Rationale for ISPI Conference-Session Feedback Form
The ISPI Conference-Session Feedback Form was designed with the following ideas in mind:
Why do the questions ask what they do?
- ISPI is devoted to performance-improvement so the form should focus on factors known to support workplace performance improvement, including such factors as:
- Comprehension of concepts taught.
- Likelihood of achieving expected work results.
- Reinforcement through practice–going beyond lecture.
- Likelihood of sharing concepts with others.
- Validity of the concepts taught as supported by research and evidence.
- Conference attendees have a reasonable expectation to receive sessions that they feel are valuable, as evidenced by the following:
- Level of engagement they experienced.
- Importance of the concepts taught.
- Open-ended questions often provide the best feedback.
Why are the questions designed the way they are?
- The form was designed to fit on one page, to make it useable in a conference context.
- The answer options attempt to provide — as much a possible in a small space — learners with options that provide enough granularity so they can make clear distinctions when deciding between options.
- Such answer-option specificity has the added advantage of providing clearer feedback to presenters and conference organizers about the success of the session.
- Answer options are specifically designed NOT to use numbers, nor scaled adjectives (e.g., “strongly agree,” “agree,” etc.) — as both approaches make it difficult for learners to make precise decisions and for stakeholders to understand the meaning of the results.
How was the form designed?
- Will Thalheimer was asked by ISPI leadership to design the form, based on his work on performance-focused smile sheets and his upcoming book. This web page sits on his blog.
- After Will’s initial input, feedback was solicited and improvements were made to the form. Special thanks to Bonnie Beresford for providing important feedback and partnering in piloting this form and another form.
- Both forms will be piloted in 2015 and additional improvements will be considered.
We’d love your feedback!
The form has been modified to enable feedback on the form directly. However, if you’re interested in making additional comments, please use the form below to provide feedback. Thank you!!!