Your organization invests a great deal into learning and development programs. Do you know if your programs are working? Worth the investment of time and other resources? If your programs are meeting their goals, do you have insight as to why? Or, if they’re not performing well, do you know what they need to succeed? 

Program evaluation is about applying systematic methods to collect, analyze, interpret, and communicate data about a program to understand its design, implementation, outcomes, or impacts. Simply put, it’s about asking good questions, gathering the right data, and using what we learn to make good decisions.

In this session Sheila will provide a brief overview of five phases of program evaluation – 1.) engagement and understanding, 2.) evaluation questions, 3.) data collection, 4.) data analysis and interpretation, and 5.) reporting and use. She will share key questions you need to ask and answer during each phase, along with a list of the types of tools you can use to conduct a program evaluation. 

In this session, attendees will learn:

• The key phases of a program evaluation
• How program evaluation is distinct from employee evaluation and from research 
• How program evaluation can contribute to continuous improvement

 

What attendees said... Gary Banks:  Great presentation!   Amy:  Asking the right questions and you don't need to report out on everything   Sabrina A:  Thank you for great, valuable information   Jeffrey Davidson:  Visualizing data   Cassandra B:  This was so helpful   Rachel B:  learn about coding strategies   Corban Remund:  Engagement and Understanding    Jenn B:  ask the right questions!   Apral:  Evaluation Questions - to be clear about what we want/need the program to do.    Lisa S: It's okay to use an eclectic approach!   Krista Moses:  what to measure- how to craft questions to measure it... THE SWEET SPOT!

Sheila B. Robinson, Ed.D., Custom Professional Learning, LLC, is a speaker, educator, and consultant with a passion for the science of teaching and learning, presentations, and asking questions. Through her talks, professional development workshops and university courses, Sheila teaches people how to make the most of professional learning and how to ask good questions, along with program evaluation, survey design, data visualization, audience engagement, and presentation design.
  
Sheila is author of Designing Quality Survey Questions, a text focused on a respondent-centered and research-based survey design process that focuses on how we ask questions of our respondents, and Professional Development Program Evaluation for the Win: How to Sleep Well at Night Knowing Your Professional Learning Is Effective, a free ebook on training program evaluation.

Sheila is a Certified Presentation Specialist (CPS)™, Vice President of the Presentation Guild, and Senior Design and Facilitation Consultant with Evergreen Data.