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Designing Education Projects

SECOND EDITION

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a Comprehensive approach to Needs Assessment, Project Planning and Implementation, and Evaluation

Designing Education Projects

a Comprehensive approach to Needs Assessment, Project Planning and Implementation, and Evaluation

Second Edition

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce APRIL 2009

Acknowledgments

This manual is intended to assist NOAA professionals as they design and implement education projects.

Much of "Part II: Project Planning and Implementation" is based on the Project Design and Evaluation course offered by the NOAA Coastal Services Center.

Examples and case studies integral to this manual were developed with the help of education and outreach staff in the following NOAA line offices: National Weather Service (NWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Ocean Service (NOS) and Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) as well as field staff from the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP), the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Information on the Targeting Outcomes of Programs (TOP) model was based on the work of Bennett and Rockwell (1995, 2004). Feedback on logic model terminology was provided by NOAA Program Planning and Integration staff members Susan Kennedy, Robert Fulton, and Tom Bucher.

Lastly, the following individuals reviewed the second edition of this manual: Molly Harrison, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service Atziri Iba?ez, NOAA, National Estuarine Research Reserve System Chris Maier, NOAA, National Weather Service John McLaughlin, NOAA Office of Education Diana Payne, Connecticut Sea Grant College Program Sarah Schoedinger, NOAA, Office of Education Steve Storck, NOAA, Office of Education

Their assistance is truly appreciated.

First edition, June 2005: Bora Simmons Environmental Education Department of Teaching and Learning Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115

Second edition, April 2009: Elizabeth A. Day-Miller and Janice O. Easton BridgeWater Education Consulting, LLC Bridgewater, VA 22812

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Who Should Use This Manual? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A Word about Programs and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Project Development as a Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 How is this Manual Organized? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Part I. Needs Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 What is a Needs Assessment? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Why is Needs Assessment Important to Project Design and Implementation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Planning a Needs Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Should a Consultant be Hired? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Part I Wrap Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Part II. Project Planning and Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Planning and Implementing an Education Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Part II Wrap Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Part III. Project Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 What is Project Evaluation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Why is Evaluation Important to Project Design and Implementation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Planning an Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Who Should Conduct the Evaluation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Evaluation Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Part III Wrap Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Part IV. Data Collection Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Matching Data Collection Instruments to What is Being Assessed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Validity and Reliability of Evaluation Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Mixed Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Types of Data Collection Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Selecting the Right Data Collection Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Appendix A. Fact Sheets on Data Collection Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Appendix B. Determining Sample Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Appendix C. Logic Model and Performance Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Appendix D. Levels of Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Selected References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

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