Questionnaires¶
Dialog between team members is a hallmark of any kind of collaborative work. However, in the scientific process, a constant exchange of information between lab members, co-authors, and, in the end, the scientific community, is of paramount importance for the success of most (if not all) projects. We believe this to be even more so in the context of scientific training, where trainers and trainees can make use of feedback loops and “goal-attainment-checks” to identify hindrances and resources needed to overcome them.
Here, we provide a standardized method for the assessment of this type of characteristics as students progress throughout the development of their own projects.
We consider it to be crucial to promote the dialog between trainers and trainees already at the beginning of a lecture, as well as during specific training sessions. By assessing how much students know about a topic and how confident they feel about applying the methods in question on their own, prior to receiving any formal training, the teaching staff can estimate the baseline level of knowledge of the current students, making it easier to evaluate their individual progress during the project.
The assessment strategy thus consist of two parts:
A general evaluation of the students’ knowledge and/or experience with the topics of the lecture/training. This part can be applied at key points throughout lectures/projects (e.g., at beginning, at midterm or before a specific lecture’s section). Optionally, questions 1.2) and 1.3) can be presented a second time (e.g., at the end of a section) to provide a comparison.
The second part of the assessment provides a more fine grained evaluation of the students’ degree of progress and difficulties during the sessions. The questions 2.1) and 2.2) are designed to be answered by the students prior to any specific training session and allow a closer look at the their degree of “preparedness” and confidence in the topic. Questions 2.3) to 2.9) target students’ satisfaction with didactics and content, but also experienced difficulties during the training session. The specific topics and project steps are interchangeable as indicated by the <topic_of_interest> placeholders in the templates below.
For an example of some of the assessment questions and question types “in action” see the following Template. For convenience and demonstration purposes, this is currently implemented in Google forms. However, we do encourage future users to choose other open source methods such as SurveyJS.
Questionnaire templates¶
1) At the beginning of a lecture or lecture’s section:¶
1.1) Please indicate whether you have received formal training in <topic_of_interest>:
Have you participated in one (or more) of the following? |
no |
yes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Lecture |
|||
Seminar |
|||
Workshop |
|||
Internship |
|||
Other: |
1.2) Would you consider your self experienced in the context of:
<topic_of_interest>:
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
<optional_further_related_topics>:
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
1.3) From your current perspective, what part of <topic_of_interest> would you consider to be the most challenging for you? If you don’t have any experience with <topic_of_interest>, which part of <topic_of_interest> do you think might be the most challenging for you?
(free text) |
|---|
2) Before and after specific training sessions:¶
Before:¶
Please indicate how well prepared do you feel to take on the following part of the project.
Use the following scale to answer: no, not at all (1) - yes, entirely (7)
2.1) At this stage, how well prepared do you feel to perform <topic_of_interest>?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
2.2) At this stage, how confident do you feel about <topic_of_interest>?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
After:¶
Having heard about <topic_of_interest>, please indicate how well prepared do you feel to take on the following part of the project.
Use the following scale to answer: no, not at all (1) - yes, entirely (7)
2.3) How well prepared do you feel to perform <topic_of_interest>?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
2.4) How confident do you feel about <topic_of_interest>?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
Please take a moment to evaluate the following aspects of the training session/lecture:
2.5) How well informed we’re you with regard to the current topic? (i.e., did you know what was expecting you?)
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
2.6) Did the session/lecture provide enough opportunities for you to actively participate?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
2.7) How satisfied are you with the content of the training/lecture?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
2.8) How satisfied are you with the didactic methods used during the training/lecture?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
2.9) What was the most challenging part of the training/lecture? Did something in particular helped you master these challenges? Did you miss anything that might have helped you overcome these issues? If you didn’t experience any difficulties, please tell us what the most helpful/insightful part of the training/lecture was for you (< 100 words):
(free text) |
|---|
(optional) How satisfied are you with the teaching staff?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
(optional) Was the teaching staff friendly/respectful?
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
(optional) <further_questions>
no, not at all |
yes, entirely |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |