As part of our presentation at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Conference this week, we prepared a handout with some free evaluation resources. So thanks to Rachel, here are some evaluation related links for your Friday:

• American Evaluation Association (AEA365): A tip-a-day blog featuring practical insights from evaluation professionals across sectors. Each post provides focused, actionable techniques that can be implemented immediately. Posts on survey design and participatory evaluation are particularly useful.
• Better Evaluation: An international collaboration offering comprehensive frameworks organized by evaluation stages, approaches, and methods. Their “Rainbow Framework” breaks evaluation into manageable steps, making complex processes more accessible for beginners and experienced evaluators alike.
• Canadian Evaluation Society: Beyond professional standards, CES offers excellent webinars, a resource library, and the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation with relevant case studies for educational contexts. Their competency framework provides structure for building evaluation capacity.
• Eval Academy: Created specifically to bridge the gap between theory and practice, Eval Academy provides templates, step-by-step guides, and blog posts that translate evaluation jargon into accessible language. Their data collection planning tools streamline the evaluation process.
• Evergreen’s Evaluation Report Layout Checklist: Stephanie Evergreen’s practical guide transforms how evaluation findings are presented. Her evidence-based approach to data visualization improves communication of results to stakeholders, especially those without technical backgrounds.

For those interested in Indigenous approaches to evaluation:

• Indigenous Evaluation Network: A community of practice dedicated to culturally responsive evaluation in Indigenous contexts. Their resources center Indigenous ways of knowing and offer frameworks that respect cultural protocols while maintaining methodological rigor.
• National Collaborating Center for Indigenous Health: This guide outlines evaluation approaches that honor Indigenous knowledge systems, emphasizing relationship-building, community ownership, and holistic perspectives. Essential reading for anyone working in Indigenous educational contexts.

What resources have you found helpful in evaluating teaching and learning initiatives? Drop your recommendations in the comments!