December 1, 2008
Week 14 & 15 Reflections: On polishing and finishing and final things…
The week of Thanksgiving I took another look at my presentation, cut it down a little and decided what specifically I wanted to say. I timed myself and literally let out a cheer – I’d done it! FIVE MINUTES!
What relief! I’m feeling ready to present and am hopeful to not be too boring as well. While my presentation isn’t spectacularly creative, I think it’s relatively “light”, “clean” and loaded with graphics.
After Thanksgiving I tackled my final paper again. I’d made revisions – quite a few revisions – and changed to APA style during week 13, but wanted to take another close look (after a bit of a well enjoyed break) before finally submitting it one last time. Final. Pretty much the end of the course but also the end of possibilities to change or improve. That makes it noteworthy, so I took that time and combed through my final paper one more time. After my final post, I got a great response from Luke and spent even more time with it. Making his suggested changes felt good and right. I’d spent a lot of time on my final evaluation paper, as all of us have, and wanted it to reflect that time and effort. Hopefully, it does that!
This course has completely changed the way I look at evaluation. I had a very limited view of what evaluation means and what an evaluation “looks like”. Unfortunately, I think most people think of evaluation the way I did pre-EPSY474 – as something you “do” every once in a while, particularly when you need to decide whether to keep something or get rid of it – or something you do because you “have to”, then file away and never really use or look at again. Evaluation, when looked at that way, is something that is negative or punitive and often to be feared. Through this course, we’ve all learned that evaluation should be an ongoing thing, a part of the basic fabric or structure of programs and processes. Evaluation done well can build up and energize, pull people in and make them feel as though what they say and what they do really counts for something. Evaluation done right adheres to high standards, standards which keep it focused and honest and true. Evaluation does not have to “dismiss” people or programs, it can instead find values and strengths that can lead to a better future.
In particularly, Appreciative Inquiry can add immensely to an evaluation, however it is used. While AI may not be “the answer” to every evaluation, its use (in varying forms and amounts) can transform that evaluation experience. Getting people to “stay the course” and remain in the positive is a challenge when using Appreciative Inquiry. People seem to be in a habit of looking at things in a negative light, focusing on what does not work, complaining and even predicting gloom. The heart of AI is to move away from that towards the positive, focusing on what does work, looking for core values and strengths and creating a positive vision of the future. I think the basic tenants behind Appreciative Inquiry are true. People and their interactions create their own reality. What we ask, how we ask it, what we think about and what we speak are so very important to how we perceive our world. We all have a story and it needs to be an important part of what we do and how we are treated. We have value, value as individuals but also as a part of a whole. That whole is shaped by us and others, our inspirations, hopes and joys. We need to be free, free to choose but also to contribute. We must be (right now) the future we want tomorrow. And we create that by our thoughts and images and actions. Thus, the questions we ask and the discussions we have are pivotal. They shape us and we shape the future.
I’ve enjoyed watching the wide variety of evaluations of my course cohorts develop and evolve. Reading and discussing what each other have written has been not only valuable but enjoyable. I have enjoyed blogging and found that it caused me to stop and step back, reflect a bit and even be proud of what had been accomplished that week. And while our evaluations were different, they were alike. So as we each worked through our own thoughts and processes, we learned from each other and hopefully supported each other as well. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the dyad work and the “pretend” portions of this course. They surprised me in their value and impact. It was a growth experience similar to the conflict resolution role playing for Tom Anderson’s course. It seemed suspect and unfamiliar, as well as awkward at the start. Yet it became much more than one would ever have imagined.
So, I have come to the end. The end of this blog and the end of this course. It is not, however, the end to my new found insights about evaluation. Those I carry with me.
The End!
Pam
