At the Eastern Evaluation Research Society conference in April 2012, two DERDC projects were featured in a panel presentation by Akisha R. Jones and Mary Culnane, two graduate research assistants at the center, and Leslie Cooksy, senior evaluator at DERDC and Associate Professor in the School of Education . The panel was titled, “Metaevaluation in Practice.” Dr. Cooksy provided an overview of metaevaluation, a strategy for assessing the quality of evaluation. Ms. Culnane and Ms. Jones then led a lively discussion about evaluation quality and metaevaluation among the other panel members and the audience, drawing on their experiences both conducting and being subjects of metaevaluation in two of DERDC’s National Science Foundation-funded projects. In one project, they are studying the quality of evaluations of undergraduate research experience programs. In the other, their evaluation of research on disabilities education project is being metaevaluated by an external expert. Both projects are led by Dr. Cooksy, who has expertise in evaluation quality control strategies and has published on metaevaluation.

Akisha R. Jones, graduate research assistant with DERDC and PhD student in UD’s Research, Methodology and Evaluation program recently presented a poster “Social Network Analysis Interviews: Ensuring Valid Responses among Students with Intellectual Disabilities” at the 2012 Eastern Evaluation Research Society Conference in Absecon, New Jersey. 

Working with Laura T. Eisenman, the program’s PI and faculty member in School of Education , staff at DERDC interviewed post-secondary students in the University’s Career and Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) Program as part of a multi-focal mixed-method evaluation of UD’s Transition and Postsecondary Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID).

Jones’ poster focuses on some of the concerns that arose in the development of the interview protocol and the strategies that were employed to ensure that participants’ responses to interview questions were valid. Suggestions to increase validity of data collected are also made.  The poster can be seen here.

The Delaware Birth to Three Intervention System has contracted DE Education R&D Center to survey Child Development Watch service recipients. These services assist children between the ages of birth and 36 months who have disabilities or are at risk for developing disabilities as well as their families. Each year, Child Development Watch must gather input from these families. Dr. Joan Buttram leads this effort.

 The University of Delaware received a grant from NSF, Integrated Science and Mathematics Education: A Model Course for Pre-Service Teachers. As part of this project, UD will create a new model for the education of pre-service high school science and mathematics teachers at the introductory undergraduate level. The DE Education R&D Center will conduct the evaluation of this effort.  Stephen Bernhardt from UD’s College of Arts and Sciences is the PI. Joan Buttram of DERDC leads the evaluation effort.

American Evaluation Association announces a call for proposals

The American Evaluation Association announced a call for proposals for presenters at the 2012 conference to be held Wednesday, October 24, through Saturday, October 27, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A variety of session formats are offered at the annual conference: single and multi-papers; poster sessions; roundtable discussions; demonstrations and skill building workshops; expert speakers, think tank presentations; and full and half-day preconference workshops.

Presentations may explore the Presidential Strand Theme, Evaluation in Complex Ecologies: Relationships, Responsibilities, Relevance, or any aspect of the breadth and depth of evaluation theory, practice, management, or consulting.   

Proposal deadline is Friday, March 16, 2012. For more information and proposal applications, see the AEA conference website.

Joan Buttram recently presented preliminary findings from a study of doctoral educational leadership programs in the US at the 2011 Annual Conference of the University Council for Educational Administration in Pittsburgh, PA.

 She is leading a study that surveys over 100 Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs to gather descriptive information. Results will help faculty and administrators learn about the variety of programs currently available and identify variables that merit additional investigation. The goal of the study is the development of an evaluation schema for leadership preparation programs to explore their effects and outcomes.

Laura T. Eisenman, Associate Professor in University of Delaware’s School of Education, Wendy Claiser and Debbie Bain from Center for Disability Studies, and Linda Grusenmeyer from DERDC presented preliminary data from their study examining the experiences of undergraduate who serve as peer mentors to students with intellectual disabilities on campus at the University of Delaware. Their presentation was at the 2011 State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities held November 3-4 at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. The study is one part of a national demonstration project, Transition and Postsecondary program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID), funded by US Department of Education designed to expand postsecondary options for young adults with intellectual disabilities.

Peer mentors are a critical feature of postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities. They often engage and support students with ID across variety of campus environments to promote their greater participation and opportunities for integration. Eisenman, Bain, and Claiser have developed and offered a three-credit experiential learning course in the school of education to help future educators and human services professional learn to become peer mentors.  The study proposes to examine the experiences of initial cohorts of peer mentors in order to determine what resources they bring to the mentoring experience and how they describe their experience and their concerns while becoming peer mentors. Preliminary information has already guided course development and expanded planning for greater options for student roles as peer mentors.

 As the university’s TPSID program matures, the study will shift its focus from the development of peer mentors to their impact. What evidence is there that students develop effective attitudes, practices, and skills for mentoring a student with intellectual disabilities?   What impacts, if any, do peer mentors have on successful integration and participation of students enrolled in the CLSC program?

DERDC graduate research assistant, Mary Culnane is also working on the evaluation of the peer mentor project.

Aideen Murphy, DERDC post-doctoral research assistant, and Joan Buttram, interim director, recently received a grant to conduct a two-year evaluation study of Junior Achievement Delaware’s  JA BizTown, JA Finance Park, and Innovation Hub programs.

The proposed evaluation design is intended to provide Junior Achievement Delaware Inc. with information about the effects of participation in Junior Achievement programs on students’ academic knowledge, attitudes, and academic choices. The study was funded through a grant from the Longwood Foundation.

Recently announced–Call for proposals for presentations at the 35th Annual Conference of the Eastern Evaluation Research Society (EERS) to be held at the Seaview Resort and Spa in Absecon, New Jersey on April 29-May 1, 2012.

This year’s conference theme Evaluation in a Complex World: Balancing Theory and Practice.

 PRESENTATION PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 1, 2011  

Visit the website www.eers.org for information about the conference or to to download a presentation proposal form.

EERS is a local affiliate of the American Evaluation Association.

Joan Buttram, Interim Director, DERDC, was elected vice-president of the Pennsylvania Educational Research Association  at the organization’s annual fall conference October 7. She will serve as VP for one year and then assume the presidency for the next two years.

Pennsylvania Educational Research Association (PERA) is one of the oldest and largest state-level professional educational research organizations in the country.

• Leslie Cooksy, DERDC and Laura Eisenman, School of Education, were awarded a grant to evaluate the 2011 portfolio of Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) research projects for the National Science Foundation. The RDE program funds research intended to help people with disabilities pursue and succeed in STEM education and careers. ($197,000 over 3 years)

• Leslie Cooksy, DERDC and Jenni Buckley of the Department of Mechanical Engineering were awarded a National Science Foundation “Promoting Research and Innovation in Methodologies for Evaluation” grant to examine the quality of the evaluations of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Research Experiences for Teachers programs.  ($250,000 over 2 years)

• Joan Buttram, Interim Director, DERDC, was awarded a contract by NBC Universal to conduct an evaluation of the NBC Learn K-12 resources. All Delaware middle and high school teachers have licenses to use these resources in their classrooms.

• Kasey Grier, Director of UD’s Museum Studies Program received a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Leslie Cooksy, DERDC, will be evaluating this grant, which will create a collaborative training program for professionals in the Tri-State Coalition of Historic Sites.