School Crisis Training Statistics & Feedback
15 June 2007
I was so exhausted after the 3 hour presentation on Wednesday night. Though this was the 28th time I’ve conducted presentations like this (although never professionally filmed like this before), I would always get a bit nervous so I don’t anything prior to “showtime.”
So it was great being able to sit down with Rep. Cinta Kaipat, her brother Gus, Linda Birmingham, her daughter Sami, Glenn and Patty Mendoza, Bev Cabanatan, and my wife, Miwa at Shirley’s in Garapan. What a great way to “unwind” after a hard day’s work.
Late Thursday evening, I reviewed the statistics and feedback from Wednesday night’s School Crisis Response Training. Here’s a look at those in attendance, by the numbers…
24 areas representing the educational, business, and community sectors in the CNMI community:
- NMC College Students (Education Majors)
- Day Care Worker
- Sales Representative
- School Counselors
- Psychologist
- Business Owner, Vice-President
- General Education Teachers
- Special Education Teachers
- Retired Teacher/Former Corrections Officer
- School Administrators
- Special Education Administrator
- School Psychologist
- Clerk of Court
- Dental Hygienist
- School Board Chair
- Business Professional/Employee
- Members of the CNMI House of Representatives
- Teacher Aides
- School Administrative Assistant
- Social Worker
- Human Resource
- College Program Coordinator
- Parent
69 people in attendance
57 were given and responded to an evaluation form
56 out of 57 (98.2%) gave the presentation a “good” or “excellent” rating with 1 left blank
10 out of 57 (17.5%) gave the presentation a “good” rating
46 out of 57 (80.7%) gave the presentation an “excellent” rating
40 out of 57 (70.2%) said that their level of knowledge prior to and after the training increased from low > high (7), low > very high (1), medium > high (18), or medium > very high (14).
These numbers, I believe, confirm the great need to have crisis response and traumatic stress training for the CNMI school system.
Here are some comments:
“I loved this presentation. Awesome! Great job!!! Your humor is very captivating. It gets me tuned in at all times. I never felt bored. I am very inspired by your training/perseverance for this presentation. I liked how you included videos in your presentation. I plan on using what I learned in my future classroom. It really helps. Thank you so much for a brilliant presentation.” -NMC Elementary Ed. Major
“Great presentation Steve! You’re presentation was very informative, practical, and funny.” -Dental Hygienist
“I really enjoyed the presentation; very clear and great sense of humor. I like how presenter localizes certain situations. Great job!” -NMC Student
“I’m glad I came to this [training]. It was an eye-opener. It’s inspiring…You did great! Thanks a lot!” -School Board Chair
“You’ve informed and inspired me much.” -General Education Teacher
“…Very helpful and interesting to know how to help not only other[s] but also ourself. Thanks so much. Great job!!” -General Education Teacher
“This presentation has helped me to understand a whole lot more on how to deal with children, adults, etc. in school or community crises.” -NMC Elementary Ed. Major
“Great training session Steve! The information was presented in a professional yet user-friendly way. I was impressed with your stage presence and your delivery.” -SPED Administrator
2 comments… read them below or add one
A classical education is a big plus when you can pull such gems from memory like, “Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.” Cato the Elder said that. And he said it a very long time ago.
I am not casting aspersions on anyone. But I do question this sort of quantitative approach to evaluation. From my experience, Americans don’t like to criticize. People feel much more comfortable saying something positive. This is a wonderful attribute, but it doesn’t really tell you much.
Why not ask your audience to write down how this presentation could have been better? Ask them what they hoped to learn. Ask them what surprised them. Ask them if at any time, they were bored. Ask them what their expectations were. Try to get them to be precise. These open ended questions will let you hone your presentation. Comments like, you’ve informed and inspired me don’t tell you anything. They may flatter, but they are not instructive. If someone says, very helpful, what does she mean? You get the picture.
And three hours!
Our attention span runs in twenty-minute blocks with the high points being in the beginning and the end of those blocks of time. An audience needs to digest the material. Maybe feeling energized after a meeting might be an indicator of success.
My point is about helping you improve the substance of your meeting, shortening it, and connecting.
Christopher: Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback and insights. I really appreciate the constructive tips you shared. Regarding the Workshop/Presentation Evaluation Form that was used, the questions asked were actually carefully considered and as you’ll notice (below) asked detailed questions about the participants’ experiences. Although questions such as “what surprised them”, whether they “were bored at any time”, or “what their expectations were” were not included, I have left a large space under question #11 seeking any comments people may have.
In my experiences with participants here on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian (CNMI), open-ended questions were not effective in getting feedback. Thus, I went for a more focused approached while also leaving room for the open-ended comment (see #11).
The three hours (which I completely agree with you on) is long, yes. However, reality dictates that there are situations that do not allow additional dates to train and/or a shorter time to train in. While, ideally, it might have been better to spread the training/presentation across 2 days, I have also found that it loses its effectiveness as participants tend to forget. It is a difficult decision to make and whichever path you take there are some advantages and disadvantages.
I think based on the verbal [“...Your humor is very captivating. It gets me tuned in at all times. I never felt bored...”] and as well as the behavioral feedback from the audience (one clue was that they didn’t rush out the door when the presentation ended but stayed to talk with me), that many people were pleased. Also, the “You’ve informed and inspired me much” comment was a huge compliment because the participant used my words “I hope I have informed and inspired you…” back at me. Thus, in this case the context of the comment wasn’t captured and thus appeared to not “tell you anything.” So, for me, those six simple words communicated a whole lot.
Thank you again for your detailed comments. They were very much appreciated.
Workshop/Presentation Evaluation Form
1. Overall, this presentation/workshop was:
⟡Poor ⟡Fair ⟡Good ⟡Excellent
2. The presentation was well-organized and clear.
⟡Strongly Disagree ⟡Disagree ⟡Agree ⟡Strongly Agree
3. The materials/slides/handouts were helpful.
⟡Strongly Disagree ⟡Disagree ⟡Agree ⟡Strongly Agree
4. Research-based “best practices” or strategies were presented.
⟡Strongly Disagree ⟡Disagree ⟡Agree ⟡Strongly Agree
5. I plan on sharing information in this presentation with other professionals or parents.
⟡Strongly Disagree ⟡Disagree ⟡Agree ⟡Strongly Agree
6. I will use what I have learned in this training.
⟡Strongly Disagree ⟡Disagree ⟡Agree ⟡Strongly Agree
7. The things I have learned will assist me in helping students achieve their highest potential. ⟡Strongly Disagree ⟡Disagree ⟡Agree ⟡Strongly Agree
8. Prior to this training, my level of knowledge on the topic of this training was: ⟡Low ⟡Medium ⟡High ⟡Very High
9. Now my level of knowledge is: ⟡Low ⟡Medium ⟡High ⟡Very High
10. My background/job is:
⟡ General Education Teacher ⟡ Special Education Teacher
⟡ Para-educator (teacher aide) ⟡ School Administrator
⟡ Parent ⟡ Other: _________________
11. Comments: _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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