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Session Title: Toward Universal Design for Evaluation: Successes and Lessons Learned in Varied Contexts
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Panel Session 463 to be held in Sebastian Section I2 on Friday, Nov 13, 9:15 AM to 10:45 AM
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Sponsored by the Special Needs Populations TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Jennifer Sulewski, University of Massachusetts Boston, jennifer.sulewski@umb.edu
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| Discussant(s):
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| Donna Mertens, Gallaudet University, donna.mertens@gallaudet.edu
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| Abstract:
Universal design refers to designing products or programs so that they are accessible to everyone. Originally conceived in the context of architecture and physical accessibility for people with disabilities, the concept of Universal Design has been adapted to a variety of contexts, including technology, education, and the design of programs and services. This panel will address the idea of Universal Design for Evaluation, drawing on the panelists' individual experiences conducting research with people with and without disabilities. Each panelist will briefly present on what he or she has learned, in the course of his or her own research, about how best to design evaluations to be inclusive of everyone, followed by a discussion of the cross-cutting issues and lessons and what they mean for the evaluation field.
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Including Individuals With Disabilities in Evaluation Work: Beginning the Dialogue
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| Jane Minnema, Saint Cloud State University, jeminnema@stcloudstate.edu
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Drawing from her experiences in researching program evaluator competencies and evaluating educational policy, Dr. Jane Minnema brings to this panel both data-based and practical perspectives on the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in evaluation plans, processes, and outcomes. Initial findings from the emergent process of identifying "essential program evaluation competencies" point to considerations of what program evaluators need to know and do to effectively include individuals with disabilities in their practice. More aptly put, these considerations are actually starting points for practitioners and scholars alike to think critically about whether this important subgroup of our society has an authentic voice in our evaluation work. Taking this premise then a step forward, Dr. Minnema will draw on her evaluation practice to identify key learnings from including adolescent English language learners with disabilities in the process of evaluating the implementation of statewide educational testing as mandated by No Child Left Behind, 2001.
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Evaluation: Considering the Abilities and Preferences of Traditional and Nontraditional College Students With Disabilities
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| Lori Corcoran, Quinsigamond Community College, lcorcoran@qcc.mass.edu
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Lori Corcoran's career has encompassed a variety of teaching and disability-related positions, particularly at Quinsigamond Community College. Currently, she is the Associate Dean of Disability Services. She is a person with a disability and therefore her sensitivity is heightened when looking at issues surrounding Universal Design. The ultimate goal of Universal Design is to be as inclusive as possible. In applying Universal Design to evaluations, her experiences show that reviewing the development of the research instruments and the mode of administration are critical in broadening the participation for traditional and nontraditional college students with disabilities. Items to be discussed would include people with disabilities in the design of the questions, the wording of the instrument, and the variety of modes of administration. One will hear practical experiences which worked as well as challenges that continue in higher education.
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Evaluation With Youth With Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs: Process and Context
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| Heather Boyd, Virginia Tech, hboyd@vt.edu
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Heather H. Boyd has experience in evaluation of programs for people with special needs as an external evaluator, internal evaluator and parent of children with special needs. Currently, she is a program evaluation specialist at Virginia Tech and is a past board member of the Governor's Council on Autism (Wisconsin) and Greater Madison Autism Society. Her presentation will focus on evaluation of a Maternal and Child Health demonstration project related to Healthy & ready to Work. Lessons learned will focus on supports that intended to maximize youth voice. The context for the project is the model of person-centered, asset-based community development that was used to create, support and sustain the project and its outcomes. Youth in the project lived a variety of diversities, including ability, health status, language, geographic location and citizenship status. Implications of a person-centered, asset-based community development approach for Universal Evaluation Design will be shared.
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Making Evaluation Instruments and Processes Fully Accessible
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| Richard Petty, Independent Living Research Utilization, richard.petty@bcm.edu
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ILRU has conducted evaluations of its several national technical assistance and training programs. Target audiences have included many individuals with disabilities who lead and work in those programs. As director of three national programs, Richard Petty has ensured that ILRU honored its commitment to access by making program evaluation fully accessible. Petty and his ILRU team have learned several lessons that have helped make their evaluations more accessible to those in a variety of disability groups. Petty will describe how instruments can be design to be usable by those from a variety of backgrounds and learning levels, the use of alternate formats, ways to provide assistance in completing instruments while minimizing bias on the part of the individual providing assistance, and online evaluations. Petty has also coauthored several papers on strategies for involving participants in directing their own services and in direction of programs at the systems level.
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Including People With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities
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| Jennifer Sulewski, University of Massachusetts Boston, jennifer.sulewski@umb.edu
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A major focus of research and evaluation at the Institute for Community Inclusion is studying and improving day and employment services for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). In this context, Dr. Sulewski has considerable experience conducting research and evaluation with the I/DD population. Including the viewpoint of individuals with I/DD is a challenging but important part of such research. Her presentation will focus on approaches and lessons learned interviewing and observing people with I/DD for her dissertation on community-based non-work day programs. Topics covered will include obtaining consent, designing questions and instruments to be accessible to a range of cognitive abilities, combining interviews with observations to maximize information, and the role of proxies in interviewing people with communication barriers. Dr. Sulewski also brings to the panel discussion additional experiences related to inclusion of people with various disabilities on project advisory groups, in surveys, and in dissemination of findings.
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