Teaching Program Evaluation: Using a Systems Approach

Abstract

Increasing numbers of individuals are being asked to teach courses in program evaluation. Students in program evaluation courses are trying to piece together activities presented to them in order to create their own “big picture” of the seemingly fragmented and chaotic process of evaluation. The abundance of program evaluation approaches and content-specific models exacerbates the problem by only organizing and conveying conceptual and factual knowledge while seeming to render key aspects of program evaluation practice invisible to students. This article describes a program evaluation model that was developed over three semesters of teaching an introductory graduate-level course in program evaluation. The framework utilizes a systems approach that emphasizes its sequenced methodology and the significance of monitoring one’s work by providing a series of feedback loops in an ongoing revision process.