Differently.

People don’t want something truly new, they want the familiar done differently.

OK. I got this idea from a blog post on sushi, well, actually “California Roll”.

Made me think. Evaluation is a service; that service is familiar; over the years it is done differently.

That moves the profession along–like language drift, only evaluation drift.

It is valuable to know formative/summative. (Thank you, Michael Scriven.)

It is also valuable to know that evaluation wouldn’t be were it is today if you didn’t understand that concept and how it applies to what you are doing with your evaluation.

So evaluation is like sushi (California Roll). Evaluation takes what is familiar and repackages it into something that will advance the profession.

Change

If it didn’t take what is familiar it would result in unfamiliar interfaces that are more difficult to use and impede adoption.

We want adaption. Progress. Subtle change. People can accept adoption. They see it as progress (not necessarily change–even though it is).

Adaption is subtle change.

That subtle change takes place over time.

Evaluation is not the same profession it was when I entered it as a graduate student.

Evaluation changed.

And evaluators changed with the profession.

Although it makes much sense to know the history, doing evaluation today draws from many other disciplines.

Because evaluation draws from many disciplines, evaluation is a trans-discipline. One that includes many disciplines.

Knowledge is moved forward; evaluation adapts. It is not the same profession it was; it is still familiar.