Return to search form  

Session Title: Examining Evaluation Training, Practice and Contexts in Various Settings

Panel Session 852 to be held in Adams Room on Saturday, November 10, 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM

Sponsored by the Teaching of Evaluation TIG

Chair(s):

Christina payday loan  Christie payday loan ,  Claremont Graduate University,  tina.christie@cgu.edu

Discussant(s):

Christina payday loan  Christie payday loan ,  Claremont Graduate University,  tina.christie@cgu.edu

Abstract: Practicing evaluators hearken from many disciplines of study other than evaluation. These background disciplines encompass content areas of study that reflect the types of programs or policies with which the evaluator primarily works (e.g. public health, education), general social and behavioral sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology) as well as quantitative measurement (e.g. engineering, statistics). While each of these disciplines can provide strong training in research design, methodology, and theoretical approaches relevant to programs or policies under study, they do not provide those who will be evaluators with grounding in the theories, choices of approaches, or types of considerations unique to evaluative study. Panelists from multiple sectors (energy efficiency, public health, and professional evaluation contracting) explore the potential impact of discipline-specific training on evaluation practice and provide insight into how current evaluation training in academia and the professional sector can be structured to improve evaluation practice across disciplines.

What are we Preparing for? Evaluation Pedagogy Within Master's Level Epidemiology Programs at Schools of Public Health Leslie payday loan  Fierro payday loan ,  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  let6@cdc.gov Recent findings from projects focusing on improving existing public health capacity have identified a need for training epidemiologists in the discipline of evaluation. In a recent assessment of state and territory health departments conducted by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, 93% of respondents noted that health department epidemiology staff needed additional training in the area of evaluating public health interventions. Various competency development projects underway may help to address this need by enhancing public health school curricula and trainings in applied epidemiology settings. This presentation provides a description of evaluation pedagogy across 38 schools of public health currently accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Findings from a review of over 1,000 courses included in curricula for students pursing a master's level degree in epidemiology will be presented. The relevancy of this coursework to evaluation practice and attaining evaluation competencies as currently proposed will be discussed.

Filling the Training Gap: A Short Course Curriculum for Practicing Evaluators Nicola payday loan  Dawkins payday loan ,  Macro International Inc,  nicola.u.dawkins@orcmacro.com Most practicing evaluators have roots in other disciplines. Once entering the professional evaluation world, however, how can individuals 'round out' prior training? Affiliating with AEA or subscribing to journals on evaluation can help, but these resources provide only snapshots of discourse outside of the full context new evaluation practitioners may need to gain the most from the lessons presented. On the other end of the spectrum of comprehensiveness are graduate programs in evaluation-often unfeasible for the practicing evaluator. This presentation will share an evaluation curriculum developed and implemented at one professional consulting firm to help fill the gap. Grounded in literature on essential evaluator competencies, evaluation standards and guiding principles, this series of short courses can hone evaluators' understanding of evaluation theory, questions and designs, methods and considerations for selecting among them, techniques for analysis, determination of evaluative judgments, appropriate reporting of evaluation results, and management of evaluation projects.

Understanding the Development of Energy Program Evaluation Cynthia payday loan  Austin payday loan ,  Heschong Mahone Group Inc,  austin@h-m-g.com Energy program evaluation has been an integral and consistent piece of the energy efficiency sector for the past twenty-five years. Its premise was to solve the consistent barrier to the adoption and support of energy efficiency by removing the uncertainty about the promised performance of information, practices, and technologies when delivered through actual programs. The existence of a formal documentation of the strengths and weaknesses of programs in peer-reviewed evaluations has been the legitimating, objective evidence that was lacking in the energy program sector prior to the use of program evaluation. To study the history of energy program evaluation, a group of regarded energy program evaluators will be interviewed to understand the background, influences, and trends seen in the field. The purpose is to document how the energy program evaluation field began and how it has changed since that time by examining the various influences and backgrounds of practitioners.