I always enjoy an evening with good friends, lively conversation and interaction. This is exactly what yesterday’s Vancouver ISPI chapter meeting felt like to me. Although the topic – evaluation – is serious, the presentation itself was engaging, humorous, and educational. Thiagi’s (Dr. Sivasailam Thiagarajan) skills in bringing this subject alive to a room of colleagues, friends and guests were remarkable.
His message about evaluation was simple yet was supported with lots of examples based on questions and interactions with the audience. He also ‘checked in’ with us regularly to make sure that we were ‘getting’ the major points. I think the ‘check ins’ worked; because, I made this list last night and can still vividly remember the discussions that ensued around each topic.
What do we evaluate?
- Products
- Processes
- People
What is the purpose of evaluation?
- To improve – formative
- To make a decision (yes/no) – summative
What is the focus of evaluation?
- Goal based
- Goal free
What are types of evaluation are available?
- Smile sheets (reaction)
- Scenario based (learning)
- On the job (behaviour)
- Business results (results)
- Cost of intervention in relation to results (ROI)
What models of evaluation are available?
- Scientific
- Ethnographic
- Jurisprudential
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll elaborate more on each of the areas that Thiagi discussed but would welcome anyone else’s views on yesterday’s meeting.
Hi Elizabeth! I think you summed it up nicely. I have attended several Thiagi sessions over the years – I always learn something and I am always engaged! In this case I loved that he took the words summative and formative and used real world examples to illustrate the difference. It really helped in my understanding!