2009 Poster Exhibition Winners Announced
Published Tuesday, November 24, 2009 American Evaluation Association (AEA) Newsletter
Congratulations to this year's winners of the AEA Poster Exhibition held in conjuction with Evaluation 2009.
Poster #11, entitled Changing Horses Mid-Stream: Lessons Learned From Evaluator Transitions During Two Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Projects was presented by:
- Ginger Fitzhugh, Evaluation & Research Associates (shown, left)
- Karen Manuel, Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (now the EdLab Group)
- Denice Hood, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (shown, center)
- Mary White, Arizona Grants Management (shown, right)
- Mariann Farrell, Graphic Designer, Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (now the EdLab Group)
"It is not uncommon for programs to change evaluators partway through a grant cycle by necessity or choice. Based on our experiences as incoming and outgoing evaluators of two multi-year, out-of-school time programs funded by the National Science Foundation, we considered the questions:
- What issues are associated with an evaluation transition for the evaluators, program staff, and other stakeholders?
- What strategies can facilitate a smooth transition for all stakeholders?"
"We found the issues and strategies related to communication, context, logistics, and evaluation design. While many of these challenges and practices are common to all evaluations, some are especially important when there is a change in the evaluator."
The winning poster was judged for its visual appeal as well as written content. Speaking to the presenters afterward, they shared that they studied AEA's judging criteria closely and referred to it often. In honor of their first-place achievement, the team received free luncheon tickets to AEA's 2009 Awards Luncheon. They also will receive a $100 honorarium and a small gift from AEA.
View a PDF of the poster.
