Mini Lecture Module 4
Mini-Lecture for Module 4
This Module's readings and activities will deepen your understanding of ways to explore what your students and participants are getting out of the garden experience. It will also help to lend value to the voices of people engaged in your program, by genuinely assessing their experience of it.
At this point in the course, you may wonder:
- I am getting a better sense of program planning, but how will I know if I am doing what I should be?
- There are so many participants involved in our program -- do I really understand what they are really getting out of it? How can I assess what we are really accomplishing with our program?
For many people, "evaluation" brings to mind a great deal of measurement and hard work. In addition, some people think that it is dull and uninteresting.
Evaluation can be an exciting way to give you the tools to tell your story. There are many easy ways to collect information, and it should be an on-going part of any program -- not something that you do at the very end of an activity, but rather, a process that is built into your program, and checked in on regularly.
There is power in evaluation! For your program, you do not need a full scale research project to learn the great impacts your program is having on learning, attitudes and behavior. We believe it is important to be aware that research in the area of garden-based learning is growing, and that articles such as these can provide valuable reasoning for your good work.
Learn more about evaluation on the Readings page.