EE Specific Evaluation Guides
These guides provide instructions on how to perform an environmental education evaluation. They provide steps, hints, and examples related to EE specifically.
- Evaluating EE in Schools: A Practical Guide for
Teachers.
Bennett, D.B. (1984). UNESCO-UNEP.
beginner intermediate
Available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/ 0006/000661/066120eo.pdf
One of the first guides written on EE evaluation, this resource provides timeless advice for planning your evaluation, implementing it, and making the most of your data. Particularly useful are Bennett's "action verbs" for developing measures of knowledge and understanding, thinking skills, and action skills. The guide also provides easy to understand explanations of different evaluation designs (e.g. posttest only vs. pretest and posttest), instrument types, and research methods. Step-by-step instructions for collecting and analyzing data help readers avoid common mistakes. - Does your project make a
difference? A guide to evaluating environmental education projects and
programs.
Department of Environment and Conservation, Sydney, Australia. (2004).
beginner
Available at: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/community/projecteval.htm
Information in this guide is laid out in an easy to digest manner, making it very user-friendly for evaluation newcomers. In addition to describing important considerations in each step of evaluation, "Does your project make a difference?" uses hypothetical case studies to help readers think through the logic of their programs, the types of questions they might ask about their program's impact, and how those questions can be measured using indicators. The guide also provides an "Outcomes Hierarchy Framework Template" for planning evaluations, which some readers may find easier to complete than traditional logic models. - Evaluating Your Environmental Education Program: A Workbook for
Practitioners
Ernst, J., Monroe, M. & Simmons, B. (2009). North American Association for Environmental Education.
beginner intermediate
Available at: http://www.naaee.net/publications
Evaluating Your Environmental Education Program: A Workbook for Practitioners is an interactive tool for environmental educators new to evaluation. This user-friendly workbook provides a comprehensive six step evaluation process (i.e., focus your evaluation, develop an evaluation plan, develop data collection tools, collect data, analyze data & interpret results, and communicate and use evaluation results) and includes examples from a variety of environmental education program evaluations. Readers have the opportunity to learn about key evaluation concepts, methods as well as about how to apply these. Each step includes (1) short quizzes to allow readers to "check for understanding," (2) exercises to assist readers in applying information to their program , (3) tables that organize and add to the information presented (e.g., comparing the purposes, advantages, and challenges of various data collection methods), and (4) worksheets that practitioners can use in evaluating their own programs. - Designing Evaluation
for Education Projects.
NOAA Office of Education and Sustainable Development. (2004).
beginner
Available at: http://wateroutreach.uwex .edu/use/documents/NOAAEvalmanual
FINAL.pdf
This is a useful and easy-to-read primer for learning the basics of evaluation. In addition to outlining the steps of planning your evaluation, the guide provides brief explanations of the different types of evaluations, the questions each type might help you answer, and a review of what different evaluation tools can help you accomplish. Particularly useful are the appendices which include tips on writing objectives, selecting a sample, and choosing appropriate evaluation tools. - Evaluating Environmental Education.
Stokking et al. IUCN Commission on Education and Communication. (1996).
beginner intermediate
Available at: http://www.unece.org/env/esd/information/Publications%20IU
CN/Evaluating%20environmental.pdf
Evaluating Environmental Education provides an in-depth look at conducting an evaluation. For each step of the process (e.g. formulating objectives, selecting instruments, collecting data, etc.), the guide provides clear explanations of the choices an evaluator has as well as important factors to consider when choosing among options. Numerous examples are used throughout to make the concepts more concrete.
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