Chapter 13

Assessments

What’s in This Chapter

• Four assessments to use in the workshop sessions or as professional development

• Instructions on how and when to use the assessments

Assessments and evaluations are essential components of any workshop—before it begins, as it goes on, and when it concludes. To prepare an effective workshop for participants, you have to assess their needs and those of their organization. Although a formal needs assessment is outside the scope of this book, Chapter 5 provides information on how you can identify participant needs.

Assessments, evaluations, and surveys used after the workshop are vital both for the organization and for you as the facilitator. This book provides several options for this last category of assessments. They will help you discover if you and the workshop have met the goals and expectations of your participants. Although negative comments can be tough to read, ultimately they allow you to continually learn and improve your skills as a learning facilitator. Assessment 1 provides a course evaluation to use at the end of the workshops. Assessments 2 and 3 provide follow-up surveys that you can use as a part of your follow-up plan (see Chapter 10).

Assessment 4: Facilitator Competencies provides an instrument to help you manage your professional development and increase the effectiveness of your training sessions. You can use this tool in a number of ways: self-assessment, end-of-course feedback, observer feedback, or as a gauge for tracking professional growth with repeated ratings.

Assessments Included in New Employee Orientation Training

Assessment 1: End-of-Program Questionnaire

Assessment 2: 30-Day Follow-Up Survey

Assessment 3: 60-Day Follow-Up Survey

Assessment 4: Facilitator Competencies