Designing an Evaluation Approach

Week 10: Designing an Evaluation Approach

As the focus on evaluation continues from last week, you now delve deeper into designing evaluation for your program. As you proceed through this week, think about how your overall program design informs the design of your evaluation approach. Recognizing that evaluation is applied through the different stages in the life of a program, what do you think this means for your program?

This week you examine an evaluation plan for a program in the literature and discuss insights with your colleagues in a Discussion. You develop an evaluation approach that is suitable for your program, completing and submitting Assignment 4 this week. You also prepare to conclude your Practicum Experience (next week).
Learning Objectives
Students will:

Assess an evaluation plan for a program or intervention
Develop an evaluation plan with goals and objectives

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Moore, H.K., Preussler, J., Denzen, E.M., Payton, T.J., Thao, V., Murphy, E.A. & Harwood, E. (2014). Designing and operationalizing a customized internal evaluation model for cancer treatment support programs, Journal Cancer Education, 29, 463-372 doi10.1007/s13187-014-0644-8

Redwood, D., Provost, E., Lopez, E.D., Skewes, M., Johnson, R., Christensen, C., Sacco, F., & Haverkamp, D. (2016). A process evaluation of the Alaska Native colorectal cancer family outreach program. Health Education & Behavior, 43(1), 35-42 doi: 10.1177/1090198115590781

Robbins, L.B., Pfeiffer, K.A., Weolek, S.M., & Lo, Y. (2014). Process evaluation for a school-based physical intervention for 6th and 7th grade boys: Reach, dose, and fidelity. Evaluation and Program Planning, 42, 21–31 doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2013.09.002

Discussion: Evaluation in Programs

As a leader in the field, it is essential to learn from the successes and challenges that others have encountered. Particularly with the design and evaluation of programs, many expensive and difficult lessons have already been discovered through previous endeavors.

For this Discussion, you review the literature and analyze a program’s evaluation plan. As you do this, consider what can be surmised from this example and the others shared by your colleagues to guide the development of your program’s evaluation plan.

To prepare:

Search the literature and select an article of interest that includes a program evaluation. You may also select an article that has been presented in this course.
Consider the following:
Was the evaluation plan appropriate to the design of the program?
Identify the goals and objectives of the evaluation plan.
What were the activities related to this evaluation?
Based upon the data, how valid are the outcomes?

By Day 3

Post a cohesive scholarly response that addresses the following:

Assess the appropriateness of the evaluation plan and share other information or insights as it relates to the evaluation approach.
Include a full citation of your selected article.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.