Addressing complexity in educational program evaluation: Focusing on intent
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
This demonstration will include a description of how focusing on intent supports the evaluation of complex educational programs, including how this approach was used in the evaluation of a teacher professional development program. The characterization of complex systems as holistic, non-linear, and changing has implications for the way educational programs should be evaluated. Evaluators often think of a program in terms of part-to-whole relationships, reducing a program to its components; however, they typically do not purposefully think about whole-to-part relationships. It is necessary to address both when considering complexity. Focusing on the intent of a program is holistic; the activities and outcomes are part of the program, but they also operationalize intent. Further, to understand intent, an evaluator must study patterns and underlying structures that influence intent. Thus, a focus on intent better addresses complexity by emphasizing part-to-whole and whole-to-part relationships, as well as patterns and structures.
