With the right mind set and proper clarification in advance, evaluation can be quite simple, straightforward, and rewarding. The Difference Between Feedback and Evaluation Feedback and evaluation are often confused. Both are essential to the teaching process but are quite different. Feedback is frequent, ongoing review of strengths and areas for growth, with suggestions for further study or practice. The intent of feedback is to improve performance.
Evaluation has many types and purposes, some of which are similar to feedback.
For the purpose of this article, we will limit our use of the term evaluation to the most common type asked of clinical teachers the final evaluation of performance at the end of a course or rotation. This summative evaluation may be defined as a comparison of actual performance to requirements or standards. The intent of this summative evaluation is to document achievement or competence. This is the most difficult step and the most critical. Definition of these expectations is the responsibility of those designing the program, so this task should generally not fall to the community preceptor.