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Response to Request for Proposalfor the Determining Instructional Purposes

(DIP) Program

Submitted To: Far West Laboratoriesfor Educational Research and Development

Submitted By: Jennifer L. HarrisEdTech 505: Evaluation of Educational Technology

Fall 2012


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Introduction

The Harris Evaluation Company (HEC) located in Boise, Idaho, submits thefollowing proposal to Far West Laboratories for the evaluation of the Determining

Instructional Purposes (DIP) program. The evaluation will consist of trial sites andseveral data collecting strategies. These will help HEC provide recommendations forand information to Far West Laboratories which will help FWL determine if valuableresources should be committed to the marketing and sales of the DeterminingInstructional Purposes product. This evaluation is a two fold process where HEC willuse data to determine the effectiveness of the Coordinators Handbook before movingforward with the full scale evaluation of the Determining Instructional Purposes program.

Program DescriptionDetermining Instructional Purposes (DIP) is a training program created by Far

West Laboratories for the training of school administrators and graduate students in 3

areas of administration skills. These three skills are supposed to be part of the planningfor any effective school program. The DIP program is divided into three units which canbe used together or separately depending on individual and site needs. The resourcesprovided include a Coordinators Handbook and the following units: 1-Setting Goals, 2-

Analyzing Problems, and 3-Deriving Objectives. Modules within units include readingmaterials, individual activities, small group activities, and feedback. Activities usuallyapply to a hypothetical situation in a mock school district.

The DIP training units require a coordinator to oversee the instruction ofmaterials. While prior knowledge of the subject is not a necessary part of being thecoordinator, this leader will need to have worked through any of the units being used inthe training. The coordinator will use the Coordinators Handbook, which is part of thetraining package, when planning and leading activities found in each module. Thematerials are in the form of print text and range from 155 pages to 259 pages. Each DIPunit requires about 10-18 hours of instruction. The price of individual units is $8.95,while the entire set sells for $24.95. The separate Coordinators Handbook, necessaryfor any unit, sells for $4.50.

Evaluation MethodIn Far West Laboratories request foran evaluation of the DIP program, FWL

provided statements related to the purposes for seeking an evaluation. The primary goalof this evaluation will be to help Far West Laborites make decisions pertaining to thecommitment of resources applied towards the marketing and sales of the DeterminingInstructional Purposes program. The evaluation will also help FWL target schooladministrators and personnel by providing them with information related to the program.

Several data sources will be used as part of the process of evaluating themarketability of Determining Instructional Purposes:

Coordinators Pre-Survey and Interview (after Coordinators have thematerial, but before presenting instruction)

Coordinators Post-Survey and Interview (after presenting instruction) Administrators Interview


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Sample Staff SurveyPrior to the start of the evaluation, HEC will need to meet with FWL, the major

stakeholder to discuss specific marketing information which HEC can use develop datacollection tools. The future use of these marketing resources can have a major impacton the personnel, funds, and credibility of FWL. Harris Evaluation Group proposes that

a test trial of the product be carried out in at least three real world situations with at least25 participants in each situation.Since the Program Coordinator will be a major factor in the success of the

presentation of DIP, it is suggested that a pre-interview and survey be directedespecially towards that person. HEC recommends that FWL avoid sending in trainers,and allow individual sites to choose their coordinators. The results of interviews andsurveys from program coordinators will be detrimental in determining if the rest of theprogram will be successful with participants. The survey will address Coordinatorscomfort level after reading the material, length of time spent on comprehension, andusability. The interview will focus on what the Coordinator feels is most applicable toreal world situations and determine if any of the information fails to be successfully

presented. HEC makes this suggestion with the idea that Coordinator success will affectparticipant opinions and success in the program.HEC suggests decisions be made based on the Coordinator interview and survey

findings before the trial moves to full scale instruction at the trial sites. After completingthe interviews and surveys with the Program Coordinator, it will be important for HEC tomeet with FWL developers to discuss results. Decisions will need to be made regardingany recommendations that may result from data, and modifications to the CoordinatorHandbook may be suggested. If this occurs, and FWL makes the decision to continuetheir pursuit of the DIP evaluation, HEC suggests the evaluation start from thebeginning in order to determine the usability of the new Coordinators Handbook.

Once training has occurred, data will be collected using survey and evaluationtools. These tools will provide the qualitative data necessary for determining themarketability of the DIP program. Program Coordinators and the administrators, whowere seeking this type of professional development tool, will be interviewed to find outwhat aspects of the DIP materials are user friendly, applicable, and if DIP metexpectations. They will also be surveyed to determine what areas of the program theywould suggest to other administrators, educators, and personnel, in terms of materialsand cost-effectiveness. These surveys and interviews will be used to help the HarrisEvaluation Company and Far West Laboratories determine if resources should be usedand/or continued to be allocated towards Determining Instructional Purposes. Theinformation regarding user friendliness, materials, and cost-effectiveness will aid inproviding information to the potential buyers as requested by FWL. Data regarding theusability and materials, as well as administrator opinions about success could be usedto help FWL determine if the product is marketable.

HEC also suggests that an interview with the administrator who is seekingprofessional development tools be used to determine individual needs and situations formarketability and sales. This interview will also aid in the collection of data related toFWLs secondary goal of providing buyers with information regarding the program. Thepurpose of this interview is to outline what administrators and other personnel werelooking for in the use of the program and determine if DIP met the needs of participants.


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Finally, a group of sample staff members for each site will be surveyed. Thepurpose of this data collection tool is to compile qualitative data on the DIP experience.These surveys will provide information pertaining to marketing and sales pointsconcerning:

Language Level Higher level thinking

Relationship between activities and actual situations Application to district needs Recommendations

Tentative ScheduleThe schedule below was created with the assumption that Far West Laboratories

would be willing to establish a trial program with three sites within the state so thatinformation related to the use and marketability of the DIP product can be evaluated.The schedule also assumes that the trial site coordinators will have the CoordinatorsHandbook two months in advance (November 12th, 2012) to read and prepare, allowing

them to speak intelligently in the surveys and interviews provided by the evaluationteam.Task ResponsibilityDeadlineMeet with FWL staff, discuss proposal andmake modifications HEC & FWL January 11th, 2013 (1week)Develop Coordinator Interviews and Surveys HEC February 1st (3 weeks)Submit drafts of surveys and interviews,modify if necessary. Train interns HEC & FWL February 22

n (3 weeks)Collect and summarize data from CoordinatorInterviews and Surveys HEC March 22nd (4 weeks)Meet with FWL staff to discuss results, makedecisions based on Coordinators HandbookSurvey and Interview. Possible decisions to:

1. Continue evaluation as is

2. Revamp Coordinators Handbook

3. End evaluation

4. Other outcome

HEC & FWL April 5th (2 Weeks)

Allotted for sites implement DIP program Sites September 6 (6months)*

Develop post surveys and interviews HEC April 26th (3 weeks)*Meet with FWL staff - revise post surveys andinterviews HEC & FWL May 10 (2 weeks)*Collect data:Surveys and Interviews:

HEC September 20


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Coordinator Post Survey & Interview

Administrator Interview

Sampled Staff Survey

-Within 2 weeks oftraining completionaccording to site trainingschedules (6 weeks)*

Compile Data and Create Evaluation Report HEC November 1s (6 weeks)*

*indicates overlaps in time

Project PersonnelDr. Turanga Leela, is tenured professor at the esteemed Mars University. She

has previously taught courses in Evaluation Tools, Evaluation Methodologies, andWriting the Evaluation Report. Additionally, Dr. Leela has been selected to be a memberof the ESA (Evaluating School Administration) Project commissioned by the mayor of

New-New York. Dr. Leela has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Futurama Conservatory.Dr. Leela will be responsible developing all data collection tools. Dr. Leela will alsointerpret data and write the evaluation report..

In addition to the personnel mentioned above, HEC will also provide twograduate student interns, from Mars University, who will be trained by Dr. Leela in thecollection and administration of surveys and interviews. A secretary will also beprovided for use during the data collection phases.

BudgetFar West Laboratories has set a maximum budget of $50,000 for this evaluation

project. The table below shows a breakdown of these costs for the proposal provided by

Harris Evaluation Company. Please note that the travel and per diem costs reflect theuse of three sites in the evaluation project and assumes that all sites will be evaluatedwithin the state of Idaho. The maximum budget is not attainable if sites that are part ofthe evaluation process are located outside state lines, or Far West Laboratories wishesto use more than three sites for the evaluation of the DIP program. Additionally, thebudget maximum will be exceeded if the Coordinators Handbook has to bereevaluated.

Proposed BudgetPersonnel:

Professional Salaries:Dr. Tarunga Leela: 80 days at $400/day $32,000

Intern 1: 50 days at $96/day $4800

Intern 2: 50 days at $96/day $4800


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Project Secretary: 25 days at $120/day $3000

$44,600 $44,600

Travel and per Diem:

150 mi/day for 30 days at $.30/mi $1350

Miscellaneous mileage: 2500 miles at $.30/mi $750

Three 2 day site visits by Dr. Leela at $200/visit $600

$2700 $2700

Communications:Telephone and Internet ($120/month for 10 months) $1200

Postage $500

$1700 $1700

Supplies, Materials, and PhotocopyingPhotocopying $500

Supplies and Materials $500

$1000 $1000

TOTAL BUDGET $50,000

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