The Value of Floor Time: Evaluating Where Students Are & Where They Want to Go

Abstract

“Floor time” encourages people to take 10-15 minutes lying on the floor to decompress and ground yourself. In a therapy setting, floortime can also refer to a technique of engaging with a child’s interests and then creating challenges to promote development. Both uses of the word get at my approach to student employee evaluations. In evaluation conversations, the initial skills rating serves a “floor” from which we can build on the student’s individual strengths, discover growth areas, and most importantly, introduce praise and safety. After the first evaluation, we progress into more collaborative conversational models that help students identify and understand their own strengths in the workplace and identify what directions they want to take in the future to get the most out of their experience.