Facilitator’s Guide for Participatory Evaluation with ...

1 Facilitator sGuide forParticipatoryEvaluation with young PeopleBarry Checkoway & Katie Richards-SchusterFa c i l i t at o r s Guide fo rPa rt i c i p at o ry Eva l u ation withYoung Pe o p l eBarry Checkoway & Katie Richards-SchusterThis workbook was produced by the Program for Youth and Community and made possible by a grant from the Kellogg more information:Program for Youth and CommunitySchool of Social WorkUniversity of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI All rights reservedTABLE OF CONTENTSI ntroduction1 Training of Trainers2 What is Participatory Evaluation ?

2 4 Picturing Evaluation5 What Does Evaluation Mean to You?6 Participatory Evaluation is Empowering7 young people Evaluate Already8 Obstacles to Participation8 Making Evaluation Multicultural10 Evaluation Roles of young People12 Evaluation Roles of Adults as Allies15 Assessing Adults as Allies22 Mentoring Youth Leaders23 Why Evaluate?23It s Your Right26 Making the Case27 Wingspread Declaration of Principles27 Steps in the Process28 Evaluation on the Ground29 Getting Organized29 Setting Evaluation Priorities31 Asking Questions31 Gathering Information32 Making Sense33 Mulch Mania34 Practicing Interviews35 Are You Making Sense?

3 36 Sharing with Others37 Taking Action38 Taking the First Step39 Resources, Resources, More Information42 Acknowledgments43 How to Use This BookThis Facilitator s Guideis intended for use in conjunction withthe wo r k book Pa rt i c i p a to ry Evaluation with young Pe o p l e. It fo l l owsits format, and provides additional information, ideas, examples,and exe rcises to strengthen its working with one of the sections or steps in the wo r k boo k ,please use the table of co n tents in the Guide to find additionalinformation which we hope will be helpful to s GuideI N T RO D U C T I O NEvaluation is an everyday experience for young people .

4 They evaluatefriends and teachers, food and music, news events and communityi ssues, although they may be unawa re of it as Evaluation . Th ey ass e ssco m m u n i ty ce n ter prog rams and make re commendations to theboa rd of dire ctors; inte rview city co u ncil members and pre p a re ap ro posal for new municipal serv i ces; and survey racial attitudesand create anti-racism programs in the rt i c i p a to ry Evaluation with young Pe o p l eis a wo r k book which was pre p a re dfor young people who want to develop knowledge for action and change,whether through program Evaluation , community assessment, policya n a l ysis, or other studies.

5 It provides pra ct i cal tools for part i c i p a to ryevaluation, including steps in the proce ss, methods of gatheringi n formation, making sense of the findings, and formulating stra te g i e sfor creating change. This Fa c i l i t a to r s Guidesupplements the wo r k book with info r m a t i o nand ideas intended to facilitate learning for action. Because youngpeople are often unawa re of Evaluation as a proce ss in which theycan and should participate, this Guide is especially important. This Guide is meant to be used in co n j u nction with the wo r k book.

6 It fo l l owsits format, dra ws dire ctly upon its co n tents, and provides additionalinformation to strengthen its s Guide for Participatory Evaluation with young PeopleTRAINING OF T R A I N E R SAdapted from Julius Eitington, The Winning Trainer, rt i c i p a to ry Evaluation is a group proce ss whose skills grow withe x pe r i e nce. young people may lack the expe r i e nce that comes fro mp ra ct i ce, but adults can help them develop by using part i c i p a t i vefacilitation methods. We favor such methods be cause they view young people as act i vep a rticipants in their own learning rather than as pass i ve re c i p i e n t sof information.

7 Th ey tend to be inte ra ct i ve and experiential, ofte nf a c i l i t a ted by invo lving people in an act i v i ty and discussing the less o n slearned. They make training come alive for the participants, and caninclude the following activities: Pre-work, in which people prepare for a session by completing anadvance assignment. Se a t i n g, using flexible chairs in changing arrangements which facilitateparticipation and energize the group. M oving aro u n d, requiring participants to re a r range themselves innumerous ways that energize them throughout a program.

8 Owning the roo m, such as when people write on large pieces of news p r i n tpaper and post them on the walls for everyone to s Guide Flipcharting, which enable facilitators to write ideas on newsprintp a per for posting on walls and creating a public re co rd of what was said. Ice-breakers, which ease participants into the program, help themget acquainted, and link with a subsequent topic or session. Sm a l l - g ro u p s, subdivisions of a larger group which pro m o te part i c i p a t i o nin a low-risk way, and may require a leader and recorder.

9 Dyads and triads, sure - fire part i c i p a t i ve techniques in which a pe r s o nturns to one or two others for quick discussion. Fi s h bow l, a technique which has an inner ring of people for discuss i o n ,and an outer ring for listening and observation. Ro l e - p l a y i n g, allowing the acting-out of re a l - l i fe situations and prov i d i n gparticipants with feedback on what they think or feel. Games and simulations, which invo lve people in struct u red expe r i e nce sfor later discussion. Exercises, activities with guidelines which produce information fordebriefing by participants.

10 Pro b l e m - s o lv i n g, enabling people to define the problem, gatherinformation, set priorities, and formulate solutions. Ge n e rating solutions, tools for producing alte r n a t i ves, such asbuzz groups, brainstorming, and round robin. Le ct u re t te, enabling re s o u rce persons to frame a session or pre s e n tideas as a basis for subsequent s Guide for Participatory Evaluation with young PeopleW H AT IS PA RT I C I PATO RYE VA L UAT I O N ?We begin with definitions of Evaluation and challenge young people tocome up with their own, be cause too often they expe r i e nce eva l u a t i o nas a negative proce ss which is defined and dominated by adults.