I hope you all are well and I’m looking forward to class tonight.

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

In week four of SOWK 460, we will start to explore program evaluation methodologies and the practicality of your program evaluation. Most program evaluations use a variant of mixed methods. The chapter readings from Royse (2022) focus on qualitative and mixed methods evaluations and needs assessments. This week, students will submit their group work plans and review how to complete the form.

The agenda will be as follows:

• Basics of program design methodologies
• Examples of qualitative research
• Planning the design of and the tasks completion of your evaluation

Unit Assignments

A-01: Class Engagement and Attendance

Attend class

A-02: Chapter Reading Quiz

Complete the reading quiz, W-04 A-02 Chapters Reading Quiz Royse (2022) Chapters 03 and 04 by Sunday 2/16.

A-04b: Group Work Plan for the Program Evaluation

Meta: Points 100 pts (10% of student’s final grade); Deadline Sunday 02/16/25 at 11:55 PM; Competition via a forum post on MyHeritage; Locations Assignment Section, Forum for Submission, Program Evaluation Work Plan Template.docx, and Syllabus Handout

Purpose: The group work plan is a form that students will complete to document their action steps and assignments for completing the program evaluation.

Task: Groups will develop a work plan that explains the sequence and tasks to be completed for the program evaluation. It should include information regarding evaluation design and data collection, as well as tasks and deadlines assigned to group members. A potential template is available for students to use in MyHeritage.

Success: One group member will post the finalized work plan to the assigned MyHeritage Forum. Student grades will be assessed based on the plan’s completeness, clarity, fairness, and feasibility. See Appendix A for the rubric. Feedback for this assignment will be completed by mid-term grades submission, due by the faculty on Wednesday 03/26/25 at 5:00 PM.

Appendices A. Group Work Plan Rubric

The Group Work Plan Rubric evaluates students’ research project plans across four areas: completeness, clarity, fairness, and feasibility. Completeness assesses how well the plan incorporates components of the overall research project, from very few aspects to a thorough outline. Clarity evaluates how clearly the plan distinguishes between evaluation design and data collection, with the highest level providing detailed components, indicators, sources, responsibilities, and deadlines. Fairness examines the distribution of tasks among group members. Feasibility determines whether the tasks and components are practical.

Description	Initial	Emerging	Developed	Highly Developed
Completeness	Very few aspects of the overall research project are included in the plan.	The plan includes several components, but a few significant processes are not included.	The plan generally outlines most of the research project.	The plan is thorough and covers the entire research project.
Clarity	The plan of what needs to happen in either the evaluation design or the data collection is unclear.	The plan provides some general idea of tasks that need to be completed but does not include a delineation between evaluation design and data collection.	The plan is understandable and includes information about the design and data collection.	The plan clearly articulates both the evaluation design and data collection that will take place within the research. The evaluation design includes components, indicators, sources, and what success looks like. The data collection identifies specific tasks, the person responsible, and deadlines for completing those tasks.
Fairness	The distribution of tasks is not fair for group members.	The distribution of tasks is somewhat fair for group members, but some significant tasks or components are unfairly assigned.	The group members are assigned tasks, but a few seem to have more or less work than others.	Group members are fairly distributed with tasks related to the assignment.
Feasibility	None of the components or tasks are feasible.	The program evaluation does not appear feasible, with significant components not likely to be completed.	The program evaluation appears feasible, but some aspects might seem out of scope or out of the student’s ability to complete.	The program evaluation plan appears feasible and something the group can accomplish within the semester.

Unit Resources

I’d like to share some examples of qualitative methods in practice with you. During class we will watch a Brené Brown’s TED Talk The Power of Vulnerability in our discussion regarding qualitative research methods. She talks about her use of grounded theory and her process of connecting with the research.

I will share a little bit about my dissertation related to focus groups and data review. You can see links to a lot of things around my dissertation at Adding to the Ellipsis After My Name: Earning My Ph.D. or watch my actual dissertation defense (the presentation I did about my study) at Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense by Jacob Campbell, or even read it if you are interested (Campbell, 2023).

All of the presentations for this class can be found at https://presentations.jacobrcampbell.com. I’m still finalizing my presentation and will add it to MyHeritage before class.

I post all of the lecture videos in MyHeritage so you can view them.

To-Do Lists

• A-01: Class Engagement and Attendance Attend class
• A-02: Chapter Reading Quiz for chapters three and four
• A-04b: Group Work Plan for the Program Evaluation