Evaluation Caf茅 is pleased to offer both in-person and virtual options. Join us for lunch and a thought-provoking conversation in 4410 Ellsworth or via Zoom.
Caf茅 Schedule
We're excited to host another year of Evaluation Caf茅. View our spring schedule below!
Brandon W. Youker
Evaluation Lab Director
Evaluation Lab
Western Michigan University
Learning through the Lab
At 51福利社鈥檚 Evaluation Lab, undergraduate student-employees receive evaluation-specific training and supervision while working on multiple evaluation projects in the Kalamazoo community. During this Evaluation Caf茅, Dr. Brandon Youker, the Eval Lab's director, will provide an overview of the lab, its structure, and history. A panel of undergraduate student-evaluators will describe their experiences at the lab and its impact on them. They will discuss how the lab engages them in evaluation, empowers them to make decisions, and provides them growth and leadership opportunities. The Q&A portion of the session will allow audience members to learn more about strategies, benefits, and challenges associated with engaging students in evaluation.
Daniela Schr枚ter
School of Public Affairs and Administration
Western Michigan University
Lyssa Wilson Becho
The Evaluation Center
Western Michigan University
Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead
Neag School of Education
University of Connecticut
Navigating the Garden of Evaluation Approaches
Join us in this interactive Evaluation Caf茅 to explore the Garden of Evaluation Approaches. Together, we will delve into practice dimensions of evaluation to enhance flexibility and intentionality in our evaluative work. Discover how to use the Garden to foster creativity, inclusivity, and practical application, making informed and adaptive choices across diverse evaluation contexts. Explore new additions to the Garden, connect with peers, and walk away with actionable insights and tools to navigate and apply the Garden framework effectively in your practice.
For background, the Garden of Evaluation is a multidimensional, practice-oriented framework that presents a holistic, evolving ecosystem of evaluation approaches. Designed to enhance understanding and communication about evaluation, the Garden organizes and compares approaches across key practice dimensions. The visual representations ("flowers") map each approach by its underlying worldview, research design, and dimensions of values and valuing, context, use, breadth and depth of engagement, power dynamics, and activism for social justice. The expanded Garden now includes additional approaches and maps initial garden areas.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
After this presentation, audience members will
- know the practical dimensions that make up the Garden
- know how they might use the Garden in their own work
- know where to get additional resources (i.e., handouts)
Cherie M. Avent, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois
Unlocking Insights: Approaches to Data Integration and Effective Reporting in Mixed Methods Studies
Many evaluators utilize mixed methods to understand the complexities of social programs. Two important components in a mixed methods study are data integration and communicating the findings/results. Data integration is the intentional combining of qualitative and quantitative findings in a study. Sharing the story or results following integration can present unique and challenging opportunities. Participants of this workshop will learn approaches to data integration based on mixed methods design types. Furthermore, we will discuss strategies for reporting and disseminating mixed methods findings to diverse audiences.
Karen T. Jackson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Leadership Studies
North Carolina A&T State University
President, American Evaluation Association
More information coming soon!
Brad Watts
Assistant Director
The Evaluation Center
Western Michigan University
Goldie MacDonald, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Evaluation
National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Refreshing the Program Evaluation Standards to Better Serve the Field
The Joint Committee on Educational Evaluation's Program Evaluation Standards (PES) are the official evaluation quality standards in the U.S. and Canada. However, much has changed in the evaluation field since the 3rd edition of the standards was published in 2010. This presentation will share how the committee is addressing some of these changes through refreshed language, new standard statements, and a streamlined format for a forthcoming 4th edition of the PES. Additionally, attendees will learn about how practicing evaluators can contribute to the revision process by serving as field testers.
Sarah Mason
Director, Center for Research Evaluation
University of Mississippi
Err....you're an evaluator? Research on explaining evaluators to non-evaluators
To advance our field, people need to know what evaluation is and why it is of value. However, many evaluators know that it can be difficult to explain what we do to those unfamiliar with evaluation. This presentation explores a series of research studies exploring (a) the general public's understanding of evaluation, and (2) strategies for explaining evaluation to non-evaluators. Sarah will share findings from experiments on how to enhance understanding of evaluation and reflections on building the profile of our profession.