8084 Module 6 Blog

Posted by   Michelle Hampton  at Thursday, August 4, 2022 7:31:51 AM

Me as a Scholar-Practictioner

Early childhood education is characterized by various evaluation initiatives that manifest from time to time. I would use the information and abilities I've developed from my career experience and academic understanding if I were given the chance to lead an evaluation initiative. Using these abilities, I would examine the evaluation's goal, the instruments being employed, and the parties involved. As Kouzes and Posner (2007) explains, a crucial component of being a responsible scholar-practitioner is the ability to make rational choices. Therefore, I will use rationality to make choices that are both helpful and informative, as far as leading successful evaluation initiatives are concerned.

My Biggest Challenge

My biggest challenge is selective mutism—an anxiety disorder where a person is unable to speak in certain social situations, such as with classmates at school or to relatives they do not see very often. This means that I will not be able to communicate the results to the stakeholders in a manner to be able to achieve the goals of the initiative. Another barrier is biasness during the evaluation process. Some biases can be avoided while others are totally unrecognizable. The simplest instance of bias in program evaluation is the case of the evaluator who is part of the program staff and loses objectivity because of social and economic bonds to the development staff, compounded by the cumulative effect of repeated acceptance (or rejection) of evaluative suggestions. I must ensure that avoid such biases in my initiative.

Addressing My Challenges

The best way to address this issue is through behavioral therapies to gradually encourage myself to speak in increasingly difficult situations with the help of positive reinforcement. Other treatments, such as psychotherapy and medication, may help address the underlying anxiety I might face in social situations. With regard to biasness, we are all biased. Our brains were designed to be. We categorize information to store it, which means we have to make judgments. Those judgments rely on our past experiences, which, in turn shape our perspectives (Jackson, 2020). The best thing to do is to ensure that these biases are to the minimum. I will start by building my awareness to make fact-based decisions with a clear mind from within, through belief, mindfulness, and other techniques.

References

Jackson, J. (2020). Three Ways To Avoid Bias In Decision-Making. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jarretjackson/2020/08/26/three-ways-to-avoid-bias-in-decision-making/?sh=5f524a00a715

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Posted by   Kate Morales  at Thursday, August 4, 2022 2:26:15 AM

Explain your responsibility, as a scholar practitioner, to lead evaluation initiatives.

As a scholar practitioner, I believe that I am responsible for reflecting on and improving the program I work within. This ties to evaluation initiatives because I will be responsible for assessing, reflecting on data, and making improvements to move the program forward while also sharing the importance of and the why behind it to our stakeholders. For example, scholar practitioners are committed to learning new ways of being effective, and conceptualizing their work in relation to broader organizational contexts. Scholar practitioners explicitly reflect on and assess the impact of their work. (Distefano, A., Rudestam, K. E., & Silverman, R. J. 2004)

Explain what might be your greatest barrier and/or most important downfall to avoid when leading program evaluations and why.

I think the greatest barrier is getting everyone on the same page as to the why of program evaluations. All stakeholders need to understand why assessment and evaluation is important. This includes families, teaching staff, admin, and funders. I currently work for a non-profit early intervention program and this is a barrier that we face. However, another barrier is funding. Funders and private donors like to see data that evaluations and assessments are working but it is hard to get that data when you don’t have the funds to implement a reliable and credible evaluation/assessment within your program. 

 Describe how you might minimize this barrier and/or downfall to ensure that evaluations are effective.

I will minimize this barrier by communicating regularly and intentionally with all stakeholders. I will need to be trained in the evaluation process and have a complete understanding of the evaluation tool in order to share accurate information with stakeholders. I would then form a group that focuses on reflecting on the data and making changes. This group would include stakeholders including families, teaching staff, admin and funders to ensure that all voices are heard and engaged. 

Reference

Posted by   Heather Lang  at Wednesday, August 3, 2022 7:59:54 PM

Heather Lang

MD 6: Discussion 1

Initial Post

                                     Scholar Practitioners Who Impact Future Change

       Responsibilities as a Scholar Practitioner

     Scholar practitioners are researchers looking to advance their field of study. As a pre-kindergarten educator for example with minimal official evaluations aside from Quality Rated; I look to see if, our program could become accredited through National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Our speakers highly promote the accreditation process and outcomes for programs (Walden University, 2016c). Scholar practitioners question rationales for choices in their field and often, uncover evidence that other possibilities are available to alter the path of education particularly early childhood education (ECE). Early childhood programs provide a wealth of researchable areas that often, lead to the evaluation of program effectiveness. If, we as scholar practitioners ignore the why questions progress is significantly hindered. 

Greatest Barrier in Leading Program Evaluations

     The greatest barrier in leading program evaluation is communicating purpose and results of program evaluations. Stakeholders often, vary in knowledge base presenting possible misunderstanding for or throughout, the accreditation process (Rodd, 2013, pp. 201-218). Stakeholders such as parents are limited in the scope of education and require evidence to support educators in making decisions in educational programs. The voices of all stakeholders are critical during, evaluations. 

                                Minimizing Barriers in Leading Program Evaluations

     Minimizing barriers in communication requires thorough understanding of the evaluation process by the presenter. Stakeholders cannot see through the words without, evidence or documentation to support the purpose of evaluations and possible outcomes from conducting evaluations (Weiss et al., 2011). The field of education is data driven thus, requiring knowledgeable individual to translate the results for others less knowledgeable of evaluation findings. 

                                                              References

Rodd, J. (2013). Leadership in early childhood: The pathway to professionalism (4th ed.). 

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016c). Voices from the field: Accreditation summary [Video file]. https://cdn-media.waldenu.edu/2dett4d/Walden/EDDD/8084/CH/mm/audio_interviews/module6.html

Posted by   Kelli Barnes  at Wednesday, August 3, 2022 7:45:50 PM

  Scholar Practitioners Who Impact Future Change  

When I entered the field of education, evaluations and program initiatives were not at the forefront of my priorities.  However, as I have become a seasoned teacher and through this course, I can appreciate the necessity for program evaluations and initiatives to strive for better quality systems for all stakeholders invested.  As a scholar practitioner, it would be my duty to promote a positive learning environment while ensuring that quality and effectiveness were observed through programs. This can be done by evaluations that include teacher effectiveness, public relations, and overall development of students.   To witness a positive change, this data would be employed effectively to ensure that appropriate advancements were made (Dykes, 2016).  This would in turn create a continuing initiative to strive to improve.   As all aspects of life face challenges and barriers, so do scholar practitioners. While executing these imperative evaluations and utilizing the data to drive excellence, time is always an issue.  With so many responsibilities being placed on educators, program evaluations and the steps they require become just another task to accomplish.  Thus, time has been and will always be a constant struggle when implementing program evaluations (Walden University, 2016.).   Because of this obstacle, often evaluations do not yield worthy data.    However, there can be a solution.  Removing unnecessary responsibilities and providing more time would be a start to improving the time struggle.  Eliminating so much paperwork and creating more digital aspects could also alleviate the struggle of feeling as if there is just not enough time.  Our children are important and the data we receive from evaluations is crucial.  It is our responsibility to start breaking down these barriers to ensure success!

References

Dykes, B. (2016, March 31). Data storytelling: The essential data science skill everyone

Posted by   Elizabeth Bell  at Wednesday, August 3, 2022 6:23:58 PM

                                           Blog Week 10

It is my responsibility as a scholar-practitioner to understand the importance of evaluations, and how to collaborate, and support staff, families, and all stakeholders. It is my responsibility to understand why data is important and how to read and understand the data to be able to address beneficial program changes. It is also my responsibility to know how to share the data with stakeholders in an understandable format (Toolbox Ch.6). Feedback is essential to let the stakeholders see if we are meeting our goals, and where we might need more effort. My greatest barrier could be aggregating the data effectively, along with understanding the stakeholder's roles, and needs from data collecting. Evaluating the data is complex. Perhaps to ease this problem would be to have some mentor evaluators go over the data together to see areas we need to improve. According to Dykes (2016), data must be utilized efficiently and appropriately to yield positive change.

                                          References

Dykes, B. (2016, March 31). Data storytelling: The essential data science skill everyone

Posted by   BREANN CROCKER  at Monday, August 1, 2022 10:49:30 AM

       As a scholar-practitioner, I am responsible for leading evaluation initiatives to ensure that the curriculums being used within my

school provide students with the highest quality education that supports their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development

(NAEYC, 2003). Leading yearly program evaluations at my school would give teachers specific time to look at their assessment data

and see if the curriculum was effective for that year (NAEYC, 2003). Having time to examine the programming within the school

would also lead to discussions about which lessons and units are working well and which ones may need to be changed to align with

the continued growth and goals of the program. 

       The most significant barrier I would face when leading a program evaluation is the lack of staff training on effectively evaluating a

program. A program can not be effectively evaluated until everyone looks at the evaluation through the same critical lens and can

understand the standards being evaluated so teachers can see what changes need to be made (Walden University, 2016). To minimize

this barrier, I would ask the administration to set time aside for staff to be trained in the evaluation process. That could mean having a

trained evaluator coming in and running a workshop, or I could get trained on how to train staff, then come back and run the workshop

myself. Either way, staff can understand what they are looking for when conducting an evaluation. 

       Another barrier is time for staff to complete self-reflections and self-assessments, which are crucial to any program evaluation

(Walden Univeristy, 2016). Anyone working in a school knows that there is never enough time to do everything you need in a day.

There is barely enough time to photocopy and grade papers, let alone have time for meaningful self-reflection. Even workshop days are

packed with district training and meetings. For teachers to have enough time to complete reflections and evaluations, it would be

essential to talk with the district and school administration before the start of the school year to brainstorm days and times where staff

could complete self-reflections and evaluations uninterrupted. Workshop days and weekly team meetings would be the best times for

these reflections and evaluations to happen so that they do not interfere with staff planning. Not cutting into planning time would also

mean staff would be more willing to take the time to complete these tasks. With adequate planning and purposeful time, staff could

complete the self-reflections and self-evaluations needed for an effective program evaluation. 

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: