Conducting Transparent Evaluations

As internships draw to an end, the intern's learning team participates in a process of evaluation within their ministry contexts. The purpose of evaluation is to facilitate the intern's own learning in context and is designed to empower the intern in this process of formation for ministry. The method of evaluation is primarily one of reflection and conversation among the intern and the intern's two learning partners. Each member of the learning team completes the evaluation. In congregational settings, the lay and clergy partners will separately evaluate the intern. In nonprofit settings, the site and mentoring partners will separately evaluate the intern. Prior to the last colloquy meeting, the entire learning team meets to talk about their individual evaluations. Afterwards, interns continue to reflect upon the evaluations as they discuss them in colloquy.

The steps below describe the process in detail. As you prepare for the internship and for the seminarian evaluation process, please review samples of evaluations. For the learning partners, view Learning Partners Intern Evaluation Demo and the intern, view Seminarian’s Self Evaluation Demo.

Step1: Completing the evaluations

Final evaluations for the Fall and Spring term internships are due several weeks prior to the final colloquy session (see syllabus or ask your intern). For Summer session internships, the final evaluations are due by the last Friday of the internship.

Interns and each learning partner complete the evaluation using the online form. Interns will find directions and links to the evaluation form under the "Seminarian Evaluation Process" content module on Blackboard. The Blackboard instructions include an invitation and link for interns to copy and paste into emails to send to both learning partners so each can access the form.

When the form is complete and submitted, the questions and answers are automatically formatted into a report that is emailed to the evaluator's provided email address and to the PM&M office. Persons who do not see the report in their mailboxes within a few hours should check the spam or junk folder for an email sent from no-reply@wufoo.com. If it is not there, they should send a message to the PM&M office at PMMAssistant@WesleySeminary.edu, including their first and last name and the name of the intern.

Step 2: Reviewing the evaluations

Once the learning partners and intern have received their respective evaluation reports, each is to share the report with the rest of the learning team and then meet to read over and discuss them as a team before the last colloquy meeting. This meeting should provide helpful suggestions and insights, discussion on points of agreement and disagreement, and whatever feedback may be conducive to professional growth. An option downloadable worksheet may be found on Handbook & Forms (under PM&M Evaluation Forms, middle column).

Step 3: Posting Evaluation Meeting Takeaways to Blackboard

Step 4: Discussion with Colloquy Group

Step 5: Evaluation by Colloquy Leaders

The colloquy leaders will then complete their own evaluation of the intern using the online form. These are automatically sent to the entered email address and the PM&M office. The deadline for Fall and Spring term interns who are graduating is two workdays prior to the faculty meeting for graduation. For other Fall and Spring term interns, the deadline is two days before the Registrar's May grade due date. The due date for Summer term interns is the Wednesday before the fall semester begins.

Step 6: Future Use of Evaluation Records

establishing a learning agreement photo with candles

Got questions?
Contact the PM&M Office
(PMMAssistant@WesleySeminary.edu).