Evaluation

In order to learn and improve your work, evaluation and reflection during and after the workshop is very important.  You might want to have a small reflection group every day to make sure you get the important feedback before it is too late to change the programme.

On the first day of the workshop divide the participants into small groups, 5-7 in each. Ask the groups to get together at the end of each day to look at these questions:

            What was good during the day?

            What could be improved?

            Suggestions for change

1.Ask all the groups to write down the answers and present them to the plenary every morning before the workshop starts. Make sure you as facilitators look into the comments and try to change if you feel it would improve the workshop.

 2. Hang up a big sheet of paper and ask all the participants to draw a smiley face or an angry face each day. If there are many angry faces, make sure you ask for the reason and try to change the programme accordingly.

At the end of the workshop

1. You may want to give the participants a simple questionnaire:

  • What was good?
  • What could be improved?
  • Was the training useful, can we use some of these exercises when we plan our local training workshop?
  • Suggestions

2. You can use the Circle (see picture)

Draw a huge circle/a pie. Divide the circle into 6 or 7 pieces, one for each of the following:

Programme, Facilitation, Usefulness, Venue, Time management, Free time (or anything that you feel is appropriate)   

Ask each participant to draw a straight line with a colour marker in each piece of the pie, a long line if s/he is happy with that part, a short line if s/he is not happy with it. When all the participants have drawn his or her lines you will have a clear picture of the success (or lack of success) of the workshop.

3.         The Line

Tell the participants to stand in a line. Ask them a series of questions like:

  • Were you happy with the venue?
  • Did you like the food?
  • Were you happy with the programme?
  • Were you happy with the facilitation?
  • Did you have enough free time?
  • Etc.

For each question the participants choose a new place on the line:

If s/he was happy with the programme, s/he would stand at the top of the .line. If s/he was not happy with the programme s/he would stand at the bottom of the line. And then change for the next question.

4. You may simply ask the participants to explain in the plenary how they felt about          the workshop (or you may do more than one of these things…)

5. It might be a good idea to ask the participants to write a letter to themselves:

  • What did I learn at this workshop, what will I remember and what do I plan to do when I get home?
  • The facilitators provide envelops, each participant writes his or her name and address and put the letter inside. After a few months the facilitators will send the letters to the participants to help them remember their own intentions.