summative: Evaluation


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Feedback

• Positive feedback should be given more than negative

• Intensive feedback to students improves their learning and ultimately their performance

• Effective feedback requires mutual understanding of goals and objectives


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Feedback

• Inadequate feedback can be detrimental to a student’s performance


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Need for Feedback

• Assessment informs, and is informed by, teaching.

• Student’s performance depends on it.

• It is the basis for optimal educational learning.


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Feedback Barriers

• Lack of direct observation

• Lack of clearly stated standards

• No consistent vocabulary

• Concern about emotional reaction

• Lack of role models in one’s own training


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Feedback Facilitators

• Goals should be mutually understood and accepted

• Orient the student to your style

• Understand the students’ prior experiences with feedback

• Maintain a positive learning environment

• Arrange the proper setting for feedback


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II. Evaluating the Student’s Performance


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CommunicationFeedback

• Focus on the performance, not the performer

• Should be routine and immediate

• Think aloud


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CommunicationFeedback

• Use “I” statements.

• Let the student tell you how they think they did first.

• No premature feedback: Let them finish their story.

• Important Principle : “Praise in Public, Perfect in Private”


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Constructive Feedback and “I” Messages

• Constructive feedback:– Face-to-face conversation with a student about something

that he / she has not done well.

– Instructor must obtain the facts before providing direction to resolve the problem.

• “I” Messages– “I” messages are the preferred way to provide constructive

feedback.

– They are usually more effective than “you” messages because they are non-judgmental.

– They report how less than desirable behavior is making the faculty feel and how the behavior is having an impact on the setting or the patient.


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Constructive Feedback Characteristics I

Characteristic Description

Give immediate feedback

Delay tends to reduce effectiveness

Show concern for helping others

The concern for the other makes feedback more

acceptable to the receiver

Be descriptive rather than evaluative

Facts are more acceptable than judgments


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Constructive Feedback Characteristics II


Describe the effects Useful feedback states how the person’s behavior affects you

and the patient

Be specific rather than general

Use concrete events not assumptions about the receiver

Give feedback when the receiver is ready to accept it

Ensure that the feedback is aligned with situation and the nature of relationship between

sender and receiver


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Constructive Feedback Characteristics III


Focus on behavior Describe clear, outward actions rather than try to attribute inner motives of

the receiver

Give feedback only on matters the receiver is able to do something

about

Feedback on something outside of the receiver’s

control leads to resentment and feelings of helplessness


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Learner Perceptions

• Most students find they are treated better when they appear competent, even when they are not.– Disclosing their needs

means punishment.– Hiding their needs means

rewards.– how you provide feedback

will determine whether your learners will reveal their needs to you.


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Getting ready to teach : A Checklist

• 1. Clarify behavioral expectations

• 2. Set goals

• 3. Where and when will teaching occur ?

• 4. Explicitly assess each student

• 5. Feedback : decide where / when / who / how

• 7. Evaluation: Learner and Teacher


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More on Feedback

• When, how, and by whom should feedback occur in your teaching setting ?


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III. Providing Feedback


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How should one give feedback?

• Be specific• Be positive when

deserved• Do not demean when

being critical• Be understanding

about things that can’t be changed

• Be well-timed and proactive


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Three-Step Formula for a Feedback Session

• 1. Ask the learner for self-evaluation

• 2. Provide your feedback

• 3. Outline a plan of action


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Formula for Feedback I

• Ask the learner for self-evaluation– “What are your areas of strength ?”– “What are your areas of challenge ?”

• Prompting may be necessary :– Data gathering (writing and reading)– Professionalism– External distracters – Shortcomings (speech impediment, shy)


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Formula for Feedback II

• Provide your feedback – In context of student comments– Descriptive, not evaluative (behaviors)– Specific (behaviors)– Focus on issues the student can control– Limited in amount– Address student goals


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Formula for Feedback III

• Outline a plan of action– Focus on behaviors

• Specific

• Limited

• Achievable

• Measurable


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Principles of Feedback

• Identify learning objectives

• Make a feedback friendly environment

• Prioritize the feedback you give

• Respond to student’s self-assessment

• Objective data - specific behaviors

• Validate the student - positive feedback

• Establish a plan


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Student Evaluation

• The following discussion will be of the student evaluation tool that was developed in June 2009 by the AFAMS Faculty.

< Separate Discussion >


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IV. Student Evaluation of Courses and Instructor


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Goals of Student Evaluations

• Provide the students input into their own education

• Determine if the students are receiving the training they want and need

• Improve the course, rotation, or faculty

• Allow recognition of instructors who are providing exemplary training


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Timing of Student Evaluations

• Turning in the evaluation form is required :– On the last day of the course or rotation– After the course or rotation but before the

grade is issued– At the end of the class year


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Options to Consider for Evaluations by Students

• Using the same forms as the residents use

• Having a mid-course evaluation and/or having an evaluation at the end of the course

• Having an “exit interview”– This might require a separate evaluation form– This could be with any of the instructor the course

director– This could be instead with another instructor in the

department who then provides an anonymous feedback report


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Learner Evaluations

• Structural Components of Courses Which Students Should Evaluate– Faculty teaching– Faculty clinical care– Supervising residents’ teaching and clinical

care– Didactics and other teaching materials– Clinical caseload and case distribution– Goals / expectations


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Evaluations of Faculty by Students I

• Having a separate form for each student– The student should specify how much time or how

many cases he had with each faculty rated

• Having a single form for all the instructors with a number rating rank for each faculty

• Having an exit interview with the course director– There should be focus on the best and worse teachers– There should be an evaluation option if there is a

conflict between the student and the director


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Evaluations of Faculty by Students II

• Having an exit interview with a person not in the same department who then prepares an anonymous evaluation report sent back to the director

• Separating the timing of grading the student and turning in the evaluation


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Student Evaluations of Faculty: Main Categories

• Teaching ability• Teaching effectiveness• Interest and enthusiasm for teaching• Clinical ability• Professional behavior

– Interactions with other students– Interactions with other healthcare personnel– Role modeling


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Use of the Student Evaluations

• The most intense and complete review should be by the course director

• There should be independent review by the department director

• Evaluations should be combined into a summary annual report for all the faculty

• There should also be higher level review of evaluation summaries to make comparisons between different departments and study the overall education performance and mission of the institution


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Analysis of the Student Evaluations of Instructors

• These need to be co-reviewed by the course director and the department director

• The student evaluations should be correlated with evaluations of the same instructor

• The ratings could be used as part of the academic promotion or salary increase for faculty

• The ratings could be used to issue a faculty teaching certificate or award or prize


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END MODULE

Faculty Development Course : Session #4

Documents

ANSF Faculty Development Course: Medical Education 1 Providing Feedback and Evaluating Students Instructor Development Course : Session # 4