Developing mentors to support students in practice, Part 11: Evaluation of the students learning experience

Summary

Mentoring is an integral role within nursing and midwifery, but how do Mentors and Practice

Teachers know if this role is effective? How do they know if they are really making a

difference to students’ learning and making a valuable contribution to their learning

experience and assessment process? How do they know what they themselves need to

improve with their mentoring skills and how the practice placement can be improved? One

essential element of being a Mentor/Practice teacher is that of evaluating this role and the

students learning experience. The concept of evaluation according to Bailey-McHale and

Hart (2013) is not unfamiliar to healthcare practitioners as they are continuously evaluating

the quality of care given to service users. This final part of a series of eleven will explore the

importance of evaluation, along with highlighting a number of ways in which

Mentors/Practice Teachers can evaluate the students learning experience. This article relates

to the Nursing and Midwifery (NMC) (2008a) Standards to Support Learning and

Assessment in Practice (SSLAP) Domain 4 'Evaluation of Learning'. A number of activities

will be incorporated to enable Mentors and Practice Teachers to generate evidence to

demonstrate they have met this particular standard.

Importance Of & Why Evaluation

The importance of quality practice placements cannot be over-emphasised (Bailey-McHale

and Hart 2013). Evaluation of the effectiveness of the teaching and learning can assist with

the improvement, efficiency and quality of a programme (Gopee 2010). NMC programmes

consist of both theory and practice, thus the practice element of any programme must also be

evaluated. This includes both the practice placement itself and the Mentors and Practice

Teachers abilities to facilitate the learning and assessment and the students time within the

practice placement. Quality is integral to the provision of best practice in both higher

education and clinical practice (Bailey-McHale and Hart 2013). Fox (2011 in McIntosh et al)

refers to 2 aspects to quality; quality enhancement and quality assurance. The latter refers to

the reviewing and judging of defined standards, whereas quality enhancement leads to service

improvement through detailed enquiry. Kilgallon and Thomson (2012) define evaluation as

an ongoing part of the learning process and involves judging to what extent aspects of the

learning have been successful. This means that Mentors or Practice Teachers need to judge

whether they have assisted with the students learning and assessment experience and how

well they have contributed to the development of students’ knowledge and skills. By doing so

it will enable them to develop and enhance their skills as a Mentor / Practice Teacher.

Therefore, Mentors and Practice Teachers need to evaluate the practice learning through a

wide variety of mechanisms such as; University student evaluations, Educational Audits,

Professional Body Monitoring process, Self and Peer Review and student feedback via

forums,

Gopee (2011) concurs with the above but goes onto to stress that evaluation is the process of

systematically collecting and analysing information to form a judgment from evidence to

determine the value and worth of something. According to Aston and Hallam (2011)

evaluation is more of an umbrella term, the origin of which means the overarching value of

the learning experience and how worthwhile the practice learning has been. Therefore,

evaluation is a systematic process of obtaining feedback via various forms from relevant

people such as; student feedback, self and peer review / evaluation and from the Higher

Education Institute’s (HEI’s) quality monitoring reports. This feedback should then be

reviewed and action plans devised in order to implement any necessary changes (Aston and

Hallam 2011). Thus in practice Mentors and Practice Teachers need to determine the value of

the learning environment and the student experience. In addition they need to establish

whether they as a mentor have facilitated the learning experience well in order to ensure the

student has met their learning needs and to ascertain if the student has been given the

necessary support. Moreover, it is important for the Mentor and Practice Teacher to review

and evaluate the assessment process that has taken place, whether the assessment methods

used are valid and reliable and whether they have been fair. This aspect is essential as Gopee

(2011) asserts that assessment is one of the most fundamental functions of a Mentor and

Practice Teacher. For further information or a reminder regarding the validity and reliability

of assessment methods along with the accountability of assessment please refer back to Part 6

Assessment and Accountability; 1 – Assessment in practice.

NMC programmes consist of a 50% practice element, therefore learning within the practice

setting needs to be evaluated. The ways in which a Mentor and Practice Teacher can obtain

the necessary feedback and the specific aspects that need to be reviewed will be discussed at

pertinent points throughout this article. Bailey-McHale and Hart (2013) stipulate though that

as health education programmes include both theory and practice there are added difficulties

when considering evaluation of the whole professional programme. The approval and

monitoring of the practice setting are integral to the quality mechanisms within NMC

professional programmes (Bailey-McHale and Hart 2013). Once a professional programme

has achieved validation it is then subject to further reviews. All HEI’s educational

programme are monitored to ensure they are fit for purpose, practice and award (NMC 2010).

The programmes are monitored by the NMC via Mott Macdonald. In addition to professional

body monitoring all HEI programmes are assessed by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

The QAA will conduct major reviews approximately every 4 years by auditing programmes

Learning Activity 1.

In your capacity of a mentor / practice teacher think about what your

role during an NMC monitoring / audit visit will entail.

How would you prepare for an NMC monitoring visit?

What questions do you think you will be asked by the NMC

reviewers?

within the HEI. Furthermore, any number of reviews are undertaken by organising bodies,

such as; the Department of Health, of the courses that they commission of which they

monitor on an annual basis (Bailey-McHale and Hart (2013). The purpose according to Quinn

and Hughes (2007) is to assure the public that standards are being maintained. Mentors and

Practice Teachers need to be aware of these monitoring processes but also they may well be

involved or should actively seek to become involved in some of these quality monitoring

processes. Now complete learning activity 1.

As part of this quality assurance according to the NMC (2010) programme providers must

ensure that feedback from students and mentors is used to inform the programme to enhance

the programme learning experience. Thus Universities are also required by the QAA and

professional bodies to attain feedback and evaluation from students regarding their practice

placement. Each HEI will have their own quality assurance mechanisms.

Gopee (2011) explains that the quality of healthcare courses is of interest to both purchasers

and consumers of the provision. He goes on to explain that the purchasers are generally

students which maybe either self-funding or one that has a commissioned place or it may be

the healthcare organisations, such as, the NHS Trust or an independent provider who have

purchased the courses for their staff. The outcomes from these audit and monitoring

processes are available within the public domain and HEI’s should make these readily

available for current (consumers) or future students / organisations (purchasers). Therefore,

audits and quality monitoring outcomes and especially the student evaluations need to be

feedback to the practice placements and at regular intervals (Aston and Hallam 2011).

According to Aston and Hallam (2011) evaluating learning experiences within practice

placements falls into three categories, 1, educational audit of the practice placement, 2,

Mentor / Practice Teacher self-evaluation and 3, Student evaluation of the practice placement.

Each of these categories will be dealt with later in the article.

Unfortunately evaluation is often seen as something that is undertaken at the end of a practice

placement. However, Gopee (2011) explains that evaluation is an activity that practitioners

frequently engage in either formally or informally and sometimes without even realising in

everyday practice. It is important that Mentors and Practice Teachers evaluate the students

learning experience on a daily basis to ascertain if it has been worthwhile or requires

improvements. Ways in which every day evaluation can take place is through the Mentor /

Practice Teacher reflecting in and on action (Schon 1987) whilst facilitating or teaching a

student in practice. Another daily informal evaluation process can be done by discussing the

experience with the student following any episode of care. In addition, the Mentor and

Practice Teacher should find time at the end of each shift to discuss with the student the

learning experience that has taken place. This is to establish if the student’s learning needs

have been met or if there was anything that could have been improved and thus aid future

planning. Hence evaluation should be ongoing (Elcock and Sharples 2011) as it gives the

student the opportunity to raise any concerns as and when they arise. These concerns should

be managed at the time they are raised rather than waiting until the end of a student’s

placement when it is too late. Now complete activity 2.

Learning Activity 2.

Think for a moment about your role as a Mentor / Practice Teacher

and the students learning experience. Do you regularly evaluate your

role as a Mentor / Practice Teacher and the student’s experience? Is

this informal or formal? How and when are you evaluating your role?

What aspects of this role are you evaluating?

Evaluation in the context of practice teaching involves Mentors and Practice Teachers

ascertaining feedback from students and others on the appropriateness and the strengths of

the teaching and learning strategies provided and whether the assessment methods have been

appropriate, reliable and fair. In particular they should receive feedback on whether there

have been the following; enough relevant learning opportunities, if there are appropriate

learning resources available, most importantly whether there have been sufficient mentor-

student support and mentor-student feedback regarding their progress and if learning needs

have been sufficiently met. In doing so, according to Gopee (2010) this will highlight any

areas for development for the Mentor and Practice Teacher to action. Similarly, Elcock and

Sharples (2011) assert that evaluation enables Mentor and Practice Teachers to improve their

mentoring skills and so the learning experience for future students.

Ways In Which Mentors & Practice Teachers Can Evaluate The Student Learning and

Assessment Experiences

It is vital that Mentor and Practice Teachers evaluate the student learning experience and their

abilities within this role, not only for quality monitoring and enhancement but also for their

own personal satisfaction. They need to gain insight from this role at a personal level by

receiving positive student feedback so that it will enable them to feel valued and rewarded for

their efforts. To enable Mentors and Practice Teachers to evaluate effectively they need to

decide exactly what it is they want to evaluate at that particular time. This could be

something very specific for example; the welcome and orientation to the practice placement;

access to learning resources; the learning opportunities provided; the teaching and assessment

strategies used; mentor-student support; provision of feedback regarding the student’s

development and learning or they may want to ascertain the overall student experience

(Gopee 2011). Essentially it will help to ensure that they are meeting the needs of each

individual student.

Students have differing learning needs and learn differently therefore, Mentors and Practice

Teachers need to ensure that they accommodate their practice around the individual student

needs of which can be challenging and not always easy. In order to individualise the students’

needs Mentors and Practice Teachers need to establish the stage of the programme, level and

previous clinical experience of the student, to establish the student’s strengths and limitations

and thus tailor the learning to their needs. Mentors and Practice Teachers therefore need to

review whether they adequately established this information appropriately at the start of the

placement and throughout (at regular interviews) during the students placements.

The main aspects of practice learning evaluation should include the effectiveness of the

following: the placement welcome and orientation, how well the student has settled into the

placement, how well the student has fitted within the team, if the student is accommodating

the placement shift patterns and placement routines, the students role as a professional

practitioner, the teaching strategies used to meet the students learning needs, if learning needs

are identified as early as possible, the mentor-student support, the mentor-student feedback

that is given to students on their performance, and finally the ways in which and when

competencies are being assessed (Gopee 2010). However, what is more important is the

Learning Activity 3.

Speak to other mentors in your practice placement and your link tutor

regarding the tools and process used to evaluate student learning in

your practice placement. How does your partner HEI evaluation

student placements? What specific areas are evaluated? How is the

feedback disseminated back to the practice placement and to all

mentors in your area?

action that needs to be taken following this feedback in order to maintain areas of good

practice and work on improving areas of weaknesses (Gopee 2010). Mentors and Practice

need to review the aforementioned areas not only for their own personal development but

also for others within the practice placement to undertake a similar process in order to share

the feedback. This is so that any improvements do not happen in silo ensuring that the whole

team and the practice placement area is improved.

Aston and Hallam (2011) stress the importance of Mentors and Practice Teachers receiving

positive feedback and not just when there is an issue. Kinnell and Hughes (2010) believe that

in doing so Mentors and Practice Teachers are able to see that their contributions to

mentorship are valued. In some organisations there are local initiatives such as; annual

mentor awards, this allows the students the opportunity to nominate an effective mentor.

These nominations could be included on the bottom of the practice placement evaluation

forms that may be used in the practice setting and ones that may be sent back to the Practice

Education Facilitators (PEF) team. Now complete the learning activity 3 below.

Evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment within both a quantitative and qualitative

perspective must be obtained in order to ascertain a fuller view of the student’s perceptions.

Gopee (2011) explains that generally for new aspects of mentoring practices qualitative

Learning Activity 4.

Locate and analyse the student evaluations you received from your local

HEI for your practice area. What are the particular aspects / areas /

themes? What is the general feedback like? What appear to be the

placement strengths and what areas need to be improved?

evaluation can enable further development of that area. Qualitative methods strive to

emphasise that there is no single interpretation, truth or meaning (Gerrish and Lacey 2006).

The aim is to help understand an aspect in a natural rather than experimental setting with an

emphasis on the meaning, experiences and attitudes. For more established practices

quantitative data is useful in order to monitor the effectiveness of the practice (Gopee 2011).

This feedback can be obtained formally and / or informally (Gopee 2011) for example, a

Mentor or Practice Teacher may ask for verbal feedback at any time or ask the student to

provide this in writing or may review the HEI evaluation forms.

Each HEI have their own evaluation tools and may use a different approach / processes in

how the evaluations tools of practice placements are undertaken. However, there are many

similarities and recurring themes regarding the specific aspects that all HEI’s attain feedback

on. (Table 1 provides a general overview and possible questions HEI’s may use for

evaluation). Some of these areas include: the welcoming / orientation, establishing a rapport

with the student, approachability of mentors and staff, investigation of the students’ needs

and concerns, explanations of the process and rationale of service user care and care

decisions, consistent and honest feedback given to the students regarding their progress so

that there are no surprises to the student at the formal meetings, role modelling and sharing of

best practice. Now complete learning activity 4 below.

In addition to the student evaluations informing Mentors and Practice Teachers regarding the

quality of the practice placement they are very useful in informing the educational audit

(Aston and Hallam 2011).

HEI’s are required by the NMC to audit each practice placement every 2 years (NMC 2010).

This is known as the educational audit. The Educational Audit is to ensure that the practice

placement is of good quality and ensure it has sufficient resources to support the number of

students placed there at any one time. In addition the audit verifies the placement provides

appropriate learning opportunities to enable the student to meet the course and module

learning outcomes. The educational audit reveals sufficient standards to support students on

certain courses. Thus students are only placed on the relevant practice placement where the

standards for their particular course have been met. The audit also enables the HEI and

practice placements to identify areas for improvement and what support is needed to maintain

and improve the student’s placement experiences. As well as ensuring the quality of the

learning environment for students, areas of good practice may well be identified, which can

then be disseminated to other practice placements. The Educational audits are undertaken in

partnership with the HEI and the practice placement. Copies of these are kept within the

practice placement and at the HEI. Now complete Learning Activity 5 below.

Learning Activity 5.

Locate your educational audit for your practice placement. What does it entail?

Analyse the audit, what areas of good practice where highlighted? What areas of

improvement where required? Look at the action plans that were agreed during

the last audit. Speak to your manager or placement lead (if applicable) regarding

the progress of these actions.

Now go back to the work you did in activity 3 regarding the student evaluations

from your local HEI. From your analysis of the students evaluations and the

educational audit are there similarities with the feedback regarding areas of

strengths and areas of limitations? Does the action plan from the audit reflect the

HEI evaluations? Is there anything else that needs to be improved and how can

this be achieved?

Place you discussions and notes from your analysis in your portfolio.

Self and peer assessment / evaluation to develop self and others

The NMC (2008a) requires Mentors and Practice Teachers to not only evaluate the student’s

learning experience within the practice placement but also for the Mentor and Practice

Teacher to participate in self and peer evaluation. Feedback from students will provide

invaluable insights into a Mentors and Practice Teachers own mentoring performance. Gopee

(2011) contends that if Mentors and Practice Teachers do not evaluate their own mentoring

activities they are assuming that learners are satisfied with the learning provided and that they

are fulfilling their roles effectively, but in reality that may be different.

There are a number of strategies that Mentors and Practice Teachers can use to evaluate their

mentoring skills. One of these includes the Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

(SWOT) analysis which is a simple self-assessment tool that can be used to examine

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Lawson 2011) of self and the learning

environment. However, merely identifying is not enough, establishing goals and developing

an action plan and disseminating this information is the most essential process of a SWOT

analysis (Walsh 2010). Mentors and Practice teachers should look back at their strengths and

limitations of their abilities as a mentor with a current or recently completed student from

their practice placement. They should review their own, the teams and the learning

environments strengths and limitations of all the aspects of the student learning and

assessment process. As mentioned previously these findings should be shared with their peers

(other Mentors and Practice Teachers) in order for the mentoring team to establish any

recurring themes either within the team or from the learning environment. From this they

should develop a mutually agreed action plan in order to enhance and improve the quality of

the practice placement. This will hopefully ensure that all students placed within the practice

placement have an excellent experience despite who is their allocated mentor. For further

ways in which to use this SWOT tool to examine the mentoring role please refer to the

previous article from this series – Developing mentors to support students in practice – Part

2: Establishing effective relationships.

Reflection

Self-assessment can be expressed as one form of reflective practice (Price 2005). Reflective

practice can be an effective and rewarding skill that will make positive contributions to a

Mentor’s or Practice Teacher’s professional development (Thompson and Thompson 2008).

Shapiro et al (2006) acknowledge that reflective writing helps to nurture characteristics such

as, empathy, emotional equilibrium, self-healing capacity and wellbeing, thus leading to self-

awareness. According to Jasper (2007) reflection is an in-depth consideration of events by

oneself looking at the whole scenario from as many angles as possible and is one of the key

ways to learn from experience. It involves reviewing an experience to bring it into focus in

order to learn from them (Bolton 2010). It is a personal process that involves questioning and

critically thinking and learning (Wigens 2006). Through reflection Kilgallon and Thompson

(2012) purport that the outcomes following reflection are a change to a conceptual

perspective or learning. However, Jasper (2007) explains that reflection is not without its

difficulties and practitioners can find reflection uncomfortable and stressful.

According to Aston and Hallam (2011) students are the main consumers of a Mentor and

Practice Teacher teaching skills. Students are allocated in the main to one named Mentor or

Practice Teacher whom is responsible and will facilitate the whole of the students experience

and learning journey whilst on the practice placement. Mentors and Practice Teachers are

more likely to be using informal and slightly differing approaches to facilitate their own

students learning from that of their peers. Thus Mentors and Practice Teachers need to reflect

on the whole of the students learning journey as follows;

A. Pre arrival of the student;

planning and preparation (did they know the students arrival date, stage of

training, did they have the welcome pack ready and start to pre-plan any

learning activities).

B. During the time the student was on placement;

was the welcome right, did they ascertain the students learning needs, did they

listen to the student at all times, did they use appropriate teaching methods,

did they facilitate the students learning to ensure they experienced the breadth

and depth of learning required, did they arrange appropriate spoke placements

(if applicable), did they plan the formal meetings in a timely manner, did they

provide enough student-mentor support, did they provide feedback at all times

to inform the student of their progress not only during the formal planned

meetings but informally after every episode or aspect of care, did they seek

feedback from their peers regarding the students’ progress, did they use valid

and reliable assessment methods throughout, did they seek regular feedback

from the student regarding their experiences so far and whether the student felt

they were settling into the placement and with the team, where there

opportunities given to the student to feedback on the support provided and the

provision of strategies to meet the their needs,

C. After the student has completed the practice placement;

evaluation, self-assessment peer evaluation and reflection.

In addition, it is also beneficial for Mentors and Practice Teachers to reflect on single

episodes of mentoring to ensure they gain more in-depth insight into specific aspects of the

mentoring role. The types of single episodes of reflection that Mentors and Practice Teachers

may reflect on upon could include: a particular episode where a student did not appear to be

understanding a certain concept and / or grasping / struggling with a particular skill. In this

scenario for example, Mentors and Practice Teachers may firstly think back to the aim of

what they were trying to enable the student to achieve. They may want to think back to the

strategies they have used with the student, why these particular strategies appeared not to

have worked. Was it the mentors teaching approach / style or was it down to the students own

learning style or approach? Could they have used an alternative way to explain / demonstrate

the concept / skill? Was it due to the environment or other factors that may have been

happening at the same time, what other influencing factors could have contributed? Mentors

should then think about how they would do things differently next time. Another particular

reflective piece that Mentors and Practice Teachers could consider is the time when

something went especially well and explore how and why it was achieved. Therefore it is

important that individual Mentors and Practice Teachers reflect and are self-aware of their

own mentoring abilities as it will enable the Mentor and Practice Teacher to build upon and

enhance their own mentoring skills, especially their assessment abilities as this is sometimes

difficult to gain feedback on from students themselves. Now complete Learning Activity 6

below.

Remember though as discussed above the importance of sharing this refection with peers is

essential. Thus as well as the mentoring team sharing a SWOT analysis they too should share

their refection’s to establish any recurring themes and agree on an action plan regarding the

ways to improve and enhance the experience for future learners.

Peer review / evaluation

According to Casey et al (2011) a goal within higher education is to help develop

autonomous lifelong learners and educators need to move to more peer-based learning

opportunities, of which, peer review is one such activity. The term peer review is referred to

as the act of measuring, judging or rating the performance of peers (Morris 2001). Gopee

(2001) defines peer review as the identification of appropriate and willing peers for obtaining

feedback on performance on a particular activity. Gopee (2001) believes that peer review is a

supportive and a mutually respectful learning experience. He identifies a peer as someone

similar to those listed in box 1. Welsh (2007) explains that the use of peer review is both

innovative and intriguing and promotes a deep approach to learning and development. It can

enable both parties to become deep critical analytical thinkers.

Learning Activity 7.

At the next available opportunity ask a fellow mentor to observe you giving feedback to

a learner. Ask then to make notes so that they can provide you with some feedback on

your strengths and limitations. Arrange to observe them giving feedback to a learner,

makes notes as above. Now feedback to each other regarding both of your observations.

Much of the literature suggests by using peer review, learning is enhanced through reviewing

their peer’s work (Harris 2011). It enables both parties to engage more in their own learning,

(Welsh 2007) and it can motivate those observing as it can increase their interest in the topic

(Yoo and Chae 2011). It helps to identify problems and opportunities for those being

observed to receive feedback on their performance and can confirm previous held beliefs in

their abilities (Gopee 2001). However, Kaufman and Schunn (2011) assert that one of the

limitations of peer review can create tensions especially for those being observed as they can

find it stressful, it can increase anxiety, it can destroy self-confidence and there are concerns

regarding the objectivity, fairness, quality and accuracy of peer feedback as peers maybe over

critical, or they may be too generous and over praising (Gopee 2001). Nevertheless, Casey et

al’s (2011) qualitative study supports the use of peer review as it can enhance the learning of

both parties especially those being observed, but they stress that an awareness of the

challenges this may create do need to be acknowledged. Therefore, ground rules or guidelines

are essential in relation to being non-judgmental, respectful and with the correct balance of

feedback. Another way to undertake peer review could involve Mentors and Practice

Teachers reviewing each other’s completed student practice assessment documentation and

provide feedback to each other on the strengths and limitations, thus sharing good practice.

Now complete Learning Activity 7 below.

Strategies To Collect Evidence to Determine The Effectiveness On The Quality of

Education In The Practice Placement.

Student questionnaires

Although students are asked to complete placement evaluations via the HEI which are then

disseminated back to the relevant placement areas there is sometimes a time delay in this

process. Mentors and Practice Teachers do benefit from immediate feedback therefore; they

need to consider an alternative way to gain immediate feedback from their students. An

alternative way in which Mentors and Practice Teachers can attain valuable and immediate

feedback is via tea / coffee break discussion forums with their allocated student or

collectively with all students that are currently on the practice placement. This can be done at

a number of intervals throughout the student’s time on placement such as; at the end of the

first week, midway through and also towards and at the end of the practice placement. Table

1 provides some example of areas of discussion or questions that may be considered when

seeking evaluative feedback via this format.

For evaluation feedback to be useful it needs to be honest and constructive (Aston and

Hallam 2011). Although student forums are useful Mentors and Practice Teachers need to be

aware of the tensions these forums can create. In addition, they need to be mindful though

that students may not be as honest as they could be. This may be due to the relationship they

may have built with the student and not wanting to upset anyone. Students maybe also

reluctant about giving honest feedback as they may well be concerned that if it was negative

this may have an impact on their assessment if completed beforehand. Thus good preparation

and awareness is required when planning and facilitating forums.

Elcock and Sharples (2011) warn that analysing the feedback can be difficult. Caution is need

as some students do challenge their experience they received. Thus Mentors and Practice

Teachers need to consider that if a specific comment made should trigger immediate action or

if there is a need to search for recurring themes before this is addressed. Kinnell and Hughes

(2010) also caution that student evaluative comments may display aspects of evaluation bias

because of intra personal factors such as. a negative attitude towards the speciality of the

practice placement as they may prefer an acute setting as opposed to community / long term

conditions setting and vice versa. In addition, the student’s personality or personality clashes

that may arise with the student and a member of staff within the practice placement may too

create evaluation bias. Furthermore, other inter personal factors such as, the Mentor or

Practice Teacher treating all students as the same rather than individuals, or if the student

receives negative feedback from the Mentor or Practice Teacher this too can affect the

feedback given within the evaluation. Thus, Kinnell and Hughes (2011) suggest that Mentors

and Practice Teachers need to examine student evaluative feedback in an objective manner

and that students must be informed of this. However, any issues or changes to the practice

placement need to be communicated to the HEI (Elcock and Sharples 2011).

A further warning by Gopee (2011) is in relation to the consequences of the evaluation in that

some Mentors or Practice Teachers may receive criticism for their teaching and thus they

may feel that they are not quite good enough to be a Mentor or Practice Teacher. In addition,

some problems within the practice placements may not be easily resolved. Despite all the

above potential factors the majority of students praise their Mentor or Practice Teacher and

the practice placement, but there will be others that are less happy with the experience.

However, as emphasised throughout this article personal evaluation is essential for all

Learning Activity 8.

Ask you placement manager or lead Mentor / Practice Teacher (if applicable) in your

practice placement if they already use an alternative method of gaining student feedback.

If so, what is the general feedback like? Does this compare to the feedback obtained from

the HEI evaluations. What appear to be the placement strengths and what areas need to

be improved?

If not is the above suggestion regarding coffee / student forums something that can be

embedded within your practice placement?

Mentors and Practice Teachers in order to ascertain positive feedback to gain personal reward

for their efforts. Now Complete Learning Activity 8 below.

Portfolio development

Mentors and Practice Teachers are required as part of their development as a mentor and in

order to remain on the local live register must demonstrate evidence that they meet the 8

NMC SSLAP (2008a). The fourth domain of these standards includes ‘Evaluation for

Learning’ (Box 2). By working through the above ‘learning activities’ included in this article

you will have produced appropriate and excellent evidence towards this domain and the

outcomes. In addition, following the experience of facilitating, supporting and assessing a

learner in practice further evidence would be generated if you undertake a reflection of this

experience. Furthermore, through the students own evaluation of their learning experience or

completion of a placement evaluation form this too may also prove valuable in meeting this

particular domain, along with any thank you cards or student testimonies. Providing the

student gives consent, you could copy these ensuring anonymity to maintain confidentiality

(NMC 2008b). These constitute excellent pieces of evidence. Finally all the above should be

mapped and cross referenced against the relevant NMC (2008a) SSLAP as the evidence will

not only meet this particular domain but they may also meet a number of the other eight

domains (see box 3) such as ‘Establishing Effective Working Relationships, ‘Facilitation of

Learning’ Creating an Environment for Learning’ and ‘ Leadership’.

Summary

Evaluation of learning is essential in improving and maintaining high quality practice

placements. It reflects the efficiency and quality of a programme, thus it is a requirement by

the Professional Bodies and the HEI quality monitoring process that any programme which

consists of practice learning then this aspect too has to be evaluated. Quality is integral to the

provision of best practice in both higher education and clinical practice and thus Mentors and

Practice Teachers must take an active role in obtaining feedback from students, reviewing

this feedback in relation to both the placement area itself and also of themselves in their role

as a Mentor / Practice Teacher. This article has provided an overview of the importance of

evaluation and highlighted the many ways in which Mentors and Practice Teachers can use to

obtain this crucial feedback. This is the final article in the series, thus if Mentors and Practice

Teachers have read and completed the activities in the whole of the series, they will now have

generated evidenced to demonstrate they have meet the 8 SSLAP (NMC 2008a) and to aid in

attaining this qualification or in preparation for their triennial review.

References

Aston L, Hallam P (2011) Successful Mentoring in Nursing, Learning Matters Ltd, Exeter

Bailey – McHale, J. Hart, D. (2013) Mastering Mentorship. A practical guide for mentors of nursing, health and social care students. London, Sage.

Bolton, G. (2010) Reflective practice writing and professional development, Third Edition, London, Sage.

Casey, D. Houghton, C. Smith, R. Bradley, H (2011) Use of peer assessment as a student engagement strategy in nurse education, Nursing & Health Sciences, 13, 514-520.

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Box 1

Examples of a Peer

A colleague of equal status in the same placement area. A colleague of equal status from another placement area in the same speciality or

department Someone of higher status in the same or similar placement in the same speciality Someone of equal or higher status from another speciality or hospital.

(Gopee 2001)

Table 1

Possible questions for HEI evaluations and possible discussion points for Student forums

I was expected by my placement and made to feel welcome.I was allocated a named mentor on or before my first day.I was allocated a second mentor / supervisor.My orientation and induction was completed within the first week.I had access to appropriate learning resources including access to policies and procedures.Identified learning opportunities were made available and relevant to the current stage of my programme of study.My Mentor was keen to teach and supervise my learning activities.Placement Staff were keen to teach and supervise my learning activities.My mentor was very supportiveMy mentor always listened to me

My mentor provided regular informal constructive feedback on my progressMy mentor provided regular formal constructive feedback on my progressStaff provided support and feedback regarding my learning.I was given the opportunity to work with members of the multi-disciplinary team.I was actively encouraged to engage in care delivery under supervision.My mentor used a variety of assessment methodsI thought my mentor used fair assessment methodsA variety of assessment methods were employed as appropriate to the level and stage of my programme of study by other members of staff that I worked directly with.I was given regular informal and formal constructive feedback on my progress by the staff I worked in direct contact with.The practice assessment documentation were planned and took place in a timely manner.At least 40% of my time in clinical practice was directly or indirectly spent with my named mentor / supervisor.I was given the opportunity at regular intervals to feedback on my learning experience so far.

Box 2

Domain 4 - Evaluation

Stage 2 – Mentor

Contribute to evaluation of student learning and assessment experiences – proposing aspects for change resulting from such evaluation.

Participate in self and peer evaluation to facilitate personal development, and contribute to the development of others.

Stage 3 – Practice Teacher

Design evaluation strategies to determine the effectiveness of practice and academic experience, accessed by students, at both registration level and those in education at a level beyond initial registration.

Collaborate with other members of the teaching team to judge and develop learning, assessment and to support appropriate practice and levels of education.

Collect evidence on the quality of education in practice, and determine how well NMC requirements for standards of proficiency are being achieved.

(NMC 2008a)

Box 3

Domains

Establishing effective working relationships

Facilitation of learning

Assessment and accountability

Evaluation of learning

Creating an environment for learning

Context of practice

Evidenced based practice

Leadership.

(NMC 2008a)