Using Prompts
Prompts are pre-defined questions that guide reflection and discussion during evaluations. They help structure conversations between evaluators and evaluatees at key points in the evaluation process.
Where Prompts Are Used
| Prompt Type | When Used | Who Responds |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Conference | Before an observation | Evaluatee |
| Post-Conference | After an observation | Evaluatee |
| Student Growth | Goal setting and achievement reporting | Evaluatee |
| Summative Reflection | End-of-year conference | Evaluatee |
Observation Conferences
Prompts support the observation cycle:
-
Pre-Conference prompts — Sent before the observation. The evaluatee answers questions about lesson planning, student needs, and instructional strategies. Responses help the evaluator prepare for the observation.
-
Post-Conference prompts — Sent after the observation. The evaluatee reflects on what happened during the lesson and what they might do differently. Responses inform the post-conference discussion.
The Prompt Workflow
Within the observation's Pre or Post tab, the evaluator sees two side-by-side panels:
- Left panel — Available prompts from the prompt bank
- Right panel — Prompts selected to send (auto-assigned prompts appear here automatically)
The evaluator can:
- Add prompts from the bank (move from left to right)
- Create a local prompt just for this observation
- Remove optional prompts they don't want to send
When ready, the evaluator clicks Send to deliver the prompts. The evaluatee receives an email notification and sees the prompts in their Pre-Conference or Post-Conference tab.
The evaluatee writes responses and clicks Share Responses when finished. The evaluator receives an email notification and can then view the responses.
Prompts don't block the evaluation workflow — eVAL doesn't require prompts to be responded to before proceeding. The evaluator and evaluatee work out timing and expectations offline.
Conference Summaries
In addition to prompts, both parties can write conference summary notes at any time. Use the share checkbox to make your summary visible to the other party.
Student Growth Prompts
Student Growth prompts guide goal-setting and achievement reporting:
- Goal Setting prompts — Help evaluatees articulate student growth goals at the beginning of the year
- Achievement prompts — Help evaluatees document progress toward their goals at the end of the year
Student Growth prompts can be aligned to specific rubric components (C3, C6, C8 for teachers), which helps connect responses to the evaluation criteria.
Student Growth prompts work the same way as observation conference prompts — District Admins, School Admins, and evaluators can create prompts at their level, and evaluators can create local prompts for a specific evaluatee. Student Growth prompts also support three scopes (General, Goal, and Criterion Alignment) that place questions where they're most relevant. See Student Growth Goal Setting for details.
Summative Reflection Prompts
Summative reflection prompts support the end-of-year evaluation conference. They give evaluatees an opportunity to reflect on their practice before the final summative discussion.
The Prompt Bank
The Prompt Bank is where administrators and evaluators create and manage prompts. Each prompt type has its own section in the Prompt Bank.
Who Creates Prompts
| Role | What They Can Create | Who Sees Their Prompts |
|---|---|---|
| District Admin | All prompt types | Everyone in the district |
| School Admin | All prompt types | Their school |
| Evaluator | All prompt types | Only themselves |
How Prompts Layer
Prompts follow an additive pattern — prompts from all levels combine:
- District prompts are available to everyone
- School prompts are added for that school's evaluations
- Evaluator prompts are added for that evaluator's use
If the district creates 3 pre-conference prompts and the school adds 2, evaluators at that school see all 5 prompts available to choose from.
Auto-Assigned vs Optional
When creating a prompt, administrators can mark it as auto-assigned:
| Type | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Auto-assigned | Automatically included when prompts are sent for new evaluations |
| Optional | Available in the prompt bank but must be explicitly selected |
Auto-assigned prompts ensure certain questions are always asked. For example, a district might auto-assign a prompt about differentiation strategies for pre-conferences.
Publishing Prompts
Prompts must be published before they're available:
- Auto-assigned prompts won't appear until published
- Optional prompts won't be available for selection until published
This gives administrators time at the beginning of the school year to plan and prepare prompts before they go live.
Annual Review
Prompts require a fresh publish each school year. This encourages administrators to review their prompts and decide which ones to keep, update, or retire.
Retiring Prompts
To retire a prompt mid-year:
- The prompt will no longer be auto-assigned to new evaluations
- The prompt will no longer appear for selection in conferences
- Existing evaluations that already have the prompt are not affected
At the beginning of the year, delete any prompts you no longer want rather than just retiring them.
When to Set Up Prompts
Prepare prompts for the whole year at the start, rather than staging them by activity. Activities occur in this order:
| Order | Activity | Prompts Needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Student Growth Goal Setting | Goal-setting prompts — goal approval carries a November deadline |
| 2 | Observations | Pre-conference and post-conference prompts, used throughout the year |
| 3 | Summative | Summative reflection prompts, used in spring |
New prompts can be added at any time, but auto-assigned prompts only attach to evaluations created after the prompt is published.
Prompt Responses as Evidence
When evaluatees respond to prompts, their responses can become evidence in the evaluation:
- Observation prompts — Responses appear in the observation's Evidence View
- Student Growth prompts — Responses appear in Student Growth evidence
- Summative prompts — Responses appear in the Summative evaluation
After viewing responses, the evaluator can code text within them — selecting specific passages and aligning them to rubric components. This turns meaningful quotes from the evaluatee's reflection into evidence items.
Related Topics
- Start of Year Setup — Setting up the prompt bank
- How Settings Are Inherited — How prompts layer from district to school