Hello, I’m Michelle Baron, an Independent Evaluation Strategist. I blog as EvaluationBaron – a play on my last name.
Rad Resource – EvaluationBaron: I blog at least weekly about all things evaluation, from commenting on a recent event I attended or article I read, to delving into the inner details of an evaluation concept. I try to not only talk about the insights and experiences I’ve observed, but to also create discussion and activity among the evaluation community and with various groups. There is something for everyone, including:
- Reporting on events and the tieback to evaluation issues and concepts
- Examining books, articles, or other literature from a different evaluation angle
- Discovering new uses for various evaluation techniques
- Exploring the growth of evaluation among various sectors and communities
Hot Tips – favorite posts: The three posts that I believe highlight the focus of my blog include the following:
- Terminology and Other Evaluation Tiebacks Revealed at the Watching Teachers Work Discussion at the New America Foundation Using the Watching Teachers Work discussion, this post reflects on the ongoing discussion of the need for common language and consistency in evaluation planning in Pre-K-12 education.
- Evaluation Lessons Learned: One Evaluator’s take on the Brookings Institute Campaign 2012 Event #1 This post uses the events surrounding the Brookings Institute Campaign 2012 series to describe the benefits of expanding Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) processes and evaluation roadmaps into other settings.
- Evaluation: It’s All in the Language This post takes a humorous, albeit true, look at the sheer variety of terminology that various sectors use to denote evaluation.
Lessons Learned – why I blog: As an evaluator, I feel I have a responsibility to teach and learn from people about evaluation – no matter what their occupation or background. Everyone evaluates during the course of his or her day. They may use different terminology, but in the end, it all boils down to criteria and standards – to assessing strengths and areas for improvement.
Lessons Learned: I have learned the need for consistency in blogging. Similar to writing in other contexts, blogging information may come at various times during the course of the day. Always be open to and ready for new ideas.
This winter, we’re running a series highlighting evaluators who blog. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.
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