Evaluation Design

A comprehensive evaluation design consists of various evaluation instruments that are used to collect feedback before, during, and after a professional development activity. This design provides a basis for understanding the participants' perception of the professional development activity, the usefulness and relevance of the activity, and the long-term effects of the activity.

Hawkes (1994) describes the evaluation design for the Milwaukee Principals Institute, held in July 1994. This evaluation consisted of four parts:

• "Pre-Institute Survey: This instrument sampled the expectations the participants had for the Institute and what their previous professional development experiences had been like. It also provided an insight into participant goals for school leadership and created a baseline to compare and contrast participant responses given at the end of the Seminar. [This survey was mailed to participants approximately two weeks before the seminar; participants were asked to present the completed surveys during registration.]

• Daily Evaluations: This was evaluation in the most formative sense. Because the daily evaluations were brief and direct, requiring only 10-15 minutes of the participants' time at the end of each day, they provided the Seminar planners with information that allowed them to make instant changes where necessary on a day-to-day basis.

• Impromptu Participant Interviews: About 10 interviews were conducted randomly with participants to sample their feelings about Seminar components such as activities, organization, quality of delivery, relevance, etc. Each interview lasted approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

• Final Survey: This instrument included both forced-choice and open-ended items that the participants responded to at the end of the Seminar. The survey provided the most detailed evaluation data and anchored the evaluation process." (p. 4)

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