Interesting Question
February 19, 2007
"Consider whether activities from which participants learn the most are necessarily those that puch them out of their 'comfort zone?'"
This question was posed by Andrew Martin as a result of his case study on Outward Bound. It is a question that experiential practitioners have discussed in school, in conference workshops, at networking days, and on-line. Yet, what I have not seen thus far is an individual or organization with statistical weight behind their opinions and theories.
Research does not have to be and should not only be focused on whether or not experiential education is effective. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of nuances within our field that deserve further study. The more we critique and analyze our own field the less others will be able to. Begin thinking about what questions you'd like to find answers to. Better yet, start the search.
Labels: Comfort Zone, Evaluation, Experiential, Research
posted by Jay @ 2/19/2007,
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Evaluation: A beginning
February 12, 2007
"Research is a type of inquiry that uses systematic methods and rigorous procedures derived from scientific knowledge and logical thinking to "prove" whether a practice is effective in generalized situations. For example, a study that examines how trust is consistently developed in most groups across many programs would be a form of research.
Evaluation is another type of inquiry that uses similar research-related skills to "improve" practice effectiveness in a specific situation. For example, a study that examines whether trust actually develops in a single group in one program would be a form of evaluation.
Generalizability is the degree to which research or evaluation findings from a study can be applied to other situations that were not studied. Generalizability is the principal difference between these two types of inquiry. Research seeks a higher amount of generalizability than evaluation and so has stringent requirements about selecting or controlling subjects, treatments, variables, and measurements within a study. Again, fear of research and its precise requirements for generalization unfortunately prevents many practitioners from conducting evaluations.
From: A Program Evaluation Primer by Simon Priest
Evaluation - A Road to Research
Whether or not you ever do a single research study you can (and should) be performing evaluations of your services and programs. Evaluations themselves serve as an important aid in the process of delivering effective programming and are easily implemented into existing program structures. Moreover, with a few simple steps your personal refinement towards greater effectiveness through evaluations could be a beginning for future research. Here's how...
- Conduct evaluations
- Log and document you evaluations, their findings, and changes made based on them
- Compiled evaluation data can be used in research studies - both personal studies and/or external researchers in need of data (ie. Grad students are always looking for data. Contacting college programs to inform them of the data you have available could significantly benefit a research project and subsequently our field.)
Labels: Evaluation, Research
posted by Jay @ 2/12/2007,
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