| Session Title: Alternative Approaches to Building Evaluation Capacity Through Formal Education |
| Multipaper Session 856 to be held in Mineral Hall Section A on Saturday, Nov 8, 10:45 AM to 12:15 PM |
| Sponsored by the Teaching of Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Anna Madison, University of Massachusetts Boston, anna.madison@umb.edu |
| Discussant(s): |
| Jody Fitzpatrick, University of Colorado Denver, jody.fitzpatrick@cudenver.edu |
| Abstract: One of the greatest challenges to improving evaluation practice is ensuring that evaluators are competent practitioners. The focus of this paper session is the capacity of university education programs to meet the challenges created by the expanding role of evaluators and the increasing diversity of evaluation settings. The three presenters examine three different approaches to formal evaluation education, each addressing a specific population of learners. The first paper addresses teaching evaluation in a Minority Serving Institution (MSIs) and the unique contributions of MSI's to expanding evaluation capacity. The second paper examines undergraduate evaluation education as the entry point into the field. The presenter will present the outcome of an undergraduate evaluation pilot program. The third paper addresses formal education programs that target mid-career educators with emphasis on evaluation to inform institutional change and to improve practice. |
| The Unique Contributions of Minority Serving Institutions to Evaluation Capacity Building |
| Veronica Thomas, Howard University, vthomas@howard.edu |
| In recent years, attention has been given to identifying strategies for enhancing the capacity of faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to integrate evaluation courses and content within their research curriculum. The objectives of this effort are to aid in the dissemination of effective teaching strategies to a broad community of evaluators, and to attract more students of color to graduate training in evaluation. The following questions will frame this presentation: (1) why a special focus on teaching of evaluation at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), (2) which strategies are effective to enhance the capacity of MSI faculty, and (3) which courses and practical experiences facilitate meaningful experiences for students of color and increase the value and relevance of the profession for these students. Implications of the teaching of evaluation at MSIs will be tied to the larger issues of broadening the scope of the profession and evaluation for social justice. |
| Linking Undergraduate and Graduate Evaluation Education |
| Anna Madison, University of Massachusetts Boston, anna.madison@umb.edu |
| Within the field of evaluation formal education is supplemental to a basic discipline and is usually provided at the graduate level. The project reported in this presentation is a unique effort to integrate evaluation into an undergraduate public and community services curriculum. The undergraduate program, funded by the National Science Foundation, sought to increase the capacity to meet the demands for a more diverse pool of evaluators. The project results suggest that undergraduate evaluation education can serve as the orientation to evaluation as well as increase the representation of persons of color in the profession. The paper highlights the recruitment strategies, curricula content, student characteristics and the student outcomes of project participants. |
| Strengthening Evaluation of Public Schools Through Evaluation Education Targeted to Mid-Career Educators |
| Katye Perry, Oklahoma State University, katye.perry@okstate.edu |
| This paper addresses the critical role that mid-career teachers can play by designing and producing evaluations to inform educational change. To this end, this paper will examine the factors that could bring about this contribution by first examining the need for mid-career teacher input for being the voice for change followed by a discussion of the developmental stages teachers transcend from first year status to mid-career to veteran status. In do doing, it will look at the concerns that typify each developmental stage while identifying the stage at which time evaluative thinking and training could be most effectively introduced. The paper will conclude by exploring potential strategies to develop evaluation skills whose end result could inform educational policy. |