Program Evaluation

Program Evaluation

Group 1 – Experiential Learning

EDAC 634 – Spring 2018

Group Member	Role	Commented On
Vicki Lehman	Tables, Compiled evaluators answers and our responses, Reflection - process	Group 3, Group 2
Tashika Carlton	Reflection - highlights	Group 2, Group 3

Link to Program Design Paper: https://634experientiallearning.blogspot.com/p/program-design.html

Professionals’ Evaluations

Professional Evaluation #1

                Our first professional evaluation was done by Jenny Mathis the School Age Specialist at Child Care Answers. She is a professional who conducts multiple professional development opportunities for School Age educators. Her evaluation responses can be found at the end of this program evaluation. She had positive things to say about the many opportunities for reflection that have been built in to our program. She also mentioned the use of assessment tools as well to guide the reflections. Mrs Mathis suggested using SMART goals within the different sessions in order to ensure the goals that are set are specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time sensitive. She also mentioned making a plan to follow up with participants in regards to their goals.

Professional Evaluation #2

                Our second evaluation was done by Bobby Carter the Program Manager at The S/L/A/M Collaborative. Bobby’s evaluation responses can be found at the end of this program evaluation. Bobby also had positive things to say about our program and the use of ice breakers to encourage the participants to get ready to engage with one another. He also mentioned that the interaction with the “coach” (facilitator) would be beneficial to participants. Mr Carter suggested moving the ice breaker to the very beginning of the program in order to start the session off with interaction and beginning to make connections among the participants.

Student Responses

                We received positive insight as well as suggestions that will help us to improve our program design. As a group creating a program for adult learners it is important to be open to criticism and suggestions regarding the effectiveness of the program. The suggestions received were insightful and definitely worth noting.

                Having professionals review our program and point out positives as well as areas of improvement is actually very enlightening. As the creators of the program it is easy to miss the different areas of improvement. The information gained from the professionals evaluations is invaluable. It is always important to be self-reflective, reading through the evaluations has encouraged that process.

                Mrs. Mathis suggested adding SMART goals to the program. This would definitely be beneficial to our participants. Having them set goals that are specific and measureable will set them up for more success going forward. SMART goals would easily fit into the portion of each session where participants are encouraged to reflect and think about what they will change going forward. This will just take that one step further. Participants will be able to take time at the end of each session in order to reflect on what they have learned and set goals specific to the content. Mrs. Mathis also suggested putting a system in place so we could follow up with participants after the fact. This would be invaluable to ensure the participants actually followed through with their goals. This would also give them the chance to ask any questions and give any other feedback they may have.

                Mr Carter suggested moving the ice breaker to the beginning of the sessions in order to promote togetherness and relieve anxiety. This would be helpful to set the tone for the evening. This would, therefore, allow participants to share more with one another in a more relaxed environment. Tashika also mentioned she would add professionals from business management and healthcare to offer different perspectives. This would be helpful because the other viewpoints could add different types of ideas and learning to the sessions. This could be done during the Leadership 101 session. We could set it up as a round table with a lot of conversation and collaboration.

                Overall, the suggestions from the two professionals were worth noting and thinking about incorporating into our program. There is definitely value in having other professionals review your work. Having someone on the outside look at the work you have done and help you make it better is an amazing resource. This is all part of being a reflective practitioner.

Group Reflection

Highlights

What makes this assignment unique is that can be open to other professionals besides educators or child development professionals with experience with working with children, daycare owners and interest in starting childcare centers. I’ve learned that it takes a multidisciplinary team to achieve a solid program. I completed assignment by asking someone from a different field from a management perspective, this is where I came up with having a multidisciplinary team.  I’m learning with only two of us group members the important of time management so this will allow the both of us to not feel stressed but also learn to work together and offer support.

Process

                Since there are two members of our group we each had a professional we know complete the evaluation. We were able to be proactive and have the evaluations completed a week before the assignment was due. This gave us the opportunity to really reflect and review the evaluations in order to complete the rest of the assignment.  We then each did our part of the assignment, pulled it together into one cohesive paper, and submitted it to the blog. We also both read through it in order to check for correct spelling and grammar. If I was to give advice to other students who were going to be completing this assignment I would recommend being proactive and getting your responses from the professionals as soon as possible. There are a lot of aspects of the assignment that need to be completed but you cannot do any of them without the professional’s responses. Overall, this assignment is incredibly valuable in order to truly create the best possible program.

Summary of Program Evaluation

Evaluator	Ideas for Improving	Our Response
Jenny Mathis	Including SMART Goals Following up with participants in order to ensure they are meeting their goals	Include SMART Goals as an activity at the end of each session in the program Follow up with participants 2 weeks after the end of the final session via email to check in on their progress
Bobby Carter	Moving the ice breaker to the beginning to the sessions	Move the ice breakers to the very beginning of each session.

Evaluation #1

1.       Name, role, and qualifications:

a.       Jenny Mathis – School Age Specialist, Child Care Answers, BA Psychology

2.       What do they like most about our program design?

a.       “The many opportunities for reflection to allow participants to take a look at themselves and identify their own strengths and weaknesses, and the use of assessment tools to guide the reflection.”

3.       What do they think should be improved? Why and how?

a.       “I think it could be improved by incorporating a small piece on “SMART” goal setting. With goal setting being a key component of the program, I think it would be important to set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time sensitive. Also, I think a plan for follow up on the goal setting would be beneficial to help gage the effectiveness of the learning.”

Evaluation #2

1.       Name, role, and qualifications:

a.       Bobby Carter – Project Manager, The S/L/A/M Collaborative

2.       What do they like most about out program design?

a.        “I like that the facilitator will introduce an icebreaker to encourage a small group to help participants relax and get ready to participate get-together. Small group icebreaker games can introduce group members to each other, help them know each other better, and create a climate of fun and relaxation. Items three (3) and four (4) in the content schedule are in the right location. I believe that coaching should be a strong component of you content schedule. Coaching is a relationship-based process led by an expert with specialized and adult learning knowledge and skills. This person often serves in a different professional role than the recipients. Coaching is designed to build capacity for specific professional dispositions, skills, and behaviors and is focused on goal-setting and achievement for an individual or group.”

3.       What do they think should be improved? Why and how?

a.       “What would help improve this program is to move the icebreaker to the front of your program content schedule, because you would want your participants to be relaxed when they receive a series of important documents.”