After reading Long's blog about the need for student evaluations of their consulting sessions, I remembered a question that I had a while ago: Is there any system currently in place that requires writing consultants to evaluate their own performance periodically? I know that plenty of programs make use of surveymonkey.com to create evaluations, so there may already be one. However, if there isn't, I think it would be a valuable addition.
My own experiences shadowing in the writing center have often made me wonder if some of the writing consultants realize how their proceedings in a consultation may positively or negatively impact their writers. A way to find this out could be a survey or self-evaluation form to be completed by the consultants once or twice during each semester. That way, even if some consultants may feel inclined to make their performance look better than it actually is, all consultants will be cognizant of what things they need to be doing and what areas they can improve upon. Certain questions could be included just as little reminders for do's and don't's to keep consultants aware of their actions during each consulting session.
Now I'm wondering if I should have pursued this avenue for my final project instead...
I think a self-evaluation is a great idea, especially since it will allow the writing center to streamline any comments or criticisms regarding the job of writing consultants.
ReplyDeleteSuch a good idea! I think that as a Writer Consultant I would like to receive feedback about how I am doing. It would good to hear about what tactics what works well and what does not. I think students will often say "thank you, you were such a great help" at the end of their consultation, but was I really a big help?!
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