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Strong et al.  Advancements in Agricultural Development 
  Volume 2, Issue 3, 2021 
  agdevresearch.org 

1. Robert Strong, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, 2116 TAMU, College Station, TX. 77843-2116,         

robert.strongjr@ag.tamu.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808   
2. Kim Dooley, Professor, Texas A&M University, 2116 TAMU, College Station, TX. 77843-2116, Kim.Dooley@ag.tamu.edu, 

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5654-5988   
3. Theresa Murphrey, Professor, Texas A&M University, 2116 TAMU, College Station, TX. 77843-2116, 

Theresa.Murphrey@ag.tamu.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4996-6087   
4. Jen Strong, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, 2116 TAMU, College Station, TX. 77843-2116, 

Jennifer.Strong@ag.tamu.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6718-6434   
5. Chanda Elbert, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, 2116 TAMU, College Station, TX. 77843-2116, 

celbert@tamu.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6115-6410   
6. Matt Baker, Professor and Head, Texas A&M University, 2116 TAMU, College Station, TX. 77843-2116, 

Mathew.Baker@ag.tamu.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0556-744X   
1 

 

The EVAL Framework: Developing Impact Evaluation Scholars 
R. Strong1, K. Dooley2, T. Murphrey3, J. Strong4, C. Elbert5, M. Baker6 

 
 

  

Abstract 

The complexities of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) programs and   
projects require faculty to write and secure funding in addition to mastering skills such as evaluation 
competencies that integrate abilities in quantitative and qualitative research methods and 
evaluation theory and practice. The EVAL Framework was developed to advance skill development 
among FANH graduates to include these competencies and increase the pipeline of students who 
have the essential skills needed to advance FANH initiatives and priorities. The EVAL Framework 
includes four primary constructs: (a) Evaluation, (b) Value, (c) Active and Experiential Learning, and 
(d) Leadership. The purpose of EVAL is to build relationships with untapped FANH fields to develop a 
pipeline for graduates to become evaluation leaders for advancing food and agricultural sciences. 
This experiential learning and development model focuses on foundational and enrichment 
experiences, through formal coursework, project-based learning, and contextually rich 
environments. Mentoring, individualized development plans, scholarly learning communities, 
collaboration, transferable skills, and career planning and guidance activities are integrated into the 
EVAL framework to enhance skill development among EVAL scholars.   
 
 

Keywords 

Individual values, active and experiential learning, leadership, career preparation, evaluation 
framework 



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Introduction and Problem Statement 
 
The complexities of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) programs 
and   projects require scholars to not only master the ability to write and secure funding but also 
to develop mastery of evaluation competencies that integrate abilities in quantitative and 
qualitative research methods, evaluation theory, and practice. The United States Department 
of Agriculture (2018) recommended scholars and practitioners should be better prepared to 
administer quality program evaluations to assist policymakers in constructing the best-
informed decisions. However, these skills alone do not provide meaningful approaches for 
continuous improvement given the complexities of interdisciplinary issues in FANH. Analysis, 
cultural adaptability, life-long learning, ethical decision making, creativity, teamwork, 
communication, and leadership are essential skills needed for post-graduate success (Succi & 
Canovi, 2020). Fostering effective essential skills in graduate education holds the promise of 
developing graduates who are able to thrive in a world in which teamwork and collaboration 
are omnipresent (Britton et al., 2017). These essential competencies, coupled with evaluation 
competencies, create evaluation scholars and practitioners who will help fill the identified gaps 
in the food and agricultural sciences. 
 

EVAL Framework 
 
The authors created the EVAL Framework to develop students’ competencies to be effective 
food, agriculture, natural resources, human sciences, and public health evaluators in addition to 
content experts in their disciplines. The EVAL Framework includes four primary constructs: (a) 
Evaluation, (b) Value, (c) Active and Experiential Learning, and (d) Leadership. The purpose of 
the EVAL framework is to connect scholars within a variety of FANH fields and further develop a 
pipeline for graduates to become leaders capable of advancing food and agricultural sciences. 
This experiential learning and development model focuses on foundational and enrichment 
experiences through formal coursework, project-based learning, and contextually rich 
environments.  
 
The purpose of this article is to describe in detail (see Figure 1) the EVAL framework juxtaposed 
to the authors’ experiences in implementing the framework within the context of a doctoral 
degree program in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication disciplines. The 
article concludes with a vignette in the conclusion that highlights seminal takeaways from 
implementing the EVAL framework.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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Figure 1  
 
EVAL Framework: An Experiential Approach 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Evaluation  
EVAL’s inclusion of evaluation methodologies are central to the framework. Evaluation is a 
process that critically examines a project or program in terms of outcomes, outputs, and 
impacts. It involves collecting and analyzing information about a program’s activities, 
characteristics, and outcomes. The purpose of evaluation is to make judgments about a 
program, to improve its effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions (Patton, 2014).  
 
Evaluation studies may take place in both formal and informal settings, ranging in size and 
scope from a pilot study to a complex project that addresses different topics, involves hundreds 
of individuals, and includes a variety of methodologies (Ibarra-Sáiz et al., 2020). The EVAL 
students gain knowledge and skills in a variety of assessment and evaluation methods for social 
and behavioral science within FANH disciplines.  
 
Evaluation skill development includes formative, summative, and process assessment. 
Formative assessment results are used in the formation and revision process of a social or 

Mentoring 

Career Planning & 
Guidance 

Individualized 
Development Plans 

Transferable 
Skills 

Scholarly Learning 
Communities 

Collaboration 

EVAL Fellow Approach: A combination of foundational courses supplemented 
with enrichment activities, executed using the tools indicated, ensures that EVAL 

students gain competencies to be effective in FANH evaluation. 



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behavioral phenomenon for continuous improvement (Rossi et al., 2019). Summative 
assessment is used for the purpose of documenting outcomes and judging value, such as 
providing feedback about the quality of a program, reporting to stakeholders, and granting 
agencies, producing reports for accreditation, and marketing the attributes of a program (Rossi 
et al., 2019). Most FANH projects are rarely exclusively summative in practice, and usually 
contain some aspects of formative assessment. Process assessment begins with the 
identification of project milestones to be achieved, activities to be undertaken, products to be 
delivered, and/or projected costs likely to be incurred while attaining the project goals. Rossi et 
al. (2019) indicated a process assessment determines whether the project has been on 
schedule, deliverables produced, and cost effectiveness. The degree of difference from the 
expected process is used to evaluate success. 
 
In addition to the aforementioned skill set, EVAL students learn about theoretical and practical 
ethical practices for     conducting evaluative research for building/maintaining community trust. 
Rather than the “giver” or “gatherer” of information (expert), the role of an EVAL practitioner is 
to share facilitation roles to equally value local knowledge (empowerment). From expert to 
empowerment is manifested through interactive data collection techniques, like transect walks, 
group discussion, matrices for ranking needs and other active ways of engaging the community. 
It parallels the qualitative/action research paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 1981) and the 
empowerment of local communities with learners as co-creators of knowledge (Freire, 1970). 
EVAL is a credible tool for needs assessment and evaluation research in communities with low 
numeration and literacy skills. The specific skills to      develop evaluation plans, strategies and 
tools builds upon the foundation coursework and active/experiential learning aspects of the 
EVAL model. 
 
Values 
EVAL aligns with identified approaches to ensure individual value and equity. According to 
Stufflebeam (2001), evaluations are grounded in clear and appropriate values, principles, 
attributes, or qualities held to be intrinsically good, desirable, important, and of general worth. 
Ensuring the next generation of evaluation scholars can apply competences in diverse settings 
within communities requires the ability to create, communicate, and disseminate    culturally 
relevant results, while simultaneously considering societal values and equity. 
 
Aligning individual values and realizing potential bias is at the core of program evaluation 
practice (Patton, 2021). EVAL students can investigate their personal values and learn how their 
values have the ability to impact evaluations. EVAL students learn strategies to minimize bias in 
evaluations through active and experiential learning methods. The American Evaluation 
Association’s (AEA’s) (2018) guiding principles emphasize the importance of an evaluators’ 
obligation to not only become knowledgeable about other cultures, but also have the 
competence to evaluate the context in which the evaluator operates. As the U.S. continues to 
become more diverse, the field of evaluation has not yet followed. The lack of familiarity with 
other cultures affects the ability for an evaluator to effectively guide, conceptualize, analyze, 
and interpret an evaluation (Fitzpatrick et al., 2011). EVAL students engage and learn culturally 
responsive pedagogical teaching practices in the classroom. Culturally Responsive Teaching 



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(CRT) is a learning centered pedagogy that recognizes students’ cultural background, along with 
their past and current experiences (Ladson-Billings, 1994). The EVAL students take courses in 
which teaching strategies of CRT are taught and subsequently utilize these transferable skills in 
other settings.  
 
Students engage in critical classroom discussions, dialogue, and are provided multiple 
enrichment experiences enabling them to utilize the skills and experiences they have learned to 
become culturally competent individuals. While becoming experts and leaders in the field, CRT 
will not only meet, but exceed the expectations of the AEA through the facilitation of          
constructive and culturally responsive feedback while conducting an evaluation. In this regard, 
the EVAL students can move the field forward and have a better understanding from multiple 
perspectives within the agricultural sciences, the field of evaluation, while immersing student in 
the discipline’s values. 
 
Active and Experiential Learning 
EVAL involves active and experimental learning opportunities for impact scholars. Active 
learning involves fostering attitudes, developing and practicing skills, and promoting 
understanding of the concepts and models within the subject (Silberman, 2006). The EVAL 
framework is imbibed with experiences that provide active learning environments for graduate 
students, mentorship, formal courses, non-formal education programs, and faculty 
development academies. A foundation of active learning involves the implementation of 
experiential learning opportunities to enhance knowledge (Silberman, 2006). 
 
Experiential learning has been identified as a tenet of agricultural education (Roberts, 2006). 
Kolb’s (2014) experiential learning has four elements that indicate students learn best when 
actively engaged in the content versus merely observing. The first element is concrete 
experience and refers to students being involved in new experiences. The EVAL framework 
provides these new experiences to students by examining evaluation methodologies and 
instruments used by the EVAL team on current projects. Concrete experiences are also given, 
formally, in classroom settings via andragogical methods as well as informally during mentoring 
and individual development plans.  
 
The second element is reflective observation. This refers to students being provided 
opportunities to reflect and critically think about what they learned in the concrete experience 
stage. Authors address this stage with EVAL students with pre and post reflections to mentor 
students as they develop valid instruments and strengthen transferable skills in a scholarly 
learning community. EVAL students also engage in reflection and critical thinking during their 
time in the scholarly learning communities.  
 
The third stage           focuses on abstract conceptualization and indicates the importance of students 
connecting increased knowledge to other situations (Kolb, 2014). The authors mentor EVAL 
students in applying information gained from reviewing evaluations by guiding students in 
building evaluation instruments for new assessments. CRT also enhances EVAL students’ ability 
to connect values and cultural representation to the evaluation measures learned and applied 



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through the program. 
 
The fourth stage of Kolb’s (2014) model is active experimentation. This stage focuses on using 
theories and models to solve problems. The authors address active experimentation by 
collaborating with EVAL students in developing evaluation plans based on models learned 
during the concrete experience stage. These active and experiential learning strategies align 
with the project objective to increase skills to promote a culture of learning for evaluation 
within an organization, to engage users and beneficiaries in evaluation processes and to 
broaden the use of evidence in decision-making. 
 
Leadership 
EVAL utilizes Brungardt’s (1996) model of leadership development as the leadership construct. 
This model incorporates leadership trainings and workshops (specific skills), leadership 
education (formalized leadership theoretical knowledge), and leadership development (active 
learning application and reflection) to construct knowledge and make meaning from the formal 
and informal aspects of the program related to their role as a leader. By understanding the 
theoretical basis of leadership practice through formalized leadership education, then applying 
theory to practice, the EVAL framework engages scholars in sustainable leadership 
development. Specific leadership trainings and workshops where EVAL students can increase 
leadership skills include individualized development plans, leadership roles and teamwork 
seminars, and workshops within learning communities. Foundational EVAL courses integrate 
active and experiential learning with leadership theories using cultural competencies. 
Leadership theory and application (leadership development) creates scholars who not only 
demonstrate evaluation competence but know how to apply and lead in settings where 
complex problems need to be addressed (Hitt & Tucker, 2016). This requires the ability to work 
in teams, ethical decision-making, and intra and interpersonal communication.  
 
EVAL students are encouraged to attend seminars that bring in international and diverse 
experts in emerging agricultural issues. Ethical decision making and problem solving is 
introduced in the Leadership in Organizational Culture and Ethics course and practiced by the 
students through case studies, evaluation projects with their principal investigator mentors, 
and experiential activities, including simulations (Boyd & Strong, 2020).  
 

Enrichment Activities 
 
The EVAL Framework involves a rigorous course sequence of practical experiences for hands-on 
evaluative research. Students gain leadership and ethical competency with graduate 
coursework: Foundations of Leadership Theory and Leadership in Organizational Culture and 
Ethics. Doctoral students have a required research    sequence including: Instrumentation and 
Survey Research Methods, Advanced Analysis and Research Design, Theory of Agricultural 
Education Research, and Qualitative Research Methods. Securing grant funding is covered in 
Developing Funded Research Projects, while Survey of Evaluation Strategies for Agriculture and 
Program Evaluation and Organizational Accountability provides the theory and practice of 



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proper evaluation strategies for agricultural projects and programming. This coursework serves 
as the foundation for EVAL. 
 
Academic advising, research training, and mentoring occur formally using the Kram (1985) 
model of mentorship as well as informally through synergistic activities. The following activities 
underpin EVAL: Individualized Development Plans (IDPs), Scholarly Learning Communities 
(SLCs), Mentoring, Institutional and International Collaborations, Transferable Skill 
Development, and Career Planning and Guidance. The IDP serves as the center of the 
experiential learning experiences by allowing benchmarking for each EVAL student to guide 
their progression of knowledge and skill attainment. The Center for Teaching Excellence at 
[University] provides access to an IDP education process model. The IDP encourages students to 
engage in critical reflection to enhance their experience.  
 
Scholarly Learning Communities (SLCs) serve to create community among EVAL students, 
faculty, and fellow graduate students and provide a venue for professional development. This 
prevents isolation and builds collaboration. Monthly sessions focus on topics identified as 
needs during orientation and through the IDP. Mentoring has been proven to be critical in the 
development of graduate students as it encourages networking, provides support, and ensures 
proper guidance (Curtin et al., 2016). Each EVAL student is matched with a mentor who reflects 
their interests and long-term goals.  
 
Institutional and international collaborations allow graduate students to see their work across 
multiple contexts to extend their networks. Application of essential skills, within varying 
contexts and with multiple collaborators, strengthens students’ competencies (Jackson, 2010). 
Therefore, EVAL students are encouraged and supported in the attendance of relevant 
conferences and institutional visits. Collaboration is also encouraged during the engagement of 
students in the writing and implementation of evaluation plans.  
 
Transferable skill development allows EVAL students to take the essential skills learned through 
formal and informal instruction and utilize them in their personalized contexts. Transferable 
skill development is accomplished via workshops targeted to meet students’ needs. These 
workshops occur across the duration of the program are based upon the IDPs.  
 
Career planning and guidance is critical for EVAL students to be successful upon graduation. 
Individual consultations take place between each EVAL student and appropriate faculty 
members. In addition, the Texas A&M University’s Career Center is accessed for resources for 
further career development. 

 

Competency Domains 
 

Using the AEA Competency Domains, the authors aligned the EVAL learning outcomes with the 
AEA competencies and the planned foundational and enrichment experiences (AEA, 2018). The 
first AEA competency domain is professional practice. The competent evaluator acts ethically 
through evaluation practice that demonstrate integrity, respects people from different cultural 



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backgrounds and indigenous groups, selects evaluation approaches and theories appropriately,   
uses systematic evidence to make evaluative judgments, reflects on evaluation formally or 
informally to improve practice, identifies personal areas of professional competence and needs  
for growth, pursues ongoing professional development to deepen reflective practice, identifies  
how evaluation practice can promote social justice and the public good, and advocates for the 
field of evaluation (AEA, 2018). 
 
The second AEA (2018) domain is methodology. The competent evaluator identifies evaluation 
purposes and needs, determines evaluation questions, designs credible and feasible evaluations 
that address identified purposes and questions, determines and justifies appropriate methods 
to answer evaluation questions (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods). Evaluators 
identify assumptions that underlie methodologies and program logic, conducts reviews of the 
literature, identifies relevant sources of evidence and sampling procedures. Stakeholders are 
collaborators in evaluation design, implementation, interpretation, and reporting evaluation 
results. The evaluator, in the methodology domain, uses program logic and program theory as 
appropriate, collects and analyzes data using credible, feasible, and culturally appropriate 
procedures (AEA, 2018). Lastly, the evaluator identifies strengths and limitations of the 
evaluation design and methods, interprets findings/results in context, uses evidence and 
interpretations to draw conclusions, make judgments and provide recommendations. 
 
The third domain is context. This domain focuses on understanding the unique circumstances, 
multiple perspectives, and programs being evaluated and their users/stakeholders (AEA, 2018). 
Context involves the program’s site/location/environment, participants/stakeholders, 
organization/structure, culture/diversity, history/traditions, values/beliefs, politics/economics, 
power/privilege, and other characteristics.  
 
Domain four is planning and management. This domain focuses on determining and monitoring 
work plans, timelines, resources, and other components needed to complete and deliver an 
evaluation study. Planning and management include networking, developing proposals, 
contracting, determining work assignments, monitoring progress, and fostering use of 
evaluation findings (AEA, 2018).  
 
The final domain is interpersonal. This domain focuses on human relations and social 
interactions that ground evaluator effectiveness for professional practice throughout the 
evaluation (AEA, 2018). Interpersonal skills include cultural competence, communication, 
facilitation, and conflict resolution. Faculty mentors for EVAL students create competency-
based behavioral anchors as authentication tools to measure learning outcomes based upon 
observable knowledge, skills, and abilities through the foundational and enrichment 
experiences (See Table 1). 
 
 
 
 
 



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Table 1 
 
Outcomes and Competency Domains 
Outcomes 
EVAL students will: 

American Evaluation 
Association Competency 
Domain 

1. Increase knowledge of leadership roles, ethics, 
professionalism and working in teams 

Professional Practice 
Context 
Interpersonal 

2. Increase knowledge in quantitative and qualitative research 
methods for data collection, analysis, and dissemination 

Professional Practice 
Methodology 
Context 
Planning and Management 

3. Act ethically through evaluation practice that demonstrates 
integrity and respects people from different cultural 
backgrounds and indigenous groups 

Professional Practice 
Methodology 
Context 
Planning and Management 
Interpersonal 

4. Increase skills to promote a culture of learning for evaluation 
within an organization, to engage users and beneficiaries in 
evaluation processes and to broaden the use of evidence in 
decision-making 

Professional Practice 
Methodology 
Context 
Planning and Management 
Interpersonal 

5. Demonstrate the ability to develop evaluation plans to 
assess project objectives 

Professional Practice 
Methodology 
Context 
Planning and Management 
Interpersonal 

6. Report more favorable attitudes about pursuing careers and 
graduate studies in the food, agriculture, natural resources, 
and human sciences 

Professional Practice 
Methodology 
Context 
Planning and Management 
Interpersonal 

Courses: 
Foundations of Leadership Theory; Leadership in Organizational Culture and Ethics; 
Instrumentation and Survey Research Methods; Advanced Analysis and Research Design; Theory 
of Agricultural Education Research; Qualitative Research Methods in Agricultural Education; 
Developing Funded Research Projects; Survey of Evaluation Strategies for Agriculture; Program 
Evaluation and Organizational Accountability 
Enrichment Experiences: 
Mentoring; Individual Development Plans; Scholarly Learning Communities; Collaboration;    
Transferable Skills; Career Planning and Guidance 



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Vignette 
 

The EVAL Framework can be used to as a guide to frame a student’s experience from admission 
into a program to graduation, enabling them to be prepared for employment in the field of 
evaluation. Successful implementation of the EVAL Framework includes a combination of 
traditional courses, enrichment activities and purposeful interactions.  For example, Sally 
applies to the department and expresses an interest in the field of evaluation.  Instead of 
sending the student to visit with faculty about career opportunities and how coursework might 
support her interests, the program leader pulls out a copy of the EVAL framework and proceeds 
to explain the importance and relevance of each of the areas and then talks through how topics 
will be covered through the approaches illustrated.  The program leader explains how the 
scholarly learning communities are organized, how mentors are assigned, and how the 
department will encourage collaboration activities. The program leader connects Sally to a 
faculty member who is currently involved in a grant-funded project and encourages Sally to 
volunteer to work with the faculty member on the evaluation aspect of the project.  Sally’s 
engagement in the project is specifically focused on her developing competencies within the 
AEA domains.  The program leader provides a copy of the Outcomes and Competency Domains 
associated with evaluation so that Sally can readily see how the courses she takes as a student 
connect with her experience on the project. Articulating the EVAL Framework’s evaluation, 
values, active and experiential learning, and leadership elements to Sally at the beginning of her 
program allows her to make connections across the concepts, see the importance of the 
activities and opportunities for engagement, and provides a foundation for critical 
competencies to be obtained. 

 
EVAL Framework Impact 

 
EVAL can increase the number of competent evaluators for food, agriculture, natural resources, 
human sciences, and public health programs. EVAL students participate in mentoring, 
individualized development plans, scholarly learning communities, collaboration, transferable 
skills, and career guidance to increase the institutional completion rate. Our team utilized 
students individualized development plans as a point of analysis to understand their 
progression plan to graduation. EVAL students have access to Texas A&M University’s Office for 
Student Assisted Services and Career Center to improve career learning and development. Both 
offices offer extensive individualized support services for underrepresented students. The 
authors measure student’s technical competence through outcomes on a core content exam, 
qualifying exam, dissertation defense rubric, and career placement. We collect, analyze, and 
report scholarly contribution data through EVAL students reflective writing exercises, and co-
authorship on refereed publications.  
 
Implementation of the EVAL Framework using an experiential approach ensures development 
of intellectual capital that will benefit the FANH sciences by contributing to the workforce and 
society. The authors are developers and implementers of United States Department of 
Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Agency for International 



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Development, National Science Foundation, and other grants. EVAL students are provided 
opportunities to collaborate with these projects to apply their EVAL knowledge. Holistic 
concepts and analytical tools from a variety of FANH disciplines have been used previously to 
train graduate students as researchers and evaluators in the food and agricultural sciences.  
 
The authors have relationships with the private sector, K-12 school districts, consulting 
organizations, and universities and non-governmental organizations across the globe. EVAL 
students experience, apply, and reflect on leadership, management, and communication 
experiences through purposefully developed and executed experiences within and across the 
funded projects. Mentoring between and among the authorship team and students is 
developed using Kram’s (1985) mentoring phase model. This model ensures protege 
professional and interpersonal skills growth. Each student leads within a project, develop 
teamwork strategies, manages a project, and works in the field with principal investigators 
collecting data. Taking the lead on project dissemination efforts, while being mentored, will 
give students the experience of managing a proposal team while developing professional 
communication skills. These linkages enable the authorship team to craft meaningful learning 
experiences for EVAL students and improve the future impact of food and agricultural sciences 
programs. 
 
Preparing students as evaluation scholars using the EVAL Framework is a novel approach. 
Simply knowing evaluation theory and practice does not prepare students to evaluate complex, 
community-based, multidisciplinary projects.  Impact evaluation is increasingly important and 
required for project teams.  The incorporation of cultural values, active and experiential 
learning, with leadership development provides a broader array of abilities for stakeholder and 
beneficiary impacts at the local level.  It is recommended that this model be tested in a variety 
of contexts to determine transferability and sustainability of projects. EVAL scholars will be able 
to approach evaluation with the ability to work in teams, make ethical decisions, and empower 
local opinion leaders to promote community engagement and continuous improvement.  
 

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2022.pdf   

 
 
 
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