The following is my discussion post for lesson 10 in my Information Literacy grad class at SJSU. I know not all of you are clamoring for Information Literacy assessment information, but how I tied that topic in with giving and receiving criticism is relevant for a lot of us!
----------------------------
The assessment readings this week made me reflect on my six years as a member of Toastmasters International, a public speaking organization. As a fun aside, I met my husband of 15 years in a Toastmasters club 17 years ago. Good memories! :)
When looking for ways to assess your Information Literacy program, ask your students and other faculty members how your program could be improved in a way that illicit's a useful and constructive response. Don't ask "Did you like the session on searching the school database?" That will give you a "yes" in most cases because the person you ask may not want to really tell you what they thought. It's easier to say "Yes" than get into a discussion (or debate if you are defensive or insecure about asking for constructive criticism). Instead, ask "What is one thing that would have improved the session for you?" or "Do you have a suggestion of how I could improve that session to help you more?" I learned this technique in Toastmasters-it was part of the technique they called "sandwiching". (I'm not home right now and can't look in my old TM folders, but after doing a search on TM website, I don't see the term "sandwiching" listed on their website, so maybe that was a term someone else introduced in our club. At any rate, the result is the same)
In Toastmasters, one of the core principles was to learn how to "evaluate to motivate". It has helped me in so many other areas of my life. According to the Toastmaster website:
Begin and end your evaluation with a note of encouragement or praise. Commend a successful speech or leadership assignment and describe specifically how it was successful. Don’t allow the speaker or leader to remain unaware of a valuable asset such as a smile or a sense of humor. Likewise, don’t permit the speaker or leader to remain ignorant of a serious fault: if it is personal, write it but don’t mention it aloud. Give the speaker or leader deserved praise and tactful suggestions in the manner you would like to receive them.
On the other side, to me, receiving "suggestions" is so much easier than receiving "criticism". When I receive criticism, I often think to myself "It's a suggestion, not a criticism". This self-talk makes me feel less defensive and more accepting of other people's perspectives and opinions.
It's hard to accept criticism (and compliments!). If we truly want to increase student learning, then people need to know we are truly willing to accept their criticisms and compliments, without getting defensive or dismissive, respectively. Using the "sandwiching" technique I learned in Toastmasters helps both give and receive constructive criticism.
The above technique can be very helpful when considering assessments. If we are receiving feedback about our program, the technique above allows us to not get defensive about any criticism's of the program we created. We can view them all as suggestions, which to me is so much easier to swallow!
Toastmasters International. (2011). Evaluator: Evaluate to Motivate. Retrieved
April 16, 2011, from http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MemberExperience/
MeetingRoles/Evaluator.aspx
