At 4:19 PM -0700 12/4/03, Mike Cole wrote:
>bob-- So, the three areas you want to concentrate on are:
>
>systems-based approaches to inquiry
>organization growth and change
>learning in context.
>
>Right?
Not really. I just identified these three areas as ones that CHAT seems to incorporate more successfully than most Evaluation approaches. At least as a generalisation.
>And there is an irony. In a review of the book, "Context of
>Learning" Katherine Vann, who studies organizational learning
>and change, among other things, noted a distinct neglect of
>the study of evaluation vis a vis the strudy of learning.
I'm not sure which way around the problem is - a lack of understanding about evaluation in the study of learning, or the lack of understanding about learning in the study of evaluation.
>
>There are also cross-cutting efforts in print. e.g., on chat
>and organizational learning,
Yes I've seen some of that, but would be interested in much more.
>and of course, chat is a social science systems approach.
Ah that's interesting. I'm an ecologist by training, so in many ways my understanding of social science is very partial and has been learned on the hoof. In what way do you see CHAT as a social science approach ? No, on second thoughts don't answer that - I don't want to distract from the real purpose of my posting (see below).
>What "next step" would you find useful?
What I'd like to explore is whether there are CHAT methods and techniques that could be adopted within the quite tight constraints of many Evaluations (eg small budgets, intensely pragmatic almost atheoretical perspectives, short timeframes, quite conservative methods of data collection and analysis, wicked research questions ...). And once that's sorted out, I'd like to design a really good method of introducing CHAT ideas into the evaluation cannon - workshops, seminars, articles, web resources.
Cheers
Bob
-- BOB WILLIAMS Mobile (64) 21 254 8983 Check out the free resources on my WEB site http://users.actrix.co.nz/bobwillSocial change happens when a small group of people hold fast to an idea despite overwhelming odds. It doesn't always work, but staying at home never does. Jon Carrol "San Francisco Chronicle"
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