LDT 506 U7: Assignment - WOL: Self-Assessment and Reflection

LDT 506 U7: Assignment - WOL: Self-Assessment and Reflection

For Part 2 of this assignment, you'll write an 800- to 1,000-word Reflection that you'll post to your WOL Blog. If you haven't created a WOL Blog in LDT 501 or LDT 502, please refer to the directions in the Working Out Loud module in this course to create one.

Self-Assessment and Reflection:

When I first started this course, I really didn't know what I didn't know.  As I reflect on my competencies as an evaluator from my first self evaluation of this course to the final self evaluation.  I am struck by how much I have learned over the past couple months. In this course, I have developed a deeper understanding of evaluation concepts and practices, and have started to cultivate competencies in areas such as professional practice, Methodology. Context and planning and Management.

 In this WOL reflection, I will discuss my latest personal evaluation, including my progress in each of these areas and how I plan to continue developing my skills as an evaluator.  The following are the 4 sections of the final self assessment survey that I completed at the end of the course.

Domain 1: Professional Practice:

One of the most important competencies in evaluation is professional practice. This involves understanding and adhering to ethical and professional standards, as well as developing relationships with stakeholders and understanding their needs.  Really just understanding how a professional evaluator does things differently than just a shade-tree evaluator.  Through the course, I have learned about the importance of ethical considerations in evaluation, such as the need to obtain informed consent and protect confidentiality. I have also learned about the importance of building relationships with stakeholders and understanding their perspectives. In the future, I plan to continue developing my skills in these areas by seeking out additional training and opportunities to engage with stakeholders.  I feel this is going to be immensely valuable to me as I start my Masters thesis.  I am currently trying to work with Northern Arizona State University in developing a course or series of courses on computer networking.  Perhaps the biggest take away that I had from this course in professional practice was the eye opening section of privilege.  I was always of the opinion that I wasn't privileged because I've worked hard to get where I am.  Paid my own way through college and worked my way up from the bottom to where I think I have a fairly successful career.  I was very wrong, but now I think I have a good understanding of how to approach evaluations in the future without this privilege.

On the initial self assessment I went from having several 1's to mostly 4 or 5's on the final assessment.  Where I had 3 6's before they've moved down to 4 or 5's as I've learned more about the topic and realized I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.

Domain 2: Methodology:

Methodology domain of an evaluation in my own words is focusing on the tools and techniques used to conduct evaluations. Over the past several months, I've learned about various evaluation models, including the logic model, program theory, and theory of change. I've also gained knowledge of different data collection methods, such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews, and how to analyze and interpret evaluation data. Through practice exercises, I've also developed skills in designing evaluation plans and identifying appropriate evaluation questions.  I scored myself lower on question 2.10 where I'm not sure I'm able to collect data using credible feasible and culturally appropriate procedures.  But, I feel enough to know that I would want help.  I'm not sure it's possible for any one person to know enough about every culture to be able to answer that question with an expert level score.  I think every evaluator should be going to local resources for help with the planning and collection of data for a particular group of participants.

Domain 3: Context:

Context or referring to the broader environmental and social factors that influence evaluations. The timelines, resources and other components needed to complete the evaluation.  How can I pick Participants?  How does the Organization and Culture impact an evaluation?  Again I keep going back to diversity, traditions, beliefs, economics and power for the big thing I learned in this course. I've gained an understanding of the importance of considering contextual factors such as the political climate, stakeholders, and organizational culture when conducting evaluations. I've also learned about the role of culture in evaluation and how to adapt evaluations to be culturally responsive and relevant to different communities.  It's just not important, it's vitally important.  Without this context you really don't have a credible survey or credible evaluation.

From the first self evaluation I had basically 1’s and 3’s (Dual mode), however in the final assessment, I had a mode of 4 and an average between 4 and 5.

Domain 4: Planning and Management:

Planning and management is the project management and strategic planning skills of an evaluation. During this course, I've gained an understanding of the importance of developing clear and concise evaluation plans and timelines, and hints on how to effectively manage evaluation projects. Additionally, I've learned about the importance of communicating evaluation results to stakeholders and how to develop effective dissemination strategies.

Although I've developed a budget and read through several evaluation budgets, I think this is almost a class or topic unto itself.  I'm certain I'm not an expert at any part of this.  However I think I have a much better grasp of the things that need to go into a budget for an evaluation.

The same thing goes for Project management.  Although I've read through several project plans and helped develop a project plan for an evaluation.  I think you could probably teach a whole course in just developing a project plan for an evaluation.  Just a chapter in a book and a project doing a plan isn't enough to make somebody an expert.  However I do feel I have enough knowledge to be dangerous.  I feel that I could probably cover the important parts and get the help of an expert to create a workable project plan for an evaluation.

My scores went from a solid 4 at the beginning of this course to a solid 5 at the end of this course.  By no means an expert, but confident in what I don't know.

Final Thoughts on my Self Assessment:

In conclusion, program evaluation is an essential process for assessing the effectiveness and impact of a particular program or evaluation. Politics and ethics play a critical role in program evaluation and must be considered in every step of the evaluation process. The evaluation process involves selecting an evaluation design, choosing data collection methods, analyzing the data, reporting the evaluation, and evaluating the evaluation. The evaluation results can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and impact of the program and can inform program improvement and decision-making.

Overall, this course has provided me with a strong foundation in the core competencies of evaluations. I've gained knowledge and skills in the areas of professional practice, methodology, context, and planning and management, and I'm confident that I can apply these competencies in my future evaluation work, at least well enough to know when I need help and to ask for that help.

References:

American Evaluation Association. (2018). AEA Evaluator Competencies. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/open?id=1B7GZrhi67Fbt_nOW7jizJ-RnlJ8w-P3J

American Evaluation Association. (2018). AEA Guiding Principles. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SH3toIADrR6hyMQyvzAiHMAAqdbZ8aC-

International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction. (2013). IBSTPI Evaluator Competencies. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UPG1CPr1yIQzqCbRuacEpZaejmCBjtNe/view

Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2013). Evaluation: A systematic approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Russ-Eft, D., & Preskill, H. (2009). Evaluation in Organizations Second Edition. New York: Basic Books.

Scriven, M. (1991). Evaluation thesaurus (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Leviton, L. C. (1991). Foundations of program evaluation: Theories of practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Stevahn, L., King, J. A., Ghere, G. S., & Minnema, J. (2005). Establishing essential competencies for program evaluators. American Journal of Evaluation, 26(1), 43-59. doi:10.1177/1098214004273163

Stufflebeam, D. L. (2003). The CIPP model for evaluation. In D. L. Stufflebeam, T. Kellaghan, & L. A. Wingate (Eds.), Evaluation models (pp. 279-317). Boston, MA: Springer..