Looking back on my experience during this evaluation project, I have learned a lot throughout the whole evaluation process. It all started with having to select an agency to evaluate, which for my project ended up being Denbigh House. I did originally contact other agencies as well, but Denbigh House was the only one that had reached out to me. Honestly, I am glad that it was them since they were my first choice. From the beginning, I felt nervous about the idea of conducting an evaluation, as I had never conducted an agency evaluation before. I also didn’t know anything about program and agency evaluations before this class. An example is not knowing too much about stakeholders and their role in a program evaluation.

            My fears became less over time with the help of all of the weekly tasks and discussion boards we had to do. I will say that having discussion boards did help me out a lot by helping me gain better knowledge of how evaluations are conducted and what is needed to get good results during the evaluation process. To me, it was helpful to come up with two main questions that needed to be answered for the evaluation. This helped me determine which questions I should ask during the evaluation, as I wanted to make sure that I asked the right questions. Having to do assignments like that eventually increased my confidence in having to conduct an evaluation, especially once I had decided which method of collecting data I would use (interview and observation). When the time came for the evaluation, it went better than I could have anticipated and showed me that I didn’t need to worry.

            I think a good example of where my learning is demonstrated in this course is the content written in my discussion board posts. An example of this is from my initial post from discussion 16: https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/142680/discussion_topics/652118. The discussion board posts that I wrote were thought out and used the textbook for guidance which helped me gain a better understanding of concepts that are present in program evaluation. The task in which I think I demonstrated the most learning is task 3, the annotated bibliography: https://sites.wp.odu.edu/evaluationproject-annamoffatt/2023/11/28/task-3-annotated-bibliography/. For that assignment, I had to do lots of research into agencies with traumatic injury victims as the target population. Doing all that research, first of all, showed me good examples of how agency evaluation should be conducted. And second of all, showed me what I needed to look for with my findings. I also think task 6, the protocol, is another task in which I applied the contents of this course:  https://sites.wp.odu.edu/evaluationproject-annamoffatt/2023/11/28/task-6-protocol/. The reason I also included the protocol is that doing this task and receiving good feedback from my peers helped me ensure that I have a strong foundation for my evaluation, which is helpful in ensuring a successful evaluation. The questions for that assignment helped me answer my two main questions, and provides me enough information for my findings.

I think the area in which I improved the most is the writing for my assignments. An example of this is present in task 8, findings: https://sites.wp.odu.edu/evaluationproject-annamoffatt/2023/11/28/task-8-findings/. My writing for this course improved over time because I had a better idea of all the necessary aspects of a program evaluation, which I gained from doing the discussion boards. Having more knowledge about the content that I need to write about has helped me improve my writing throughout the course. Also, with task 8 I feel like it was formatted the best out of all of the other tasks that I had completed.

            My future career goal is to become a mental health counselor. The contents of this course can relate to that future career due to clients potentially needing referrals to certain agencies. Based on the knowledge of this course, I can figure out which agencies will be helpful for the client I am trying to help. From this course, I have learned what is considered an effective program or agency. Looking at things like how helpful the agency is in meeting the needs of its target population would definitely be a factor if referrals for a client are needed.