Create a custom template

TeachBoost allows you to create custom templates that fit your unique evaluation and/or coaching needs. This help doc will show you how to build your own templates for our Q&A-type forms:

• Creating your new template
• The Intro page
• Structuring your template
• Question types
• Mapping your template to a framework
• Editing your template
• Making your template 'live'

Creating your new template

1. From the Forms list, click + New Template button at the top of the page
2. Enter a name for your template, select Template Type 'Q&A' and your desired framework, then click Save and Get Started
3. Once you've created a new template, you'll automatically be taken to the Intro page

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The Intro page

This page captures key information about your template that appears on the Form Summary Page.

The following fields are required, and cannot be removed from the intro page:

• Staff (who the form is about)
• Type (the type of form this is, e.g. 'self-reflection', 'walkthrough', 'informal observation')
• Observer (who is authoring the form)
• Date

Note: You can edit these field descriptions as required for your purposes (i.e. renaming 'Staff' to 'Teacher', or 'Observer' to 'Principal')

The other questions towards the bottom of this intro page (by default grayed out, showing they are 'hidden') can be un-hidden and edited.

Structuring your template

Adding pages

To add a page to your template, click Add Page on the left, where you'll have two fields:

• Page Name: title of the page
• Display Name: (optional) a shortened page title to appear on the left-hand navigation pane

Adding questions

Add a question by clicking on the Add a Question button on the left-hand navigation panel.

There are two types of questions - 'Special Questions' (i.e. rubric questions) and a large number of 'Regular Questions'.

Rubric questions are special because they are connected to your school’s framework, and will be included in any performance data that rolls up at your school. If that’s not what you’re looking for, choose a regular question type, outlined in detail below.

If you are looking to collect performance data, we recommend connecting questions to a single component from your rubric, rather than multiple. This is because every response given will be connected with each component connected and we want you to get the most meaningful data from your responses!

 

Question types

Text fields

• These come in large and small sizes, although there is no limit to the amount of text you can input
• These fields can be increased in size by your staff in use by clicking and dragging the bottom right corner

Checkboxes

• These come with two options: Checkbox Group to enable the selection of multiple choices and Single Checkbox, best used to indicate an affirmative or negative with a single answer
• To add multiple choices for the Checkbox Group question, click +Add another choice button under the question.

Dropdown select box

• You can create multiple options for the dropdown box, simply click the Edit Choices button under the question once created to add in as many as you require
• To change up the order of these questions, click the Edit Choices button and then simply drag-and-drop the questions into the order you need

Radio button choices (multiple choice style question - can only select one answer)

• These question types have multiple choices, although only a single choice may be selected when filling out the form
• To add multiple choices for the Checkbox Group question, click +Add another choice button under the question.
• When adding a new radio button choice, you can add an optional description to each if desired by clicking the Add a Description link underneath the choice title

Rubric question

• This is a special type of question, whose multiple choices come pre-loaded: these choices are based on the rating scale of the framework you selected when creating a template
• This type of question can allow you to rate your staff against the framework you selected when creating the template

File upload

• Using this question type, you can allow your staff to upload a file from their computer (<10MB) which will then be accessible on the form summary page, as well as within the form itself

Date picker

• For situations where you require your staff to pick a date for a Goal deadline or target action, this question type brings up a month-to-view calendar for your staff to select a date as required

Select-a-person

• This enables your staff member to search for and select another staff member of the same school/group

Mapping your template to a framework

Note: Rubric questions are special because they are connected to your school’s framework, and will be included in any performance data that rolls up at your school. 

If you are looking to collect performance data, we recommend connecting questions to a single component from your rubric, rather than multiple. This is because every response given will be connected with each component connected and we want you to get the most meaningful data from your responses!

To map a particular question (especially a 'rubric question') to a framework component:

1. Simply click the Competencies button beneath the question to open a new window
2. Ensure that the correct framework is selected in the dropdown
3. Expand your framework domains and competencies to find the desired framework area(s) and select with a click in the checkbox next to them
4. Click Add Competencies to add them to your template

When this question is mapped and answered within the form, any rating given will roll up into your reports when the form is complete.

Editing your template

Editing pages

To edit the name (or display name) of any of your pages, simply hover your cursor over that page's tab on the left-hand panel to reveal and click the Edit button.

Note: Here you can also add an optional description of the page that will show underneath the Page Title.

Next to the Edit button, you can also see a Delete button -- use this function with caution: once a page is deleted it cannot be brought back.

Cloning and sorting questions

If you would like to have more than one of the same questions, you can clone questions. Simply click "clone" beneath the question, and the question will be copied directly below.

You will likely need to sort questions into a different order (especially as you are cloning questions):

1. On the desired page, click Sort Questions on the left-hand panel
2. You will see your question titles listed in their present order on the right-hand side of the page
3. Drag and drop each of your questions into the desired order
4. Click Done Sorting on the left-hand panel to go back to the question-editing screen

Archiving and deleting questions

If you are editing a template that is already in use with some forms, we recommend that you archive questions that are no longer required -- this protects the integrity of any data already entered in forms based on this template.

Underneath each question are Archive and Delete buttons.

Note: Only use the Delete button on a question when you are creating a new template!

Making your template 'live'

Congratulations! Now you have finished editing your template, click the Save and Finish buttons in the top right to save it as a 'Draft'.

Once done, send an email to support@teachboost.com or submit a ticket here with the name of the template, a digital copy of the original template (if applicable), and the answers to the following questions:

• Which group(s) at your organization should be able to start this template? e.g. schools, departments, coaching groups, etc.
• Which users at your organization should be able to start this template? e.g. administrators, coaches, teachers?
• Is this form a self-reflection i.e. is someone is filling out the form about themselves?
• What form type(s) should this template have? e.g. informal observation, formal observation, meeting, coaching log, etc.
• Should this form count toward observation totals?