University of Illinois Extension (UIE) Cook County Community Health Team Northwestern University Faculty Advisor

Health educators are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the impact of their programming through evaluation. Since few resources exist for engaging external evaluators, many health educators are tasked with evaluating their own programs. This session describes an action learning approach to strengthening health educators’ evaluation skills. In partnership with its faculty advisor, the University of Illinois Extension Cook County Community Health Team designed an action learning project to build educator evaluation skills using commonly available software platforms for data management, analysis, and reporting. Within a year, educators had successfully authored program impact reports that were considerably more data-based and persuasive than in previous years. The advisor proposed an evaluation-themed ALP, based on the principle that skills are most successfully in (a) pre/post evaluation design protocols, (b) data collection, management, built via experiential learning. Together, the health educators and advisor designed a 1-year ALP utilizing the CHT’s sexual health education program for students in grades 5-8. The ALP’s overarching goal was to build educator skills and analysis, and (c) program impact reporting.