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We can do it This course focuses on the evaluation of instructional products, both those that are commercially produced and those that a classroom teacher or trainer might develop for his/her own use. Quite frankly, the KSA's (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) of a competent evaluator are so numerous that a single course or even a sequence of courses is inadequate preparation. Instead, disciplined study and extensive practical experience are required before you can develop the technical, communication, and political skills necessary for effective and efficient evaluation.

Despite these limitations, this course has ambitious goals for providing a blend of learning opportunities, didactic, exploratory, and most importantly experiential to enable you to make progress toward becoming a competent evaluator. The emphasis is decidedly on the exploratory and experiential rather than the didactic, and perhaps it will seem that you are more responsible for guiding your own learning in this course than in other graduate courses. This is intentional. Above all, we shall pursue "authentic achievement."

Preparation and Participation

Your active participation in this course is essential so plan to come to class on time, prepared, and ready to be challenged. Lack of preparation and failure to engage in the many learning opportunities in this course will be taken into account in your final grade.  

Attendance/Tardiness

You are expected to attend class, arrive on time, and stay for the duration of the class. Although it is understandable that you may need to miss one or at most two classes, absences in excess of two classes (or more than six hours during the semester) will result in four points subtracted from your final grade for each class missed. I retain the right to ask you to withdraw from the course if more than three classes are missed. Tardiness will be taken into account in your final grade as well. I expect you to let me know ahead of time if you will be absent or late for class and, if this is not possible, to be in touch with me as soon as you can thereafter. I can usually be reached, by both phone and email, in my office before class. 

Students With Special Needs

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), The University of Georgia College of Education seeks to provide equal access to individuals with disabilities. Students who have a disability and need specific accommodations and support to facilitate full inclusion of all aspects of the course should make an appointment with me during the first week of the term. To register for services, students may go to Disability Services located in Clark Howell Hall (706-542-8719, TTY 706-542-8778, www.dissvcs.uga.edu

Academic Honesty

The University of Georgia seeks to promote and ensure academic honesty and personal integrity among students and other members of the University Community. A policy on academic honesty has been developed to serve these goals. All members of the academic community are responsible for knowing the policy and procedures on academic honesty. These can be reviewed online at
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm

Incompletes

Incompletes will be assigned only in cases of illness, accident, or other catastrophic occurrences beyond a student’s control.

Electronic Devices

As a courtesy to all, you are asked to turn off cell phones and beepers during class. You may use your laptops in class to take notes and search for materials relevant to the content of the course. Checking email and other off-task use of the laptops is strongly discouraged as a courtesy to your teachers and to yourself as a learner.