Time: 8:00–9:00 a.m. CT

Location: Hilton Marquette II
710 S Marquette Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Description: Needs assessments can be a vital tool for organizations to use in building their evaluation capacity to support continuous learning, or they can be an additional burden that provides little to no insight into relevant work. There are several crucial steps to follow to ensure that you create a needs assessment that supports continuous learning and improvement. This demonstration session will introduce participants to a process undertaken through a research partnership between the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central and the Nebraska Department of Education. This process involves determining whether a needs assessment is necessary, in what context a needs assessment should be considered, who should be involved in its development, why it is important to pilot the needs assessment prior to implementation, and how cognitive and expert interviews can provide support for its improved quality. Through this process, you can create a useful and informative needs assessment tool.

Partnership or Research Alliance: Nebraska School Improvement Research Partnership

Audience: Attendees and members of the American Evaluation Association, including novice and expert evaluators involved in developing or conducting needs assessments.

Speakers:

• Becky Kelleman, REL Central at Marzano Research
• Stephanie Wilkerson, REL Central and Magnolia Consulting
• Matt Hastings, Nebraska Department of Education