Implementing Program Evaluation with an Ornery Audience by Dan Goerlich Virginia Cooperative Extension

Anticipate the Ornery Is your audience there: To maintain certificates, registrations, or licenses? Due to a mandate? For some other involuntary reason? If so, the chances are good that your participants may be ornery. Examples: pesticide recertification, forester licensing, registration, or certification, and logger training programs.

SHARP Logger Program (1996) Three core programs (18 hrs) Continuing Education Requirement (12 hrs per 3 year period) If loggers do not achieve SHARP status, they cant deliver wood to SFI member companies.

I should be in the woods working…this is a waste of time. I guess theyre goin to teach us how to log. Hell, Ive been loggin for 30 years. I aint heard nuthin useful yet…

SHARP Evaluation History From 1996 through 2001 programs were conducted, but not evaluated. Basic evaluation introduced in –Rate this course (from 1 to 5) –What did you learn that you will use? –What do we need to change? –What other classes would you like? From August 28, 2002 through December 7, 2005, evaluation administered to 1,397 loggers attending 49 logger-specific educational programs.

Trade the participation notice, certificate, CFE sheet, or other documentation for the evaluation to insure a high response rate. Or, draw evaluations for door prizes.

Steps to Success 1.Start simple. 2.Increase evaluation detail. 3.Implement follow-up evaluation. 4.Develop future programs based on their input.

That class made me a lot of money.

"...more aware of calculating repairs and costs, and also investing."

"I feel that the program was well taught and very interesting and will cut my costs on repairs."

…make more sound business decisions.

When is the next log grading workshop going to be?

Thank you for putting this class on.