Junior Evaluator Project My own workbook Name:………………………………….
Congratulations! We are so glad that you are now a Junior Evaluator! This workbook is full of information and activities about peer research and being a junior evaluator that you can look back over after your training. At the back of the book is another learning outcomes form like the one you filled out before you came on the training. What is a learning outcome? This is where, what you have learned, will have made things better for you or made a positive change. So it’s like where you benefit from what you have learnt. After you have completed your training and at the end of the project it would really help if you could tell us what you feel you know now after the training and being involved in the project so we can work out what you feel you have learnt from taking part. We can do this together in school at the end of the project‌
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What is a Junior Evaluator? Evaluation is a way to find out if something works well or not. It helps us find out where things could be made better or if it is ok just as it is! To evaluate something you usually ask the people who use or want it what they think about it So it’s a process… You consult people by asking them questions or doing some first and then… Then you evaluate or work out what the overall views, opinions or ideas are…. How could we find out if something is any good? To find out how good something is, say an apple, you need to try it You would have to taste it to find out if its crunchy enough, sweet enough, juicy enough, ripe enough and not bad inside! You would need to do that to find out so you could say from experience which ones you like best and what you like or don’t like about them. BUT what if you were not allowed to taste the apple? How would you find out if it’s really any good or not? You could ask other people who have tried it before!!!!! What is an evaluator? If you spent a lot of time speaking to people about whether they liked things or not and why you would be called an Evaluator or in your case a Junior Evaluator! As Junior evaluators will be asking other children in the school about their views on some of the services or projects that they use in or sometimes out of school. What is a service? A service in school could be the school meal service or library service outside of school What is a project? A project to do with the school could be something like an after school club and outside school could be something like a dance/drama club or project or football/karate club or project If you are a Junior Evaluator you are simply a young person carrying out evaluation and consulting other people. Junior Evaluators will ask other children questions and consult them about services and projects to find out: what are the good or bad points, what they would want or need it to include how it could be improved or made better
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Peer Research and the Junior Evaluator What is research? There are two different types of research: Secondary Research - finding things out from the internet or newspaper Primary Research – getting original views, opinions and ideas first hand Research can help to change things for the better. What are peers? Peers are a group of people who share similar experiences or are of a similar status as you. For example they may be: the same age live in the same area as you like the same things as you What is peer research? Peer research is where those that are going to be directly affected by the research take the lead role in the evaluation process. Peer research with young people means that young people themselves are involved in the research process and interview their peers about their experiences because they are seen to be the experts!!! Why do we use peer research? Because it is a better way of doing things Because young people understand each other, their language and feelings Because they ask questions that young people can relate to Because they know others in their peer group Why is it a better way of doing things? Because young people would rather talk to other young people than perhaps someone who is much older or younger than they are Because young people are likely to be more open and honest with another young person so the research is more useful and meaningful Because in the long run it saves money as things work better right from the start What challenges could there be with peer research? It takes more time to train people as peer researchers and support them Training costs money as well as takes more time Young people may be reluctant to interview other young people because they are embarrassed or not confident, so would need extra support and training Peer researchers might put forward their own opinions if they are not trained well Your role as a researcher is to put forward the views and opinions of others and not your own!!!! 4
What skills and qualities would you need to be a junior evaluator? Qualities Be respectful of others Be prepared to give up your own free time Be committed Be willing to learn new skills Be fair and friendly Be easy to talk to Be responsible Work well with others Be able to understand appreciate and understand how others may feel Be prepared to have fun and meet new people Understand confidentiality Be reliable and punctual Skills Be organised Good language skills – speak clearly and make yourself understood Good listening skills Be a good presenter Be able to write clearly and make yourself understood Be creative Be a good team player Be able to think on your feet Be self motivated and able to motivate others Be able to plan Be able to meet targets Be able to speak to people on lots of different levels To be professional at all times
Activity Question: How many of the skills and qualities do you think you have? Why don’t you tick the qualities and skills that you think you have? Write down here which ones you would like to work on through the project, we can help you!
Tell us which skills or qualities you would like to have….
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Some top tips for being a good peer researcher Be polite at all times Always introduce yourself before you start interviewing someone Always explain what the research is and what the information is going to be used for Smile when you are speaking and listening to others Explain how the information is to be recorded and used. Always look and be interested in what someone has to say Always accept what someone is saying, it is their opinion you want to know Don’t argue with the person you are interviewing Be friendly at all times, it will encourage people to speak freely Ask people to explain if you don’t understand what they have said Give people time to answer and listen to what they are saying Try not to hesitate, be cool and confident Try to make people feel comfortable and relaxed Speak clearly and slowly and do not rush the question. Concentrate and listen to what people are saying to you Don’t share your own opinions and ideas, it’s their opinion you want not yours! Make sure you tell people that the interview is confidential Ask one question at a time. Don’t ask questions that will only lead or allow a person to answer in a certain way If you are writing anything down, allow the other person to see what you are writing down. Don’t use complicated language or long sentences Only write down what the person says and record it properly Don’t interrupt them. Thank people for taking part and explain what will happen next 6
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Cool Facts About Consultation What is consultation? Consultation is the process of asking questions – to get ideas and opinions Why would you carry out a consultation? To make sure that the decisions that are made are the right ones If people tell us something that they want or need we can make sure they are given exactly what they want from the start It is better value because we get it right the first time by giving people what they want and so don’t waste money and time trying guess at getting it right! Why you would carry out a consultation on a project or service? To find out things like what it should include, the times it should open, how much it should cost and how it should be run To find out what would encourage people to go there or use it in the future Why would you carry out a consultation on a product or thing? To see if the way it is designed, works for the people who want to use it To find out what would encourage people to buy or use it in the future What might a leisure centre ask the people who use it? What activities it should be putting on What the cost of activities or joining the centre should be What would make people join or use the centre What might a shop that sells products like phones ask its customers? What facilities or functions on the phone are important to them What is the price they would expect to pay for such a phone What would encourage them to buy a phone [added extras – like free minutes etc] Why would people be consulted before a new service is started up? To find out if it is something that people would want to use or might need To find out what people would like to see included in it To find out what would be the best times and places to run it, To find out how much people think it should cost to use it To find out what would encourage people to go there and use it in the future Write your examples here.. Can you think of at least one more example for each of these?
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Easy Evaluation What is evaluation? Evaluation is about collecting the experiences people have of something and finding out about it’s quality – if it is any good or not What sort of things can we evaluate? Products or things like a phone or a computer game Projects or services like an after school club or school dinner service What can we evaluate about a service? If the people who use it think it is any good – what works well and what doesn’t What things could be done to improve it or make it better What can we evaluate about a product or thing? If the people who use it think it is any good To see if there are things that could be changed to make it better Here are some examples of things you can evaluate about a project or service Procedures – how things are run and work Hospitality – is it friendly Presentation - how it looks Publicity - are the posters, leaflets and adverts appealing and have the right info Efficiency – is it good value for money, is the cost of using it affordable Accessibility – is it easy to get to, in the right place and held at the right time Quality – is it managed well by the people that run it Fit for purpose – is it any good - does it meet the needs of the people who use it Participation – are the people who use it asked about it and involved in reviewing it Staff – are they respectful, confidentiality, friendly, good at their job and approachable What works and what doesn’t – what needs to change to help improve it Environment – is it clean and a nice place to go to or use Activities – are they the right ones Food – is the food any good! Here are some examples of things you can evaluate about a project or service Purpose – what is it meant to do and what is it to be used for Usefulness – is it useful and does it do what it is meant to Cost/Price – is it cheap to run or buy so is it affordable and good value for money Style/Design - what it looks like – colour/feel/size/shape– is it appealing Effectiveness – how well it performs or works - it’s functions Running costs – what does it cost to run it and keep it going – is it reasonable Quality - how long will it work or last – it’s lifetime Target customer - who will it appeal to and who else has one or would need one Marketing – how it is advertised and promoted Is it any good - how it could be improved or what would make it better
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Talking to people skills Did you know that we communicate with others not just by the things we say? We use the tone or pitch of our voice but we also use other parts of our bodies to talk to or to listen to people too! Face to face – directly looking at the person Keep your body open with your arms at your side, not behind your head or folded Smile and nod your head when people are speaking Try to make eye contact – don’t look around you or beyond the person that you are talking to Raising your voice or shouting does not mean that the person will hear you any better or listen to what you have to say Keep your voice at a calm level – speaking clearly, not whispering just loud enough to be heard Give your person the time to talk – use your ears to listen to when they have finished before you start talking and don’t interrupt Use your eyes to read their body language, to see if they are comfortable or uneasy Use your hands to help express what you are saying but don’t wave them everywhere
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Fill in the blanks and complete the sentences about cool consultation using the missing words on the left…simple!
Missing words: important encourage price want include best decisions right asking need questions activities cost promote money services
CONSULTATION Consultation is a process of ------ --------- to get ideas and opinions. Consultation is carried out to:
• make sure --------- are the ----- ones. • tell us what people want or ---- so the -------- they get are right for them • it will save ----- because we get it right the first time A leisure centre might want to consult with people on things like:
• what --------- it should be putting on • the ---- of joining the centre or taking part in an activity • what would be the best way to ------- the centre A phone shop for example, might consult with its customers to find out:
• what things about a phone are --------- to them • what the ---- for their perfect phone would be • what would --------- them to buy a particular phone Consulting with people before a new service is started up is really good because it find out if people ---- or need it, what it should ------- and the ---- place and times to run it
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Fill in the blanks and complete the sentences about easy evaluation using the missing words on the left…simple!
Missing words: projects collecting good quality food design recommendations changed products staff building finding experiences improved useful accessible value
EVALUATION Consultation is about ---------- the ----------- people have of something and ------- out about it’s -------, to see if it is any good or not. We can evaluate -------- like a phone or computer game. We can evaluate -------- or services like an after school club or school meal service You can evaluate services to get --------------- from the people who use them of where they can be ------- to make them better. You can evaluate a product to see if the people who --- it think it is any ---- and what needs to ------ to make it better. You can also evaluate things in a project or service like: • If the ---- is any good • If the ----- are friendly, respectful and trained well • If it is ---------- or easy to get to and in the right place • If the -------- is in good repair, clean and a nice place You can also evaluate things about a product like: • If it is ------ and does what it is meant to do • The ------ or style of it, what it looks like, is it appealing • If it is a good quality product and good ----- for money
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Planning Your Evaluation There are many different that consultations can be carried out. The people you are consulting will make a difference to the method that you use or the way that you do it. Here are a few ways that we could use to consult with people or collect their views and opinions
Surveys Questionnaires Solutions Tree Graffiti Wall Evaluation Wheel Mind Maps Story Boards Interviews Video’s Poems Drawings Evaluation Target Smiley face voting [sticks/bookmarks/tokens/stickers] Jars of importance Music – song or rap etc Drama – play Photographs Diaries Journey’s or timelines Easy Envelopes The Graphic Board The Washing Line Potato Heads, canes and cotton reels Traffic Lights Newsletter
Why don’t you tick those consultation methods that you have been involved with before? Tell us more….
Before you carry out a consultation you MUST always prepare and plan what you are going to do 13
Getting Started – Planning your evaluation These stages will help you plan and carry out your evaluation.
7.Recommendations If the information you have collected has any ideas or changes for making things better in the future these will need to go into your report too!
6.Check aims and targets again – check that the information you have collected is enough to meet your aims of the consultation
8.Report back – give feedback on what you have learned from your consultation. You will probably need to write a small report with all the facts for people like teachers but there are lots of creative ways of presenting what you have found out.
1.Aims and targets – what you are hoping to find out and what your research is it going to be used for.
2.What you need to find out – what information you need to collect that will help you find out what you need to know to reach your aim.
3.Collecting information – what consultation method you are going to use, and how are we going to record the information we collect
5.Study Results – work out from the information you have collected what the information shows us and what we have learned
4.Get organised – sort the information you collect into different areas so you don’t get confused. Put the same sort of information together into a chart if it helps, it will make it easier when you write your report later too!
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Designing a questionnaire There are many ways which you can collect information and consult with people. One of these is through carrying out interviews. This is a very common way that junior evaluators would carry out their peer research work. Interviews can be carried out in different ways using a set of questions including using a video to record the interview or by taping it. Interviews can also be carried out using surveys or questionnaires. This is where someone is either asked a set of questions and their answers written down by the researcher interviewing them or where they complete the questions themselves and pass the completed sheet back to the researcher. If you are going to use a survey or a questionnaire there is a small checklist that you can go through. This checklist will help you decide which is the best way to set out your questions and help you decide on what questions you need to include to make sure you get the right information. This way you wont waste your time or the time of the people you are interviewing.
Designing a questionnaire Decide on the information you need to collect
Make sure you include what the information will be used for Make sure you mention confidentiality Keep it short and simple Use a mix of both open and closed questions Open questions – ones that don’t just need a yes or no answer so will give more detailed information but are a little harder to evaluate Closed questions are easier to answer and evaluate but don’t give a lot of information and are usually where just a yes or no answer is needed Don’t collect information that you don’t need Use the style of language that will be understood by the person you are interviewing Use pictures like smiley’s to make it simpler to use and more eye catching if you want to but only if it still means you can collect the information you need and not just for the sake of it Always test your questions out on someone similar to the person you will be interviewing before you use them 15
Make sure that your questions will give you the information you need to complete your research or objectives Make sure that where a question might give you a chance to collect extra information from the person you are interviewing that there is enough room on the form for you to record it. Think about how you are going to record the information fro the questionnaire, are you going to write it down or record it for example. Whatever you do it will take time to evaluate so there are no shortcuts!! Questions that include the words below are likely to give you more information • How … • Explain… • Tell me. • What.. • Why…. An example of a useful way to collect information clearly and simply – it doesn’t give you lots of detail but is a quick way to evaluate and is sometimes are all you need How happy do you feel at school?
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The Junior Evaluator Word search
E V A L U A T I O N M A N N B E
A D I V E R S I T Y E G K O W N
D S N O I T S E U Q D L D N U G
young evaluators consultation feedback voice peer research service diversity engagement planning council
Z P R I Y B Z M Y Y W Y X W O A
F O F C O N S U I T A T I O N G
G S W E U L B U D D Y O V L M E
N I E E N Y E V O R P M I E W M
mentor buddy evaluation survey interview team questions language improve positive body build
I T L O G Q N P C N X P X V L E
N I V H D Z S U R V E Y B A V N
N V R C U S E Q C G K M M L J T
A E E R J T R I R J Q I W U T V
L Q T A Z V V D F E E D B A C K
P T N E E T I T S O P S O T H B
A E I S A S C C P S K E V O L U
C A E E T M E N T O R R U R H I
J M P R D C O U N C I L T S G L
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K F E B R E G A U G N A L F U D
Reporting your finding and making presentations The information collected during your research will need to be put together so that it makes sense and is going to be easy to read and useful to people.
Before you can write your report you need to think about who the information is meant to go to and what the information is going to be used for. These things are very important and will help you decide on the best way to present your report. There are many styles and ways you can present your report. Here are a few examples.
Video Photographs Story board Music/Rap Drama or role play Graphics and posters Newsletter Article Power point presentation Hard copy report Presentation Lecture Graph Audio Written report
LETS HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT ONE OR TWO OF THEM 18
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NOW LETS LOOK AT MAKING A PRESENTATION SO THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO TO YOUR AUDIENCE!! THINK ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WHO ARE YOU SPEAKING TO? WHY YOU ARE SPEAKING TO THEM? IT HAS TO BE DONE IN THE RIGHT STYLE TO MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY YOU DON’T JUST BORE THE PANTS OFF THEM. BUT THAT ALL YOUR HARD WORK, EVERY MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO GET ACROSS IS EASILY UNDERSTOOD AND MAKES SENSE TO YOUR AUDIENCE
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NOW YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT SHOULD GO INTO THE PRESENTATION – THE CONTENT BEGINNING – INTRODUCE YOURSELF, GET YOUR AUDIENCE’S ATTENTION AND TELL THEM WHAT THE MAIN AIM OF YOUR PRESENTATION IS MIDDLE – NOW ITS TIME TO TELL THEM - TRY AND KEEP IT TO 3 MAIN POINTS – FOCUS ON WHAT THEY REALLY NEED TO KNOW – THE POINT, THE EVIDENCE TO BACK UP WHAT YOURE SAYING AND THEN WHY IT MATTERS END – KEEP IT PUNCHY AND EASY TO REMEMBER, REMIND PEOPLE OF THE MAIN MESSAGE AND A WAY FORWARD – WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT… MOST OF ALL YOU NEED TO MAKE IT INTERESTING, CLEAR AND SIMPLE
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OTHER THINGS TO THINK OF WHEN YOU ARE MAKING A PRESENTATION ARE
BREATHING – TAKE A DEEP BREATH – IT WILL CALM YOU DOWN AND HELPS YOU GET YOUR THOUGHTS IN ORDER AND WILL HELP YOU SPEAK PROPERLY EYE CONTACT – SEEMS SCARY AT FIRST BUT ITS IMPORTANT, ONCE YOU MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE THEY SEEM TO LISTEN MORE STRAIGHTEN UP – THOSE EXTRA INCHES BY STANDING STRAIGHT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A KING. HELPS YOU SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT, MAKES YOU LOOK PROUD AND CONFIDENT AND YOU WILL FEEL LIKE TI TOO! TRACK HANDS – DO MAKE YOUR HAND GESTURES BIG TO HELP DESCRIBE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BUT WITHOUT KNOCKING ANYONE OUT! NEVER PUT THEM IN YOUR POCKETS OR FIDGET WITH THEM VOLUME – DON’T SHOUT BUT SPEAK LOUDER THAN NORMAL, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN HEAR YOU AT THE BACK! EVEN SPEAKING WITH PAUSES – THE MORE POWERFUL THE LEADER THE MORE PAUSES IN THEIR SPEECHES – LOOK AT BARRACK OBAMA! IF HE CAN DO IT YOU CAN! THERE IS POWER IN A GOOD DRAMATIC PAUSE! SLOW DOWN - WHEN YOURE NERVOUS AND EXCITED YOU SPEAK TOO QUICKLY. TALK AT A NATURAL PACE – NICE AND EVE, NICE AND SLOW TONE – SO YOURE TONE DEAF – LIKE I CARE! ANYONE WHO CAN DO SARCASM OR SURPRISE OR HAS RAISED THEIR VOICE AT THE END OF A QUESTION CAN ADD SPICE AND INTEREST TO THEIR PRESENTATION 23
Learning outcomes – Now that the project is over So now that you have completed your training and the project has come to an end it we said that the best way to find out whether or not being involved has had any positive outcomes for you. You will remember these questions from before, but this time we might just find that you know a little more than you did at the start and have a little more self-confidence too!
Scoring
Consultation How much do you know about getting people’s views and opinions?
nothing
I know a bit
I know quite a lot I know everything
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this?
nothing
a bit
Evaluation How much do you know about how to carry out a review or to find out if something works well or not?
quite a lot I know everything Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this? 24
Presentations Do you feel confident about making presentations in front of people?
no
a bit confident
quite confident
yes
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this?
Report Writing
no Do you know how to put together a report?
I know a bit
I know quite a lot I know everything Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this?
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How confident are you about working with others as part of a team? not confident
a bit
quite
very
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this?
How confident do you feel about asking questions and interviewing children at school?
not confident quite confident
a bit very
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this? 26
Please tell us 3 things that you feel you got from your training and being part of the project Thanks‌..
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2
3
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