When I first read through the AEA Evaluator Competencies and took the assessment, I had a difficult time connecting my professional experience as a teacher with what is required of an evaluator. It wasn't until I deeply reflected upon my professional experiences that I realized I was more knowledgeable than I originally believed. When I took the competencies assessment, I viewed the questions through an educator's lens, which is reflected in my results. After averaging my responses in each domain with that of an expert evaluator, I would place myself at a beginner level but not a novice level.
Through my results, I found that my strengths in the assessment lie in Domain 1: of the survey, Professional Practice. As a former educator, I was not surprised by this. As educators, we must act ethically and respect the diversity found in our classrooms. We must also stabilize our decisions with the foundation of best practices based on theoretical pedagogy. Finally, as educators, we continually reflect upon our practice and identify areas for improvement. Participating in a reflective practice leads us to seek out professional development opportunities that meet our goals as practitioners. In doing this, educators are continually working to grow and change in the ever-changing industry in which they work. They must "stay current" to meet the changing needs of the populations they serve.
Within the AEA Evaluator Competencies assessment, I must focus on learning the most about Domain 2: Methodology. After reflecting on my professional experience in-depth, I scored slightly higher in certain areas. For example, "2.1 I am able to identify evaluation purposes and needs." and "2.8. I am able to involve stakeholders in designing, implementing, interpreting, and reporting evaluations as appropriate". (AEA Evaluation Association, 2025) I should have scored myself higher because I did not realize my experience as an educator who served on various school improvement and curricular committees was an evaluative experience. However, I have learned that these experiences were considered evaluations. While teaching, these experiences allowed me to pilot multiple education programs and work with my colleagues to evaluate their effectiveness. During this time, my evaluation experience encompassed reporting to district and school officials about how these experiences impacted students' learning and teachers' instruction. These experiences allowed me to implement an evaluation and identify how it would affect the school communities I served. They taught me to involve stakeholders (teachers and administrators) in implementing, interpreting, and reporting evaluation results.
I was pleasantly surprised that Domain 1: Professional Practice considers cultural competence and social justice. As an educator, while planning instruction, I had to differentiate learning materials to meet the needs of all students. Providing students with learning experiences that made them feel represented in the classroom was also essential. Respecting cultural diversity and Indigenous groups within learning communities is vital in creating change in an equitable learning environment. Stevahn, King, Ghere, and Minnema share within “Table 1: Taxonomy of Essential Competencies for Program Evaluations” that the “Stakeholder Engagement and Organizational Change” importantly addresses that evaluators must demonstrate cross-cultural competence and be attuned to the issues of equity and inclusion when conducting evaluations because this, "Identifies the interests of relevant stakeholders and attends to the issues of organizational change." (Stevahn et al., 2005, p.50) This element of the evaluation process is fundamental to raising achievement and engagement and improving learning programs. Stevahn, King, Ghere, and Minnema "Professional practice competencies focus on fundamental norms and values underlying evaluation practice, such as adhering to evaluation standards and ethics." (Stevahn et al., 2005, p.52) Ensuring evaluators are aware and responsive to cultural and social justice factors validates the instructional effectiveness of acknowledging the diverse backgrounds of learners. Awareness of culture and social justice is an important aspect of learning, because it impacts the learners’ processes and acknowledges the need to continually make improvements that change and evolve with time and populations engaging in training. This will constantly showcase the growth and effectiveness of evaluating learning programs because there will be consistent improvements in learner achievement and engagement.
After reviewing my AEA Evaluator Competency results, I would like to take action outside of what I expect to learn in LDT 504, focusing more on learning and developing my understanding of Domain 2: Methodology and Domain 3: Context. For example, regarding Domain 2, I would like to build my expertise in the data collection process focusing on data collection techniques. I can do this by applying various evaluator program theories and data collection plans in real-world contexts and seek outside course reading materials. Also, by participating in the Evaluation Project later in this course, I will develop this understanding and be able to practice it in a real-world application. In regards to Domain 3, I will pay close attention to the strategies that assess evaluation contexts, research outside sources that detail ways to engage stakeholders in the evaluation process, and develop a deeper understanding of how to address political and ethical challenges. This will deepen my learning in this course and help me develop key evaluator skills. To guide my development in the field, I asked my AI mentor, Amanda Nguyen, what she would suggest in building my skills as an evaluator in learning design. Amanda provided a robust explanation of ways I could learn more. Out of the list she provided, I found her suggestion to "Strengthen my knowledge of the learning evaluation frameworks most useful by exploring Learning Design Metrics usability, Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation, and Phillips ROI Model." Second, Amanda suggested I "understand adaptive learning technologies that personalize experiences based on learner behavior." Lastly, I "will build expertise in learning design standards, which I found to be the most useful and where I would like to start my outside research. Amanda suggested I explore industry standards like the "Quality Matters Rubric" for online learning since that is where my future professional interests lie. She suggested I familiarize myself with e-learning usability principles, such as "Mayer's Multimedia Principles." (chatGTP, 2025) Developing my knowledge as an evaluator will build my abilities as a learning designer by helping me understand how to effectively assess instruction, engage learners, and create impactful learning experiences. Developing these evaluator competencies will strengthen my presence as a learning design professional and directly impact the learning outcomes of my future learning design opportunities.
References
AEA Evaluation Association. (2025). AEA evaluator competencies. AEA Evaluator Association. https://www.eval.org/About/Competencies-Standards/AEA-Evaluator-Competencies
Calhoun, C., Sahay, S., & Wilson, M. (2020). Instructional design evaluation. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/id/instructional_design_evaluation
chatGTP. (2025, March 21). AI mentor Amanda Nguyen. chatGTP. https://chatgpt.com/c/67d9fd0f-c6c4-8003-98b4-beb1bc6ece72
Stevahn, L., King, J. A., Ghere, G., & Minnema, J. (2005, March). Establishing essential competencies for program evaluators. American Journal of Evaluation, 26(1), 43-59. DOI:10.1177/1098214004273180
Comments
Post a Comment