Will R. Yliniemi M.Ed. Extension Cohort Project Learning Task # 4, May 17, 1999

WHAT ARE MY CO-WORKERS SEEKING?

My participation in the recent cohort planned, designed and delivered Early Career Professional Development Training for recently hired University of Minnesota Extension Service Educators, has stimulated my interest in transformational learning and adult learning processes. I will attempt to translate how participants viewed the learning experience with relationship to the teaching or activity methodology relating to evaluation.

In May, 99, the cohort group planned and conducted its second professional development session for 1999. My major contributions during the training was to facilitate a session entitled Program Evaluation: Practical Ideas and Tool Kit, and to do a verbal group exit evaluation with participants at the conclusion of the of the professional development conference.

The evaluation component of the training relied on the expertise of University of Minnesota Extension Service Program Evaluation Leader, Dick Kruger. Dr. Kruger demonstrated a wealth of technical experience and academic knowledge relating to evaluation methods and terminology. He disseminated an outline on How to Think Like an Evaluator, and lectured on the components of evaluation. The materials were excellent, and if one were an academic evaluation guru needs were being satisfied.

During my facilitation of this session, I asked myself these questions: Does this presentation meet the needs of the audience? Is the audience engaged and do they see the connection of the materials to their personal and work world? Are they motivated to take personal responsibility in learning this stuff? Do they know how information about evaluation can be integrated, applied, and contextualized?

As Dr. Kruger made his presentation, I found that I was not able to answer most these questions I had posed to myself. This stimulated me to solicit clarification from Dr. Kruger and request that he apply evaluation theories to practical examples and link the abstract to the concrete. This was done with some difficulty, but stimulated Dr. Kruger into relating stories about his extension evaluation experiences as an extension educator.

During the post conference verbal evaluation, it was obvious that some of the goals of educator integration of evaluation methodology were not adequately met, primarily because of lack of familiarity of the presenter with the needs of the student. I draw this conclusion, even though the overall verbal comments only hinted that the objectives were not adequately met.

I believe that the concept of peer-to-peer training, as we had visualized at the inception of using the Cohort group to conduct the Early Career Workshops for new educators, was violated in this exercise. The reliance on an outside expert to deliver the message in an academic verses practical personal experience (peer-to-peer) format resulted in a less than satisfactory outcome. The pre-purposed assumption of the cohort training system was that practical examples will satisfy learning needs of targeted learning objectives, because educators would better be able to relate due to the similarity of work goals, pressures and anxieties.

The lesson is that learning suffers if methods do not match goals. I believe that it is important in transformational learning, that planning involves the understanding of the relevance of topics, self and group evaluation, team building, and adoption of peer interaction and integration.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 1999

Answers

I think that information about "how to think like an evaluator" is really important. Will you tell us more about that during the research course? Or on email? I think that the "mind-set" is something to practice that will help us all.

I think your comment about using an outside "expert" violating the peer-to-peer intent is part of the truth. But, on the other hand, as I've been reading the "what my coworkers think" from everybody, there seems to be a real mix in wants and needs. I suspect that like learning styles and approaches, the "who" to do the "informing" in various contexts and situations will always vary...such a complicated thing! Let's revisit this as we go along.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 1999