Suggested Guidelines for Writing Reflective Case Narratives

Abstract

Reflective case narratives are a practical mechanism for conveying lessons learned for practice improvement. Their ability to transform experience into knowledge in a colloquial, narrative style positions reflective case narratives as a powerful learning tool with pedagogical benefits for the evaluation community. However, one criticism of reflective case narratives is they suffer from loose guidelines and lengthy discussions that obscure lessons learned. Through the use of adult learning theory, a restructuring of reflective case narratives are presented to facilitate learning. The restructuring consists of five sections to increase the likelihood of reflective case narratives as a resource for transferring knowledge, sharing ideas, and keeping a pulse on the dynamic and fluid process of evaluation.

An Exploration of Two Novice Evaluation Educators’ Experiences Developing and Implementing Introduction to Evaluation Courses

“…Doing so helped us better understand the larger issue of novice evaluation educators’ experiences with introduction to evaluation courses and factors that influence course design, implementation, and evaluation. Our ultimate goal for this research was to present case study findings in a reflective narrative format as they are useful when describing lessons learned for the improvement of practice (Becker & Renger, 2017).…”

“…Cousins and Chouinard (2012) described the emergence of reflective case narratives as an increasingly prevalent mode of empirical research on evaluation. Unfortunately, lack of attention to narrative structure, such as unclear prioritization, excessive length, and loose organization, often undermines the potentially rich insights a case study can offer (Brandon, 2014); this is especially true of reflective case narratives (Becker & Renger, 2017). As such, scholars have sought to establish clearer guidelines for the organization of reflective case narratives within the field of evaluation (Becker & Renger, 2017; Brandon, 2014; Cousins & Chouinard, 2012).…”

“…While there has been a surge in empirical effort to understand how , where , and what is being taught within evaluation courses, less is known about who is teaching , for what purposes , and how . To that end, this article answers the call for more empirical research based on systematic reflection for the purpose of disseminating knowledge gained (Becker & Renger, 2017; Mark, 2008). The purpose of this article is to explore the varied experiences of two novice evaluation educators developing and implementing two separate introduction to evaluation courses.…”

Community, Theory, and Guidance: Benefits and Lessons Learned in Evaluation Peer Mentoring

“…Investigations of experiences and outcomes as a result of professional mentoring relationships have gained traction as well. Professional fi elds such as occupational therapy (Nolinske, 1995), engineering (Green & Bauer, 1995), nursing (Blowers, Ramsey, Merriman, & Grooms, 2003), school counseling (Des mond, 2009), academia (Carmel & Paul, 2015) and elementary and high-school teaching (Ambrosetti, Knight, & Dekkers, 2014) have examined the eff ects of mentoring within these various contexts, showing positive results for mentors and mentees alike.…”

Deriving evaluation indicators for knowledge transfer and dialogue processes in the context of climate research

“…In terms of measurability, outputs are typically tangible and more easily approached and measured objectively. The measurement of outcomes is often more difficult and typically done in a subjective manner due to rather "soft" indicators (e.g., Becker and Renger, 2017). Outcome indicators are less tangible and more conceptual results.…”