Thoughts on Workshop Assessment Forms

I found Kristin's discussion of workshop/lecture evaluation forms last class to be quite interesting. As a quick recap, she first had us watch a TED on the projector. She then had us answer a series of questions as an assessment of of the talk. Some were on the Likert Scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree) and some were open-ended. After the break, we discussed why certain questions were on the assessment and best practices for assessments at the end of library programming in general.

Having hosted several programs at the Ann Arbor District Library, I know that assessments from participants at the end of a program are important. Participant response drives what programs will be offered again, and what will be kept and what will be changed in those programs, as well as garnering ideas for other programs that people would like to see offered.

However, I hadn't thought much about the design of assessments. For example, the first several questions that we answered were things that the presenter couldn't do anything about (even if we'd been watching her live as opposed to on a screen), such as the comfort of the chairs and the temperature of the room. The last several questions were interesting and open-ended but because they were at the end of the survey (and, let's be honest, near our break in a three-hour lecture), I didn't answer them as thoroughly as I could have. Kristin discussed the need to know why you are including questions on your survey, and not include them just to include them. For example, if enough people complain about your chairs, you might be able to influence your administration to buy new chairs. Open-ended questions should not be at the beginning of your survey, but at the end, people may not answer them (per my own less-than-exemplary example), so the ideal place for them is in the middle of your survey.

In all likelihood, I won't be writing program assessment forms in the very near future, but it was good to discuss them in class, and I'll be prepared for my future career when I host programs.