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Evaluation Experience Reflection Paper

When I reflect on evaluation practices, two prominent experiences come to mind. The first, I was
approximately 17 years old and I recall receiving feedback on an English paper. The paper was a book analysis
that was not of particular interest or value to me. There was no choice in the book selected or the questions that
were to be addressed in the paper. I struggled writing the paper. The feedback provided to me on the paper was
minimal. The grade I received was poor. I can still visualize the writing on the front, which stated, your writing is
pompous. I did not understand what was intended by this statement, nor did I understand what I could do as a
learner to change this undertone that was perceived in my writing. This statement was a judgment. I was not
certain what in my writing led this person to believe this, or, how I could improve myself as a writer. This
evaluation feedback haunted me for years. Each paper that I wrote, I would read and re-read each sentence, each
word, in search for this pompous undertone; I was committed to eradicating it.
Conversely, during my last semester of my Masters program I received an ethics paper returned to me.
Stapled to the front was a call for papers advertisement for a professional journal with a note encouraging that I
consider submitting my paper to the journal for publication. This instructor had engaged with my work. My work
was far from perfect, but it was riddled with inscriptions that were not critiquing my work in a negative manner,
but rather, were open ended questions and references to other authors that supported my ideas, authors that I
might want to research further. I realized in retrospect that this instructor had aligned this evaluation with the call
for papers; this provided me with practice and feedback in preparing for publication. I appreciated this deliberate
and practical component to the evaluation. In this manner, this instructor not only assessed my learning and
mastery of material, but she encouraged me to expand my knowledge and demonstrated a genuine interest in my
work and success. This instructor also clearly aligned the evaluation with a practical skill, writing an article to
address a call for papers, which would be valuable to me as working clinicians.
Both of these instructors delivered evaluation feedback that was equally as powerful and lasting. The first
experience, although negative, allowed me to step back and to consider the importance of how others view my
work. I learned to consider my audience and the importance of targeting my audience in my academic and

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professional presentations. The second instructor however fueled my passion for learning, my desire to grow and
provided me with encouragement to do so. I learned that I valued authentic evaluations that would simulate my
work requirements and provide me with practice and feedback in areas that would benefit me as a clinician.
My current philosophy around evaluation was shaped by these experiences. As a new instructor, one of the
most important reasons that I value evaluation is to assess my own performance as an instructor. The evaluation
provides me with feedback regarding whether my learners have mastered the intended material and whether I
have succeeded in fostering the development of critical knowledge and skills required in my students. This relates
to my desire to ensure that I am meeting my students needs, industry and accreditation standards and that I am
targeting my lessons appropriately as an instructor. Therefore, in my philosophy, I do believe that evaluations
provide valuable feedback regarding my performance as an instructor.
Perhaps more importantly however, is the opportunity to provide learners with meaningful feedback that
will assist them in determining their own mastery of the material, areas of strength and areas for growth. Similar
to the second instructor, I want to foster consolidation of material with a genuine curiosity and desire for growth in
my students. While I am committed to using a rubric to ensure fairness and objectivity in evaluation, I think it is
equally important to take time to provide individualized feedback that is constructive, unique and positive. This
feedback should provide a very clear link between the evaluation component and the students success in their
chosen field.
When I reflect on my past experiences, I also consider the benefits and the risks of evaluation. Among the
strongest benefits of evaluation include providing encouragement and positive reinforcement for engaging
meaningfully and mastering knowledge and skills. The risks of evaluation include damaging self-confidence, and
discouraging risks and effort, in future evaluations; or more consequential, discouraging someone from pursuing a
particular field of study or career. For these reasons, I always try to provide feedback in a manner that considers
consciously what will be most valuable to the learner to assist them in meeting their learning objectives and in
fostering their growth and success in their field. This does at times include constructive feedback, however this

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feedback should always outlines the positives in their work, encourage future efforts and provide objective
evidence for specific areas of improvement.
When I reflect on my overall philosophy and thoughts about evaluation, my experiences have guided me to
incorporate authentic, meaningful evaluations that simulate the real industry environment. This is based on the
types of learners in my program, their learning objectives and industry demands. I have always vowed to be
authentic with my students and that my objective to help them to be as successful as possible in their chosen
fields. This objective requires evaluation, evaluation with feedback that is both positive and at times constructive,
but that always provides individualized, specific and meaningful feedback. My objective is to encourage student
buy-in and growth, and to encourage students to engage meaningfully with the material in a way that will foster
their success. I cannot expect them to engage meaningfully in the evaluations if I am not engaged meaningfully in
providing them with authentic evaluations and with authentic, individualized feedback, in a fair manner.