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Session Title: Communities of Practice (CoP) as a Foundation Strategy
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Panel Session 625 to be held in Lone Star D on Friday, Nov 12, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Tania Jarosewich, Censeo Group, tania@censeogroup.com
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| Discussant(s):
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| Nushina Mir, Lumina Foundation for Education, nmir@luminafoundation.org
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| Abstract:
The Lumina Foundation for Education has incorporated communities of practice (CoP) in two major initiatives, KnowHow2Go, a national media and college access network building initiative, and in its productivity work, which supports states’ efforts to educate more students within existing resources. This project describes the first formal effort to examine the implementation and impact of CoPs in these large initiatives. This panel describes the work of two evaluators who collaborated to develop a common analytical framework based on Realistic Evaluation, with one evaluator also using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to analyze implementation, perceptions, and contribution of the CoPs to the work. The presentation will discuss how the evaluators measured goals, functioning, support, and effects of the CoPs. The evaluation officer who is overseeing the initiative at the Lumina Foundation will discuss the implications of the evaluation for both efforts and for the overall work of the foundation.
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Framework for Analyzing CoP in Foundation-led Initiatives
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| Tania Jarosewich, Censeo Group, tania@censeogroup.com
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This presentation the development of a framework to evaluate a Community of Practice (CoP) in KnowHow2GO, a nationwide college media and network building initiative funded by the Lumina Foundation. Realistic Evaluation theory guided the evaluation, which examined the salient features, health, and key outcomes of the CoP; influencing institutional and environmental factors; and contributing resources, processes, and procedures. Two evaluation teams worked together to create consistent frameworks and parallel systems to analyze the application of the CoP in KH2GO and also in the Lumina Foundation’s productivity work. The presentation will discuss the ways in which the two evaluation teams worked together but also relied on individual systems and techniques that were most appropriate for each specific initiative. The evaluation is intended to guide program improvement, enlighten the program officers leading the effort, and inform foundations about successful ways to develop and support learning communities in other projects.
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Assessing the Value of a Learning Community Strategy: An Evaluation Framework Informed by Realistic Evaluation and Systems Thinking
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| Ruth Mohr, SPEC Associates, rmohr@pasty.com
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The second panelist, evaluation team lead for the Lumina Foundation-funded assessment of the learning community strategy (LCS) within its higher education productivity work, will present the team’s framework for describing the emerging LCS and assessing its value in sharing, creating and storing higher education-related productivity information and knowledge. This framework, which is informed by Realistic Evaluation and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) examines participant roles and LCS rules and tools plus contextual factors influencing development and participation, as well as perceived individual and group benefits. The purpose of this framing is to provide a clearer understanding of LCS functioning, support needed to maintain it, successful procedures and systems that engage participants, and ways in which the LCS can have greater impact on the Foundation’s strategy of increasing higher education productivity to expand capacity and serve more students through state policy change, instructional and operational efficiencies and innovative, affordable education methods.
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