re: Tutor Evaluation

["Jon Leydens" <JLeydens@vines.ColoState.EDU>]

"Clinton R. Gardner" <cgardner@englab.slcc.edu> Wrote:
| 
| Just thought I'd throw a new topic into the ring:  tutor 
| evaluation.  
| I'm curious what you all do to evaluate your tutors.  Are the 
| evaluations:   director evaluates tutor; tutor evaulates 
| tutor; tutor 
| evaluates self; and/or "tutee" evaluates tutor?  All of them? 
|  None 
| of them? Some of them?  How effective do you see your 
| evaluation 
| process?  For that matter, how are we evaluated as directors 
| and 
| coordinators?
| 
| I'm asking because I'm revamping my evaluation process, which 
| I see 
| as less than ideal.  Currently I observe the tutor several 
| times 
| throughout the quarter and discuss their tutoring with them 
| afterwards.  The criteria for their evaluation is established 
| with non-directive 
| principles in mind.  We also have a period of time once per 
| quarter for 
| students to evaluate tutors and the Writing Center.
| 
| Its not that I don't like the above system, but I think there 
| must be 
| more effective ways of evaluation.  So how are we evaluating?
+
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| Clinton Gardner (cgardner@englab.slcc.edu)
| Writing Center Instructional Support Coordinator
| Salt Lake Community College
| Have you visited the SLCC Virtual Writing Center today?
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Clinton,

Last year some of my WC staff told me they were intimidated by being 
observed without a "dry run" first, so this year the tutors observed each 
other prior to my observations. 

I gave the observed tutors the option of keeping the observation form or 
of giving it to me following the observations.  Only three came my way 
this fall, and all three were glowing recommendations with the 
"suggestions for improvement" section left blank.  That's something to 
explore...   

Anyway, I'm doing observations this week and next, so it will be 
interesting to see how the "dry run" will have helped.  Of the three 
observation forms I read, two of them featured apologies from the observer 
to the observee for an inability to come up with any concrete, useful 
suggestions for improvement.  That may be a result of inexperience, blind 
spots all of us observers have, and it could very well indicate that the 
tutor being observed really did an excellent job.  In any case, this has 
generated a greater degree of comfort about observations in general.  

As for your other two possible combinations, I always ask tutors--prior to 
discussing the observation--to give me a self-assessment ("So how did you 
think things went?"), but I've never tried the "tutee evaluates tutor" 
combination.  Has anyone else?  

Overall, I stress that my role as observer is not equivalent to spy, 
exploiter of weaknesses, or destroyer of tutor egos.  Right now I'm 
writing an article on the tutor training process, and I've realized how 
much I have learned about tutoring from watching tutors--tutors who have 
several years fewer experience tutoring than I do.  They teach me to see 
tutoring in new ways and show me new approaches, and I can give them some 
suggestions on additional ways to meet students' individual learning 
needs--so tutors know (I hope!) observations are an exchange.  A lot 
depends on how observations are framed.  When tutors know the observations 
are designed to support them, and to help them become more effective 
tutors, they generally welcome the feedback.  

It doesn't always work out ideally, of course.  Many tutors are 
perfectionists--a tall order in an environment in which each student and 
each draft present a new series of challenges.  Also, tutors will 
sometimes disagree with your assessments and suggestions--but those post 
observation discussions often help me clarify and expand my own 
understanding of the values inherent in our mission as a writing center.

What does everyone else think?

Jon Leydens
Writing Center Director
Colorado State University
jleydens@vines.colostate.edu