We are all part of different communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) that impact who it is possible for us to be and become. Through the process of self-study described in this paper, we seek to understand our personal experiences within a particular teacher education program, but also offer insight into the social and political complexities of…

This project seminar aims at creating and evaluating a manual for interdisciplinary projects as part of a learning process. Working together, pedagogies and students from different disciplines assess tools and recommendations for successful collaborations while developing an app for the cathedral in Freiberg. As part of the project the students…

On July 24 and 25, 2012, members of the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century gathered in Reston, Virginia, to discuss the progress made by the implementation team in addressing action items from the Task Force's Preserving the Dream of America 2008 report; the current environment for admission; and actions to be taken to further the task…

Questionnaires covering evaluation strategies and practices were sent to directors of 200 camps accredited by the American Camping Association. Half received questionnaires designed to collect quantitative data in the form of yes/no responses and Likert scales; the other half received qualitative questionnaires covering the same information in an…

This paper examines the concepts of program monitoring and program evaluation in the literature, and offers working definitions based on two dimensions of measurement: focus (what questions are addressed) and timing (how often the measures are taken). Focus can be on inputs to the program or outcomes from it; timing can be one-shot or continuous.…

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique), an approach developed by the Navy to identify time and cost resources and organize steps to streamline management, can smooth the special education referral process. PERT is a sophisticated scheduling method which, when adapted to the district, can expose bottlenecks, accurately estimate timelines,…

Described is a procedure (Audit Dress Rehearsal) used in a special education program audit consultation service which included a practice audit designed to lower anxiety and raise awareness of concern for program success. The introduction includes sections dealing with evaluation and audit personnel, planning and implementing an audit, and stages…

The reliability of evaluators' judgments was investigated, using a discrepancy evaluation model within a program evaluation context. Two research problems were addressed: the degree of evaluator reliability in detecting and rating problems in federal educational project planning, management, and evaluation; and the relationship between inter-judge…

Disagreement exists about the role and function of middle schools. Demand for improved student achievement, greater accountability, improved test scores, and greater responsiveness to parents characterize tensions. This paper reports on the efforts of one community to examine its middle-school program and reposition it to become more effective at…

This paper outlines purposes of program evaluation and provides practical information to help individuals from a wide spectrum of backgrounds use evaluation to move their program ahead in a purposeful manner. Wisely moving ahead requires an assessment of an organization's past and present as well as an examination of its assumptions about the…

The Special Projects (Innovations) Program of the Australian Schools Commission receives less funding than other programs of the commission but has been received more enthusiastically, perhaps because it encourages and supports local initiatives. Given the small scale and local derivation of the projects funded under the program, evaluation…

Because of problems involved in traditional impromptu contests, which require contestants to speak on topics that they know little or nothing about, administrators of the Big Sky Intercollegiate Forensic Tournament at the University of Montana modified the traditional contest structure in 1969 to permit impromptu speeches on sub-topics of general…

This series of papers on needs assessment and program evaluation for school library media supervisors defines these concepts and explores ways in which they can be applied to the school media program. Papers included are: "A Humanistic Approach to Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation," by Tom Sills; "Approaches to Needs Assessment and Program…

Because there appears to be a need for the facilitation of planning in elementary schools, the Center for the Study of Evaluation has established programs to provide for people in schools the knowledge and skills they need to do local program planning and evaluation. One of these programs is the self-instructional, self-contained Program Planning…

The two-part paper describes the PASS (Program Analysis of Service Service Systems) evaluation method and its use in assessing a local school district federally funded project for mainstreaming elementary-level handicapped children. It is explained that PASS is an approach based on normalization and accountability principles applicable to a…