2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Evaluate Your Applicator Training Outcomes

Heather H. Boyd, Ph.D.University of Wisconsin-Extension

Cooperative Extension

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Background

• Shared understandings for today’s presentation:– Evaluation is gathering credible information

that describes results associated with your programming

• Program improvement• Program outcomes and/or impact

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Background

– Outcomes can be changes in learning, behavior and policy

– Outcomes can be positive or negative for your participants and your program

– Impacts are outcomes over a period of time, sometimes focused on community or societal change

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Ask Yourself

• What is my program trying to achieve? What is the ideal result?

• Do my stakeholders share this vision with me? How do I know?

• Have my funders communicated the evidence they require for me to demonstrate my results? Have I asked them what they want from me?

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Ask Yourself

• What do my stakeholders consider credible evidence? How do I know? When is the last time we discussed this topic?

• Do my evaluation plans include indicators that are credible?

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Basic Ideas of Evaluation

• What have participants learned, if anything?

• What behavior or policies have they changed, if any?

• What can I do to improve my program or change it?

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Evaluating Applicator Training Outcomes

• Goals of applicator training evaluation– Summative – results of the training program– Formative – as the training occurs

• Are participants engaged in the material?• Am I reaching the right audiences?• Can I motivate them to care about more than the

minimum requirements for passing their test?

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Group Example

• Describe intended outcomes of applicator training evaluation

• Choose one to focus on– Discuss indicators of that outcome– Discuss credible evidence for that outcome– Discuss how to gather the credible evidence

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Basic Ideas

• The basic ideas of planning an evaluation design such as this is:– Begin with the “ends in mind”– Identify prior to the program when you will be

able to recognize legitimate success– Identify indicators that help you to credibly

demonstrate program results

2005 North American Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop

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Resources

Planning a Program Evaluation Worksheet

www.cecommerce.uwex.edu/pdfs/G3658_1W.PDF

Teaching and Learning Resources

www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/learning/