Hello colleagues: In my consulting, I have conducted many docent evaluations --of docent training programs as well as the efficacy of the entire docent program (what is working, what is not, best time and days for continuing education, preferred types of recognition, what each docent perceives to be his/her strengths and areas in which they would like to improve). As part of any docent evaluation, it is important to institute some sort of peer review -- and this can be done in a non threatening way. Have docents pair up with someone they do not know and have them observe / listen to a talk or tour, etc. They should have some type of form that addresses rate of speech, intonation, eye contact, use of questions / engaging their audience, meets level of audience experience and education/knowledge, positioning of their audience relative to the exhibit or the docent, use of props or visual aids, if appropriate, etc. They complete such a form and then the two sit and talk about what worked and what might improve -- this really has had a good response in my experience -- and gives all involved ideas that they might incorporate into their repertoire. The ideas that you can come up with are countless -- I worked wtih one organziation to actually develop 12 different exercises -- peer review, observations, a "find this" type of project that forced people to get into some of the resource materials in the docent office, and even a couple of fieldtrips on a weekend to other like institutions. The 12 exercises were used as an ongoing assessment / continuing education -- one for each month of the year. This worked well because not all docents are available each week. This proved, for that organizationof 300 docents, to be the right amount at the right pace. And best of all, the docents would come in and say "what do you have for us this month?" Kind regards, Terrie Terrie Nolinske, Ph.D. www.tniconsultants.com [log in to unmask] TNI Consultants in Professional Development 930 North Boulevard Oak Park, Illinois 60301 708. 386. 1331 -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Max van Balgooy Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 8:54 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: docent evaluation The book, Great Tours! (AltaMira Press, 2002), includes three different types of evaluation forms for guides. The book can be obtained directly from AltaMira Press or from PreservationBooks.org. Max A. van Balgooy Director of Interpretation and Education National Trust for Historic Preservation -----Original Message----- From: Ruth Griffith [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, October 21, 2002 4:35 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: docent evaluation I am a librarian writing to this list on behalf of a patron; he's looking for samples of docent evaluations. He is a wonderful library patron and an outstanding docent at the Museum of Flight here in Washington state. Thanks for any help you can offer. If you could please respond before 10/31/02, that would be terrific. Ruth Ruth Griffith Librarian, Adult and Teen Services Sno-Isle Regional Library System Mill Creek Library 15429 Bothell-Everett Highway Mill Creek, WA 98012 phone (425) 337-4822 fax (425) 337-3567 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).