Greetings, AEA365 readers! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. Registration for this year’s conference is officially open, and our local hosts at the Indiana Evaluation Association (IEA) are working with the AEA team to ensure our time in lovely Indianapolis is a fulfilling one. This week’s posts feature the voices of IEA’s members. Happy reading!
Hello, my name is Jennifer Borland. I am the Director of Research Programs at Rockman et al Cooperative, a research and evaluation firm that specializes in the evaluation of educational programs and media in formal and informal settings. I’ve been working in the field of evaluation for more than 25 years but a constant over that entire period has been my continued interest in finding creative new strategies and inspirations.
On a recent trip to Orlando for the National Afterschool Association Conference one of my colleagues and I decided to treat ourselves to some time at Disney World. While we were there, we started looking for and thinking about ways that we could incorporate some Disney “magic” into our evaluations. In this post, I’ll share some of the wisdom and inspiration we were able to glean from our time visiting the “happiest place on earth.”
Lessons Learned:
- Attention to detail can make the experience more rich and multi-sensory. A day at a Disney park is completely different than visiting the average amusement park. Disney knows that attention to detail is often the difference between memorable and forgettable. The sights, the sounds, and sometimes even the smells have all been carefully engineered to create multi-sensory experiences that guests won’t soon forget. There are also many details to which we, as evaluators, can attend and many ways we can seek to make our work more memorable.
- Make the wait-time magical: In our day-to-day work we can be so focused on the destination that we can fail to appreciate the beauty that can be inherent in the journey. Disney is masterful at finding ways to make the wait for an attraction an amazing experience in and of itself. If we re-envision downtime as points for project-wide reflection or interim celebrations we too can make wait-times within our projects more magical.
- Participation can add a lot to the experience: Disney is one of the few places on earth where it’s not uncommon to see grown adults break into song. They even offer a variety of sing-along experiences for guests that are utterly delightful. Those well-versed in participatory styles of evaluation know that it can be a rewarding experience to engage clients and participants in the evaluative process as well. Find ways to let your clients “sing” along!
- Have built-in checks for safety and quality: I’m always amazed by all the creative ways Disney incorporates safety and ensures a quality experience for all guests. Evaluators are also called upon to ensure the protection of our participants and their data and need to make sure that our clients and participants understand the steps that we are taking to keep everyone safe as they participate in evaluative studies.
- Sometimes things break; how you respond is what matters most. Even the happiest place on earth is not immune to break downs. At one point my colleague and I got stuck for an extended period on a ride. While not breaking character, a cast member allowed us to take photos and tell jokes to pass the time and offered a variety of options. It was hard to be upset when Disney staff were being so proactive in their communication about the problem and going above and beyond to provide options while still finding ways to ensure a magical experience. Even the best-planned evaluations can experience unforeseen challenges from time to time. We too would be wise to provide timely and clear communication and offer as much flexibility as possible, along with lots of options for how we can make things right when things go awry.
We’re looking forward to the Evaluation 2023 conference all this week with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). 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 contribute to AEA365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to AEA365@eval.org. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.