Teaching of Evaluation
Michael Patton, PhD (he/him/his)
Founder and Director
Utilization-Focused Evaluation
PINE CITY, Minnesota, United States
Charmagne Campbell-Patton, MA
Director of Organizational Learning & Evaluation
Utilization-Focused Evaluation, United States
Location: Grand Ballroom 5/6
Abstract Information: This session will tell the story of evaluation’s 50+ years of evolution through adapted fables and songs. People process information in different ways and evidence about effective learning shows that using multiple and diverse modalities to communicate increases both interest and retention. In teaching, training, work with stakeholders, and at AEA sessions, I have involved audiences and participants in karaoke singing to well-known songs with special evaluation lyrics written to reinforce key messages and capture important developments in the profession. This revue will spotlight evaluation fables and songs with audience participation to tell the story of evaluation’s development over the last 50 years. Accompanying commentary will offer guidance about what I’ve learned about why, how, and when to enrich teaching and presentations with participatory and engaging modalities. Come to this session prepared to sing, laugh, have fun, and perhaps even learn a thing or two about participatory engagement.
Relevance Statement: Building stakeholders’ capacity to engage in evaluation is a major challenge for participatory, collaborative, and utilization-focused approaches to evaluation. Getting stakeholders involved requires generating interest and commitment as much as learning about evaluation processes and methods. As a full-time independent consultant engaged in extensive evaluation training and collaborative engagement with primary intended users, I have learned to incorporate multiple ways of communicating about evaluation to enhance understanding and buy-in. That includes sharing favorites stories and singing together. I’ve written evaluation lyrics to songs by Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Queen, Kool and the Gang, and folk song standards, among others. At a time when appreciating and valuing diversity is a core commitment of the profession, innovative and diverse ways of communicating and interacting with stakeholders is part of the challenge. But those involved in teaching and participatory evaluation processes often tell me that they are afraid to try what they perceive as risky involvement and engagement approaches like having participants role-play, sing together, interpret children’s stories for evaluation content, and engage in learning games. I’ve been doing these things for 50 years with, I think, considerable success and am taking advantage of this year’s AEA theme to share what I’ve learned and demonstrate examples for inspiration and adaptation. I’ve thought about doing a session like this for a long time. This year’s theme struck a chord. The power of story combined with the power of song can amplify the power of evaluation.