We are all asked to be accountable for the work that we do. As we continue to evaluate our programs and measure their impact, valuable evaluation strategies continue to surface. Evaluating young people can be extremely challenging. This holds especially true for young people under the age of 10 years. However, there are dynamic programs going on with this age group. One method that is being used as an attitude assessment using  three faces.  This article discusses how  three faces  can be used to evaluate programs for young people

Boleman, Chris T

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The Journal of Extension Volume 42 Number 2 Article 31 4-1-2004 Faces Can Tell Us Lots! Chris T. Boleman Texas A&M University, ct-boleman@tamu.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Boleman, C. T. (2004). Faces Can Tell Us Lots!. The Journal of Extension, 42(2), Article 31. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol42/iss2/31 This Tools of the Trade is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. 	 JOEHOME JOURNAL GUIDELINES ABOUT	JOE CONTACT NATIONAL	JOB	BANKCurrent	Issues Back	IssuesApril	2004	//	Volume	42	//	Number	2	//	Tools	of	the	Trade	//	2TOT60Faces	Can	Tell	Us	Lots!AbstractWe	are	all	asked	to	be	accountable	for	the	work	that	we	do.	As	we	continue	to	evaluate	ourprograms	and	measure	their	impact,	valuable	evaluation	strategies	continue	to	surface.Evaluating	young	people	can	be	extremely	challenging.	This	holds	especially	true	for	youngpeople	under	the	age	of	10	years.	However,	there	are	dynamic	programs	going	on	with	this	agegroup.	One	method	that	is	being	used	as	an	attitude	assessment	using	"three	faces."	This	articlediscusses	how	"three	faces"	can	be	used	to	evaluate	programs	for	young	people.	Introduction"Evaluation"	and	"accountability"	are	two	words	that	all	of	us	constantly	hear	in	CooperativeExtension.	As	we	continue	to	measure	change	in	knowledge,	skills,	attitudes,	beliefs,	bestpractices,	or	behavior,	there	are	numerous,	even	countless,	strategies	we	can	develop	toeffectively	measure	change.	In	order	to	be	more	effective	at	measuring	change,	it	is	important	toask	yourself	several	questions	pertaining	to	your	program.	Some	of	these	questions	include:1.	 What	is	it	I	am	truly	trying	to	measure?2.	 Does	it	match	my	objectives?3.	 Are	these	objectives	written	in	a	measurable	way?4.	 Who	is	my	target	audience?5.	 Does	this	evaluation	strategy	coincide	with	my	target	audience?There	are	many	additional	questions	that	could	be	asked	in	relation	to	developing	educationstrategies	and	plenty	of	other	articles	that	discuss	approaches	to	responding	to	these	questions.This	article	focuses	on	question	number	five,	"Does	this	evaluation	strategy	coincide	with	mytarget	audience?"	As	an	Extension	Specialist	in	the	area	of	Program	Development,	I	am	oftenasked	about	strategies	to	measure	attitudes	or	behaviors	in	youth	audiences.	In	addition,	CountyExtension	Agents	have	identified	legitimate	concerns	associated	with	the	"pen	and	pencil"approach	with	youth.	Do	young	people	(6-10	years	old)	truly	know	how	to	reply	to	Likert	scalingsystems	like	"strongly	disagree"	to	"strongly	agree"	or	"I	do	this	never"	to	"I	do	this	always"?Background	of	the	FacesA	strategy	that	has	been	effective	is	one	that	uses	different	facial	expressions.	The	most	common"facial	expression	scale"	is	a	basic	three-point	scale	shown	in	Figure	1.Figure	1.Facial	Expression	ScaleChris	T.	BolemanAssistant	Professor	&	Extension	SpecialistTexas	Cooperative	ExtensionTexas	A&M	UniversityCollege	Station,	Texasct-boleman@tamu.eduThis	scale	has	been	effective	at	measuring	youth	attitudes	on	such	topics	as	exercise,	fruit	andvegetable	consumption,	developing	character,	life	skills	development,	reading,	and	writing.It	appears	to	be	most	effective	when	used	as	a	pre-test,	post-test	approach.	In	other	words,	youthwould	be	administered	a	pre-test	before	the	program	to	get	an	idea	of	their	attitudes	about	thesubject	matter.	After	the	pre-test,	these	youth	participants	would	go	through	the	educationalprogram.	At	the	end	of	the	program,	youth	participants	would	be	given	a	post-test.	This	post-testwould	be	an	exact	replica	of	the	pretest.Doing	this,	the	evaluator	is	able	to	compare	the	attitudes	of	youth	before	the	program	comparedto	after	the	program.	The	change	shown	between	the	before	and	after	indicates	the	change	inattitude	for	the	participants	as	a	result	of	the	educational	program.	It	is	important	to	note	that	youdo	not	want	to	measure	post-only.	Measuring	a	one-shot	post	provides	no	comparisons.	In	otherwords,	we	do	not	know	the	youth's	attitude	toward	a	subject	beforehand	if	it	is	not	asked.Ways	to	AdministerThere	are	multiple	approaches	to	administering	the	pre-test	and	post-test.	No	matter	what	methodyou	use,	the	key	is	to	have	clear,	concise	directions,	so	that	all	participants	understand	what	youare	asking	them	to	do.	One	method	is	to	pass	out	a	sheet	of	paper	with	question	numbers	and	thethree	faces	lined-up	with	each	question	number.	The	program	evaluator	reads	the	statement	outloud	to	the	participants,	and	they	circle	the	appropriate	face	that	matches	their	attitude	toward	thestatement	read.	The	evaluator	read	all	the	statements	one	by	one,	and	the	participant	circles	thefaces	for	each	statement	and	turn	in	the	sheet	after	all	the	statements	have	been	read.A	second	method	is	for	the	program	evaluator	to	draw	the	faces	on	a	chalkboard	or	poster.	Oncethese	are	drawn,	the	program	evaluator	reads	the	statement	or	question	to	the	participants	to	asktheir	attitude.	Then,	he	or	she	asks	for	a	show	of	hands	from	the	group	for	each	of	the	three	faces.The	key	to	this	is	documenting	accurately	by	counting	the	hands	that	are	raised	for	each	face	foreach	statement/question.	The	disadvantage	of	this	method	is	that	it	is	not	confidential.	In	otherwords,	participants	can	be	influenced	by	those	around	them.The	advantage	to	these	two	administrative	strategies	is	that	youth	do	not	have	to	read	thephrases.	They	simply	react	to	the	directions	and	the	statements	provided	by	the	programevaluator.	These	methods	have	also	been	used	with	Spanish	speaking	audiences.A	traditional	approach	is	to	administer	the	"pencil	and	paper"	approach	by	giving	the	pre-test	andpost-test	on	a	sheet	of	paper,	with	the	statements	and	faces	on	the	sheet.	If	this	method	isselected,	it	is	important	that	the	participants	can	in	fact	read	at	the	level	at	which	the	survey	iswritten.	In	other	words,	if	the	paper	survey	is	written	at	a	3rd	grade	level;	do	not	administer	it	to	6-year-old	kids.ConclusionRemember,	this	is	just	one	evaluation	example	that	can	be	used	to	document	change.	Certainly	itis	beneficial	to	those	of	us	in	Cooperative	Extension	who	work	with	young	audiences	or	audiencesthat	do	not	like	to	complete	a	"traditional"	survey-type	instrument.	Moreover,	it	works	best	withattitudes	because	facial	expressions	certainly	do	indicate	a	level	of	likeness	that	everyone	canunderstand.If	this	survey	allows	you	to	answer	"Yes"	to	question	5,	then	maybe	this	is	a	strategy	you	canimplement	with	your	target	audiences.Copyright	©	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Articles	appearing	in	the	Journal	become	the	property	of	theJournal.	 Single	 copies	 of	 articles	may	 be	 reproduced	 in	 electronic	 or	 print	 form	 for	 use	 in	 educational	 or	 trainingactivities.	Inclusion	of	articles	in	other	publications,	electronic	sources,	or	systematic	large-scale	distribution	may	bedone	only	with	prior	electronic	or	written	permission	of	the	Journal	Editorial	Office,	joe-ed@joe.org.If	you	have	difficulties	viewing	or	printing	this	page,	please	contact	JOE	Technical	Support©	Copyright	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Copyright	Policy

Faces Can Tell Us Lots!

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Faces Can Tell Us Lots!

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