Putting Evaluation Into Action

Posted January 28, 2013 by Sarah Barton

Last week at my internship, my boss overheard me telling a co-worker that I am taking my final core class, Evaluation of Information Services. My boss was intrigued, and suggested that we schedule a meeting sometime next month to look at the evaluations she has done in the past and perhaps start thinking about future evaluations. This is a prime example of GSLIS curriculum in action, and a perfect way to incorporate my coursework into an actual work setting.
But, to be honest, my first reaction was to momentarily freak out. I didn’t have a meltdown or anything, but I felt as though she had asked me to design a prototype for a spaceship. I have only had two classes so far this semester, and I guarantee that my boss knows far more about evaluation than I do. What type of insight could I possibly bring to this meeting?
Once I got over that initial freak out, I calmed down and realized that this is a great opportunity for me. My boss didn’t recommend meeting tomorrow or next week; rather, sometime next month so I have some time to learn and digest the material. This impending meeting will encourage me to contextualize the Evaluation course in terms of my internship, and potentially permit me to put the course material to immediate use. I postponed taking Evaluation until this semester because it is the core course that I thought would interest me the least; however, it seems as though my deferment was fortuitous in that I may have the opportunity to put evaluation into action.