When we think of evaluation, we often think of the "happy sheets" typically handed out at the end of the class - a one page sheet asking participants to evaluate the class on a number of key dimensions. These "happy sheets" can be a useful way of keeping a check on the basics like how comfortable the participants were, and whether or not there were any topics you did not cover that they would have liked to discuss. However, they are not a very effective way of evaluating whether learning has taken place or if you are meeting your clients needs. They rarely give you information on why people found the classes ineffective or effective, or what they have actually learned as a result of attending the class. Usually by the end of a class participants just want to fill in the sheets and go - they are rarely interested in giving full and frank feedback.

Instead of focusing on evaluation as an activity to be done after the class is complete, it  can be more helpful to think of it as a theme that runs through the whole program. One useful technique is to begin each course by asking the participants why they are there. You can use this activity as an ice-breaker. This might seem like an obvious question - because they are having a baby! But their answers might surprise you and give you useful information to work with. For example, if one participant responds that she is there primarily to learn about the different drugs available for pain relief in labor, you know that she is likely to be waiting for that section of the course and may be less interested in the other parts. It also gives you a clue where she is in terms of her needs and expectations and you will know that focusing very heavily on the benefits of a drug-free birth might be a turn-off for her and prevent her from enjoying or listening to the other things you have to say. Similarly if a man says he is there because his partner told him to come, you have a good idea of where he is at in terms of his level of enthusiasm and interest! You can capture the things they identify on a flipchart and use this as a check at the end of each class to which issues have been covered. If a topic will be covered in a future class, or if it is a very specific issue that is inappropriate to the main class you can say so and suggest you discuss it one-on-one at the end of the class. This way your participants know that you have tabled their concern and will respond to it, and it then allows them to relax and focus on the rest of the class.

It can also be useful to close the class with a reflection exercise, either individually or in groups, where you ask participants to state one new thing they have learned that day (or what has surprised them, or what they remember the most clearly). This gives you some useful clues about which parts of the day have been most memorable and which have been less effective.

Evaluation should also be woven into the design of the program itself. Each and every learning activity should have a clear purpose and a set of objectives which you can use as a framework for evaluation. For example, if you do an exercise on pain relief in labor, what are your objectives? In other words, why are you are covering the topic and what do you expect clients to know or be able to do at the end of it? It is quite common to find objectives written in terms of the input - for example "to discuss options for pain relief". However, for evaluation purposes it is more effective to think in terms of the learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are nothing more than specific, measurable objectives for that particular session - what do you actually want to achieve as a result of this activity? In order for you to determine whether or not you have met your objectives, the objectives must first be clear, precise and measurable. Having an objective of "I want them to understand about pain relief options" is impossible to measure. Be clearer about what you are looking for and put numbers on the outcomes. For example, for the session on pain relief, a measurable learning outcome might be something like "by the end of this session clients will be able to identify at least three pharmacological and non pharmacological pain relief options and be able to describe at least two risks and benefits of each".  By writing your learning outcomes in this way you can then build in evaluation activities to ensure that these learning outcomes have been met. These activities might take the form of group discussions, quizzes, question and answer session, demonstrations, and so on. You can include activities that evaluate whether or not the group achieved what you hoped for. In the pain relief example, after discussing each pain relief option, you could get them to match risks and benefits to the pain relief type as a recap for them and an evaluation exercise for yourself.

We hope this has given you a few ideas to help you improve the way you evaluate your training programs.

How does Childbirth International training address this?

In order to help you along, Childbirth International provides you with a sample teaching plan for a variety of course structures. Each activity in this plan has been developed with consideration of active teaching skills and providing classes that are relaxed, fun and packed full of great information for expectant parents.

You can use the teaching plan exactly as it stands for your own classes, you can modify it in any way you wish, or you can choose to write your own teaching plan that specifically meets the needs of the client base you will be working with.

For more information on training with Childbirth International, take a look at our website, or contact us.

Childbirth International offers training programs for Birth Doulas, Postpartum Doulas and Childbirth Educators. From September 2008 we will also be launching a Breastfeeding Counseling course.