|
Evaluation of an Evaluation Course: Lessons Learned
|
| Presenter(s):
|
| Rama Radhakrishna,
Pennsylvania State University,
brr100@psu.edu
|
| Prosper Doamekpor,
Pennsylvania State University,
pkd117@psu.edu
|
| Abstract:
This paper describes the evaluation of an introductory graduate level course in program development and evaluation taught at a major land-grant university in the northeastern United States. The authors present how the course evolved over a six-year period. Specifically, the authors share the process in the development of course, course objectives, content taught, assignments, tests, presentations from students, and criteria for grading. Three sets of evaluation data were collected over a six-year period. These included: mid-semester feedback, end of course/semester evaluation collected by the university, open-ended comments, and peer evaluations. Overall students and peers had positive opinions about the course and the instructor. Students indicated that the course materials and presentations were clear and well organized contributing to understanding of evaluation concepts. Students also indicated the importance and value of the course in learning about evaluation concepts and the application of those concepts to specific programs and/or real life situations.
|
|
Effective Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies as Perceived by Program Evaluation Faculty
|
| Presenter(s):
|
| Dhaifallah Almatrodi,
Western Michigan University,
matrodi@hotmail.com
|
| Brooks Applegate,
Western Michigan University,
brooks.applegate@wmich.edu
|
| Abstract:
A need for improving student instruction and outcomes in graduate evaluation training programs has been pervasively documented in the scholarly literature. To meet this need, this study investigated teaching strategies and associated instructional techniques teachers use to promote critical thinking. A mixed method research design employing a 33-item survey and follow-up interview that assessed how teachers used different teaching strategies was administered to 37 university faculty members affiliated with two graduate evaluation training programs. The survey quarried faculty in their knowledge and use of 33 different strategies for developing critical thinking. The interview targets how these instructors implement the different strategies, what student outcomes are expected, and how these outcomes are best assessed. Data will be examined from both quantitative and qualitative analytical perspectives. The net result of this study will be a working, hypothetically efficacious model of critical thinking teaching strategies for use in graduate evaluation programs.
|
|
Teaching Evaluation Graduate Courses Online: Challenges and Alternatives
|
| Presenter(s):
|
| Koralalage Jayaratne,
North Carolina State University,
jay_jayaratne@ncsu.edu
|
| Abstract:
There is a growing demand for on-line graduate level evaluation courses from full-time professionals. Universities have started to respond to this demand. Delivering online courses is a challenge for instructors as well as students due to asynchronous communication limitations technological variability. How can we establish synchronous communication between instructors and students? What are the other issues and challenges associated with delivering instruction online? What are alternatives to meeting these challenges? Finding answers to these questions is the focus of this paper presentation. This paper presentation is based on information gathered from faculty members who have experience in delivering online courses and literature. This is a timely topic for educators who face the reality of meeting the demand for online courses. It contributes to the evaluation practice by preparing new evaluation professionals.
|
| | |