Building Forms and Sections

Forms are individual evaluation documents that contain sections and questions for conducting observations and performance reviews. You organize content into sections to create logical groupings of related evaluation criteria.

Creating Forms

Requires system administrator or organization administrator role

Forms serve as containers for evaluation sections and questions. When you create a form, PD Edge automatically sets up the necessary licensing to make it available in your organization.

1. Navigate to System Admin → Observe → Forms
2. Click Add Form
3. Enter form details:
   • Name: Descriptive title for the evaluation form
   • Active: Check to make available for use in observations
4. Click Save

The system automatically creates the required product licensing when you save a new form, making it immediately available for use in form sets.

Form Properties

Creating Sections

Sections organize your evaluation questions into logical groups like "Classroom Management" or "Instructional Delivery."

1. Navigate to System Admin → Observe → Sections
2. Click Add Section
3. Configure section properties:
   • Name: Section heading (e.g., "Planning and Preparation")
   • Description: Optional explanatory text
   • Is Rubric: Enable rubric-style display format
   • Rubric Orientation: Choose Horizontal or Vertical layout
   • Scorable: Include section in overall scoring calculations
4. Click Save

Section Display Formats

Sections can display questions in different formats based on your evaluation needs:

Standard Format

Questions appear as individual items with answer choices below each question. Best for varied question types or when questions don't follow a consistent rubric structure.

Rubric Format

Questions display in a grid with performance levels as columns. Enable this format when all questions in the section use the same performance scale.

To configure rubric format:

1. Check Is Rubric when creating the section
2. Select Horizontal or Vertical orientation
3. Add rubric markers for performance levels after saving

Attaching Sections to Forms

Sections exist independently and can be attached to multiple forms or used standalone.

1. Navigate to your form's detail page
2. Click Attach Section
3. Select an existing section from the list
4. Set the Display Order to control section sequence
5. Click Save

You can also create sections directly from a form by clicking Add Section on the form detail page.

Reordering Sections

Use drag-and-drop to reorder sections within a form:

1. Navigate to the form detail page
2. Locate the sections list
3. Drag sections to new positions using the handle icon
4. Changes save automatically

Section Weighted Values

When forms include multiple sections, you can weight each section's contribution to the overall score.

1. Navigate to the form detail page
2. Click Weighted Value
3. Assign point values to each scorable section
4. Ensure total weights reflect your evaluation priorities
5. Click Save

Sections marked as non-scorable don't contribute to weighted calculations but still appear in the evaluation.

Unlinking Sections from Forms

Remove a section from a form without deleting the section itself:

1. Navigate to the form detail page
2. Find the section to remove
3. Click Unlink
4. Confirm the action

The section remains available to attach to other forms or use independently.

Preview Forms

Review how your form appears to observers before using it in evaluations:

1. Navigate to the form detail page
2. Click Preview
3. Review the complete form layout including:
   • Section order and formatting
   • Question display and answer choices
   • Rubric layout (if applicable)
   • Navigation flow

The preview shows exactly how the form appears during live observations, helping you identify any needed adjustments before deployment.

Next Steps

After building your forms and sections:

• Add questions to sections to complete the evaluation content
• Create form sets to group related forms
• Configure rating scales for score-to-performance mappings
• Set organization visibility to control access