Description:
The 2020 shift to remote learning created turmoil for students and teachers, erecting logistical barriers to testing. These factors upended many K-12 STEM program evaluation plans and exposed simmering tensions between stakeholders' focus on test scores and educators’ discomfort with summative assessments. This presentation details systematic use of the Most Significant Change (MSC) qualitative method to evaluate a pilot K-5 STEM classroom project tailoring the mySci curricular program to the needs of a large, urban school district in partnership with a community-based non-profit and corporate foundation sponsorship. More commonly used in public health and international development evaluation, MSC uses structured story collection and review to examine hard to quantify impacts while facilitating the relationship building vital for success and sustainability. Rigorous qualitative evaluation techniques, such as MSC, can bridge gaps between funders and teachers while building stakeholder buy-in across the complex social systems in schools and districts.
Presenter:
Maia Elkana, MSW MA is the Evaluation Director for the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis. She leads monitoring and evaluation for professional development and STEM education programs, supporting research and quality improvement initiatives. Ms. Elkana’s 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector has included hospital social work, program management, program evaluation, and research-practice partnerships both from the perspective of the researcher and as the practitioner. A serious geek, Ms. Elkana holds a masters in economics with a focus in data analytics, loves numbers, and deeply believes the maxim that there are in fact three types of lies in this world; Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. She is a passionate advocate for families, children, and the professionals who serve them. Ms. Elkana specializes in connecting big picture goals to simple, everyday activities, bringing a pragmatic systems approach to designing, monitoring, and improving the programs & policies that shape our world.
Evaluation Association of St. Louis is a 501(c)6 business association.
