| Session Title: Simultaneous Learning: Four Perspectives From a University-based Evaluation Center |
| Multipaper Session 428 to be held in Preston Room on Thursday, November 8, 3:35 PM to 5:05 PM |
| Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Gregory Diggs, University of Colorado, Denver, shupediggs@netzero.com |
| Abstract: Evaluation centers make significant contributions to the culture of learning. This session describes how a university-based evaluation center is attempting to promote a learning culture that will contribute to the professional skills and insights of its evaluation staff while adding value to the university and the larger community. From four perspectives, participants share their learning about the delivery of quality evaluation services and the impact of their role as evaluators on other dimensions of their professional life. Learning is described from the perspectives of 1) university leaders; 2) new evaluators; 3) teacher educator/evaluator; and 4) policy analyst/educator. |
| The University Perspective: What we are Learning About Providing Evaluation Services in the Community |
| Bonnie Walters, University of Colorado, Denver, bonnie.walters@cudenver.edu |
| Interviews with key informants in higher education reveal the rationale for a university-sponsored evaluation center created to provide evaluation services to educational institutions and non-profit agencies in the local community. This paper examines how an evaluation center contributes to the learning environment in higher education and in partner organizations. In addition, the author examines logistical, budgetary, and management challenges and the center's subsequent learning from these trials/challenges. |
| Cognitive Apprenticeship for New Evaluators |
| Susan Connors, University of Colorado, Denver, susan.connors@cudenver.edu |
| Under the auspices of a university-based evaluation center, new evaluators engage in experiential learning while participating in real-life evaluations. This paper describes the processes put into place to scaffold the success of the new evaluators while assuring quality evaluation services to clients. The theoretical model that underlies the processes is based on the principles of cognitive apprenticeship developed by Collins, Brown and Holum (1991). Interviews with new evaluators provide insights into their learning that confirm the value of their apprenticeship and illuminate the challenges/ reinforcement provided by evaluation work in the field. |
| Teacher Educator and Evaluator: Reflections on Learning Across Multiple Contexts |
| Kim White, Metropolitan State College, Denver, whiteki@mscd.edu |
| Lave and Wenger (1991) position learning as 'an integral and inseparable aspect of social practice' (p.31). Participation in multiple contexts can provide opportunities for learning exchanges as each context informs the other. Situated learning theory provides a framework for investigating the ways in which learners participate in communities of practice and apply gained knowledge and experience to other settings (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Choi & Hannafin, 1995). In this paper, the author reflects on her participation in multiple contexts, both as a teacher educator and developing evaluator, and examines the learning that follows. Through the analysis of evaluation notes, teaching materials, and lived experiences, the author found that her teaching practices, curricular decisions, and instructional delivery choices were influenced by what she learned across these contexts. |
| Learning From Two Roles: Evaluator and Policy Analyst |
| Anne Martin, University of Colorado, Denver, annelmartin@gmail.com |
| In this paper, the author shares her unique perspective from her simultaneous work as a policy analyst and as an evaluator. This juxtaposition of employment provides a lens to learn and experience each organization's goals and potential to affect change. From the perspective of policy analyst, it is crucial that program evaluation informs policy decisions. From the perspective of an evaluator, the potential to influence policy development is compelling. Ideally, the intersection between the policy world and the program evaluation field is a continuous circle of informative growth. As program evaluations uncover results about what practices are most powerful in meeting goals, policy should incorporate these results into resource allocation and program implementation. Subsequently, whatever policies or programs are enacted should be accompanied by evaluation to inform the ongoing process and make summative policy decisions about the future. |