Greetings! Liz Zadnik here, your trusty Outreach Coordinator and Saturday contributor. This post celebrates some of my favorite things: reading, autumn, and…lists!
Rad Resources: A personal goal of mine as I strive to be more confident and comfortable with my evaluation skills, is to develop a reading list each season (or every few months). Check out the titles I’ve included for this round and feel free to offer your recommendations!
Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude Steele
I have heard incredible things about this book and can’t wait for it to get to my house! The title comes from one man’s attempt to deflect stereotypes and the lessons he learned from that experience. How are stereotypes functioning within evaluation contexts? From the use of certain tools or instruments to criteria for setting rigor and validity, how are we challenging and perpetuating stereotypes in our work?
Building Evaluation Capacity: Activities for Teaching and Training by Hallie Preskill and Darlene Russ-Eft
I loved 72 Activities and I’m very interested in seeing how the authors’ training styles have evolved since that early edition. I do a lot of training in my professional role; evaluation-focused trainings make me stretch my creativity muscle as I strive to keep participants engaged and practicing new skills. I also found, with the previous edition, that I thought more critically about evaluation as I was preparing activities.
Presenting Data Effectively: Communicating Your Findings for Maximum Impact by Stephanie D. H. Evergreen
As a long-time follower of EvergreenData, I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t read this yet. As someone who considers herself pretty creative, I’m excited to see how I can up my game and become more skilled in communicating information. I’m also looking for ways to tie these principles in with trainings and support I offer to service providers and practitioners.
The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
I bet you didn’t see this one coming! But I argue that processes such as this one are opportunities to assess progress and impact in new and creative ways. Tidying-up can have a much more far-reaching effect than we may think. Plus…who wouldn’t love a neater desk and living room?!
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