Probable? Maybe. Making a difference is always possible.

Oxford English Dictionary defines possible as capable of being (may/can exist, be done, or happen). It defines probable as worthy of acceptance, believable.

Ray Bradbury : “I define science fiction as the art of the possible. Fantasy is the art of the impossible.”

Somebody asked me what was the difference between science fiction and fantasy. Certainly the simple approach is that science fiction deals with the possible (if you can think it, it can happen). Fantasy deals with monsters, fairies, goblins, and other mythical creatures, i.e., majic and majical creatures.

(Disclaimer: I personally believe in majic; much of fantasy deals with magic.) I love the Arthurian legend (it could be fantasy; it has endured for so long it is believable). It is full of majic. I especially like the Marion Zimmer Bradley book, The Mists of Avalon . (I find the feminist perspective refreshing.)

Is fantasy always impossible as Bradbury suggests, or is it just improbable? (Do the rules of physics apply?) This takes me back to Bradbury’s quote and evaluation after the minor digression. Bradbury also says that “Science fiction, again, is the history of ideas, and they’re always ideas that work themselves out and become real and happen in the world.” Not unlike evaluation. Evaluation works itself out and becomes real and happens. Usually.

Evaluation and the possible.

Often, I am invited to be the evaluator of record after the program has started. I sigh. Then I have a lot of work to do. I must teach folks that evaluation is not an “add on” activity. I must also teach the folks how to identify the difference the program made. Then there is the issue of outputs (activities, participants) vs. outcomes (learning, behavior, conditions). Many principal investigators want to count differences pre-post.

Does the “how many” provide a picture of what difference the program made? If you start with no or few participants and you end with many participants, have you made a difference? Yes, it is possible to count. Counts often meet reporting requirements. They are possible. So is documenting the change in knowledge, behavior, and conditions. It takes more work and more money. It is possible. Will you get to world peace? Probably not. Even if you can think it. World peace may be probable; it may not be possible (at least in my lifetime).

my .

molly.

Thinking. We do it all the time (hopefully). It is crucial to making even the smallest decisions (what to wear, what to eat), and bigger decisions (where to go, what to do). Given this challenging time, even news watchers would be advised to use evaluative and critical thinking. Especially since evaluation is an everyday activity.

This graphic was provided by WNYC. (There are other graphics; use your search engine to find them.)This graphic makes good sense to me and this applies to almost every news cast (even those without a shooter!). Continue reading →

I want to talk about learning. Real learning. This week I am borrowing a blog from another writer intact. I have never done this. True, I have taken parts of blogs and quoted them. This blog post from the blog called “adapting to perpetual beta” by Harold Jarche is applied here in its entirety because I think the topic is important. I have added the visuals except for the Rodin, which was in the original post.

Yes, it relates to evaluation. We learn (those who value evaluation) throughout our careers. The various forms of learning are engaged (see: Edgar Dale who designed the learning cone though not with percentages that are usually attributed to the styles).(This particular version was developed by Bruce Hyland based on Dale’s work.) When you read the post below, think about how you learn. Engages? Reflective?

real learning is not abstract

Posted 2016-06-20

Are we entering an era that heralds ‘The End of Reflection’, as this NY Times article suggests?

Continue reading →

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you have not found it yet, keep looking. Do not settle. ~~Steve Jobs.

Last week I wrote about an epiphany I had many years ago, one in which I did not settle.

I made choices about the work I did. I made choices about the life I lived. I did not settle.

It is an easy life to “go with the flow”; to settle, if you will. Convenience is not always the best way even though it might be the easiest. Did I do great work? I don’t know. Did I hear stories of the work I did? I was told after the fact that I had made a difference because of the work I had done. Perhaps, making a difference is doing great work. Perhaps.

However, this quote from Steve Jobs reminded me that loving what one does is important, even if one does not do “great work”. If one does not love what one does, one needs to do what one loves. Continue reading →

NOTE: This was written last week. I didn’t have time to post. Enjoy.

Methodology, aka implementation, monitoring, and deliveryis important. What good is it if you just gather the first findings that come to mind. Being rigorous here is just as important as when you are planning and modeling the program. So I’ve searched the last six years of blogs posts and gathered some of them for you. They are all about Survey, a form of methodology. Survey is a methodology that is often used by Extension, as it is easy to use. However, organizing the survey, getting the survey’s back, and dealing with non-response are problematic (another post, another time).

The previous posts are organized by date from the oldest to the most recent:

2016/04/21 (today’s post isn’t hyperlinked)

Just a few words on surveys today: A colleague asked about an evaluation survey for a recent conference. It will be an online survey probably using the University system, Qualtrics. My colleague jotted down a few ideas. The thought occurred to me that this book (by Ellen Taylor-Powell and Marcus Renner) would be useful. On page ten of this book, it asks for the type of information that is needed and wanted. It lists five types of possible information:

Participant reaction (some measure of satisfaction);
Teaching and facilitation (strengths and weaknesses of the presenter, who may (or may not) change the next time);
Outcomes (what difference/benefits/intentions did the participant experience);
Future programming (other educational needs/desires); and
Participant background (who is attending and who isn’t can be answered here).

Thinking through these five categories made all the difference for my colleague. (Evaluation was a new area.) I had forgotten about how useful this booklet is for people being exposed to evaluation for the first time and to surveys, as well. I recommend it.

I am a social scientist. I look for the social in the science of what I do.

I am an evaluator as a social scientist. I want to determine the merit, worth, value of what I do. I want to know that the program I’m evaluating (or offering) made a difference. (After all, the root of evaluation is value.)

Keeping that in mind has resulted (over the years) in the comment, “no wonder she is the evaluator” when I ask an evaluative question. So I was surprised when I read a comment by a reader that implied that it didn’t matter. The reader said, “The ugly truth is, it does not matter if it makes a difference. Somewhere down the road someone will see your post and may be it will be useful for him.” (Now you must know that I’ve edited the comment, although the entire comment doesn’t support my argument: Evaluators need to know if the program made a difference.)

So the thought occurred to me, what if it didn’t make a difference? What if the program has no value? No worth? No merit? What if by evaluating the program you find that it won’t be useful for the participant? What does that say about you as an evaluator? You as a program designer? You as an end user? Is it okay for the post to be useful “somewhere down the road”? Is blogging truly “a one way channel to transfer any information you have over the web.” How long can a social-scientist-always-looking-at-the-social continue to work when the information goes out and rarely comes back? I do not know. I do know that blogging is hard work. After six and one-half years of writing this blog almost weekly, writer’s block is my constant companion. (although being on a computer, I do not have a pile of paper, just blank screens). So I’m turning to you, readers:

Does it make a difference whether I write this blog or not?

Am I abdicating my role as an evaluator when I write the blog?

I don’t know. Over the years I have gotten some interesting comments (other than the “nice job” “keep up the work” types of comments). I will pause (not in my writing; I’ll continue to do that) and think about this. After all, I am an evaluator wanting to know what difference this program makes.

my .

molly.

Today, I’m going to talk about evaluation use that is, the using of evaluation findings. Now, Michael Patton wrote the book (actually more than one) on the topic. And I highly recommend that book (and the shorter version, Essentials of Utilization-Focused Evaluation [461 pages including the index as opposed to 667]).

I firmly believe that there is no point in conducting an evaluation if the final report of that evaluation sits on someone’s shelf and IS NEVER USED! Not just read (hopefully!), USED to make the program better. To make a difference.

Today, though, I want to talk about how that final report is put together. It doesn’t matter if it is an info-graphic, a dash-board, an executive summary, a 300-page document, it all has to be your best effort. So I want to talk about your best effort.

That best effort is accurate, not only reporting the findings, also the spelling, the grammar, the syntax.

For example: The word “data” is a plural word and takes a plural noun. Yep. Check the dictionary folks. Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary says (under the entry data) plural of DATUM. (I’ll bet you didn’t know that the plural of OPUS is OPERA. Just another example of the peculiarities of the English language.) The take away here: When in doubt, check it out!

When I put together a final report (regardless of the format), I use the 5Cs as a guideline. (I also use it as a basis of reviewing manuscripts.) Those 5Cs are: Clarity. Coherence. Conciseness. Correctness. Consistency. Following the 5Cs results in a product in which I can be proud.

How do you use your evaluation report? Keep these things in mind!

molly.

The Highest Appreciation

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

– John F. Kennedy

Gratitude must be a habit. Each day needs to be began and ended with gratefulness. Then if you can live by that gratefulness, you will utter the words and be grateful. That is what evaluation is all about–holding to the higher ground. Not just doing something to get it done; doing something (in this case the evaluation) because it is right as you know it today, in this moment, under these circumstances.

Doing evaluation just for the sake of evaluating, because it would be nice to know, is not the answer. Yes, it may be nice to know; does it make a difference? Does the program (policy, performance, product, project, etc.) make a difference in the lives of the participants. As a social scientist, it is important for me to look at the “social” side of what I do; that means dealing with people, the participants, you know the social part. I want to determine what the participants are thinking, feeling, doing. That means, I must walk my talk. And be grateful.

There are lots of resources available that help the nascent evaluator do just that. My recommendation is to start with Jody Fitzpatrick’s volume . I would also check out the American Evaluation Association site. There is a lot of information available to non-members (becoming a member is worth the cost). Then depending on what you specifically want to know, let me know. I’ll suggest references to you.

molly.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ~Nelson Mandela

How many times have you shaken your head in wonder? in confusion? in disbelief?

Regularly throughout your life, perhaps. (Now if you are a wonder kid, you probably have just ignored the impossible and moved on to something else.) Most of us will have been in awe; uncertainty; incredulity. Most of us will always look at that which seems impossible and then be amazed when it is done. (Mandela was such a remarkable man who had such amazing insights.) Continue reading →

Recently, I read that 45% of individuals make New Year’s Resolutions and only 8% actually achieve success. Hmmm…not a friendly probability. Perhaps intentions about behavior are indeed more realistic. (Haven’t seen the statistics on that potential change. Mazanian (et al, 1998) does say stated intention to change is the most significant behavioral indicator.) My intention for 2016 is to provide content related to or about evaluation that provides you with something you didn’t have before you read the post (Point one). Examples follow: Continue reading →

Evaluation is an Everyday Activity

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Possible? You bet!

Probable? Maybe. Making a difference is always possible.

Evaluation and the possible.

Thinking

Learning. Real learning.

real learning is not abstract

Settling

Methodology

Making a difference…again.

Evaluation use

Gratitude

Impossibiltiy?

Intentions

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