Abstract
New Learning (NL) is an innovative process aimed at collaborative learning in professional and scholarly events and is a new way of approaching evaluation at professional conferences. NL is a process integral to a conference that focuses on the learner and how and what they learn, rather than on presenters and presentations. Whereas most professional conferences claim learning as a primary objective, seldom do any structure or evaluate to maximize that objective. The NL process helps to structure and assess organizational learning as a primary outcome in addition to providing avenues for collection of traditional evaluation information. This article explains the NL process, reviews the literature of learning and evaluation, describes what NL is and how it works, and then compares and contrasts it with traditional evaluation methods and theory. It concludes with implications for future applications and research for NL.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Evaluation Association (2003a) Call for 2003 conference evaluation team [WWW document] http://www.eval.org/eval2003/aea03.evalrfp.htm (accessed 27 July 2005).
American Evaluation Association (2003b) Evaluation 2003 [WWW document] http://eval.org/eval2003/PresLet1.htm (accessed 27 July 2005).
American Evaluation Association (2004) The American evaluation association guiding principles for evaluators [WWW document] http://www.eval.org/Guiding%20Principles.htm (accessed 01 April 2005).
Alkin MC and Christie CA (2004) An evaluation theory tree. In Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences (ALKIN MC, Ed), pp 13–66, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.
Argyris C and Schön D (1978) Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
Baker AC, Jensen PJ and Kolb DA (2002) Conversational Learning: An Experiential Approach to Knowledge Creation. Quorum Books, Westport, CT.
Belenky MF, Clinchy BMV, Goldberger NR and Tarule JM (1986) Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind. HarperCollins Publishers, New York.
Brown JS and Duguid P (1991) Organizatinal learning and communities-of-practice: toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation [WWW document] http://www2.parc.com/ops/members/brown/papers/orglearning.html (accessed 23 March 2007).
Cervero RM and Wilson AL (1994) Planning Responsibly for Adult Education. Jossey-Bass, San francisco.
Chapman DD, Wiessner CA, Morton J, Fire N, Jones L and Majekodunmi D (2006) Crossing scholarly divides: Barriers and bridges for doctoral students attending scholarly conferences. Presentation at the 2nd Annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Showcase, 14 September, 2006, Raleigh, NC.
Cohen WM and Levinthal DA (1990) Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly 35 (1), 128–152.
Davenport TH, Jarvenpaa SL and Beers MC (1996) Improving knowledge work processes. Sloan Management Review 37 (4), 53–65.
Davies K (2004) Conference networking: it's in the planning. The School Administrator. February 2004. [WWW document] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_2_61/ai_113417056 (accessed 23, March 2007).
Eckhaus J (2004) Continuing professional education: the worthwhile investment. DM Review 14 (4), 49.
Finger M and Asun JM (2001) Adult Education at the Crossroads: Learning Our Way Out. NIACE, Leicester, UK.
Giroux HA (1997) Pedagogy and the Politics of Hope: Theory, Culture and Schooling. Westview Press, New York.
Graham P and Kormanik M (2004) Bridging the conference gap: a challenge to enhance the research practice dialogue. Human Resource Development International 7, 391–394.
Greene JC (2004) The educative evaluator: an interpretation of Lee J. Cronbach's vision of evaluation. In Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences (ALKIN MC, Ed), pp 169–180, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.
Guba EG and Lincoln YS (n.d.) Evaluation paradigms: Worldviews or belief systems that guide evaluators. [WWW document] http://www.evaluate-europe.net/projects/eval3/Dublin-workshop/Gubba-Lincoln/attach/Gubba-Lincoln.doc [sic] (accessed 23 March 2005).
Gumport PJ (2002) Academic Pathfinders: Knowledge Creation and Feminist Scholarship. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.
Hatcher T, Wiessner CA, Storberg-Walker J and Chapman D (2005) How a professional conference created new learning: a case study. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on HRD Research & Practice in Europe, Leeds, UK, no. 223.
Hong J (1999) Structuring for organizational learning. The Learning Organization 6 (4), 173–186.
Joint Bank Fund/Health Services Department (2003a) Welcome to the website of the 2003 International Symposium on HIV/AIDS Workplace Policies and Programmes in Developing Countries. [WWW document] http://www-hsd.worldbank.org/wppsymposium2003/ (accessed 27 July 2005).
Joint Bank Fund/Health Services Department (2003b) Evaluation results [WWW document] http://www-sd.worldbank.org/wppsymposium2003/evaluation.htm (accessed 27 July 2005).
Kasl E, Marsick VJ and Dechant K (1997) Teams as learners: a research-based model of team learning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 33, 227–246.
Levine JR (2000) Attending a professional conference: a hands-on seminar course. Teaching in Psychology 27 (3), 208–210.
Luttrell W (1989) Working-class women's ways of knowing: effects of gender, race, and class. Sociology of Education 62 (1), 33–46.
Lyotard JF (1993) The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Marsick V, Bitterman J and Van der Veen R (2000) From the learning organization to learning communities: Toward a new learning society. Information Series No. 382. ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Columbus, OH.
McKenna T (2000) From personal conversation to professional conference. Bread Loaf, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, spring/summer 2000, 4–5.
Merriam-Webster Inc. (2004) The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, MA.
Mezirow J (1991) Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Nonaka I and Toyama R (2003) The knowledge-creating theory revisited: knowledge creation as a synthesizing process. Knowledge Management Research & Practice 1 (1), 2–9.
Owen JM (2004) Evaluation forms: toward an inclusive framework for evaluation practice. In Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences (ALKIN MC, Ed), pp 356–370, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.
Patton MQ (2002) Feminist, yes, but is it evaluation? In New Directions for Evaluation: Special Issue: Feminist Evaluation: Explorations and Experiences (SEIGART and BRISOLARA, Eds), Vol. 96, pp. 97–108.
Preskill HS and Torres RT (1999) Building capacity for organizational learning through evaluative inquiry. Evaluation 5 (1), 42–60.
Reeves TC (1997) Established and emerging evaluation paradigms for instructional design. In Instructional Development Paradigms (DILLS CR and ROMISZOWSKI AJ, Eds), pp 163–178, Educational Technology Publications, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Results (2005) RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference 2005 evaluation form [WWW document] http://www.results.org/website/article.asp?id=1667 (accessed 27 July 2005).
Rossi PH (2004) My views of evaluation and their origins. In Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences (ALKIN MC, Ed), pp 122–131, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.
Schon DA (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner. Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, San Francisco.
Scriven M (2004) Reflections. In Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences (ALKIN MC, Ed), pp 183–195, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.
Senge P (1990) The Fifth Discipline. Doubleday, New York.
Sielbeck-Bowen KA, Brisolara S, Seigart D, Tischler C and Whitmore E (2002) Exploring feminist evaluation: the ground from which we rise. In New Directions for Evaluation: Special Issue: Feminist Evaluation: Explorations and Experiences (SEIGART D and BRISOLARA S, Eds), Vol. 96, pp 3–6.
Spiegel AM, Bruning RH and Giddings L (1999) Using responsive evaluation to evaluate a professional conference. American Journal of Evaluation 20 (1), 57–67.
Stake R (1995) The Art of Case Research. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Storberg-Walker J, Wiessner CA and Chapman D (2005) How the AHRD 2005 conference created new learning: preliminary results of a case study. Human Resource Development Quarterly 16, 547–555.
Stufflebeam DL (2001) Evaluation models. In New Directions for Evaluation (STUFFLEBEAM DL, Ed), pp 7–98, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ.
Tennant M (2000) Undisciplining psychology through pedagogy: an autobiographical case study of working knowledge. Studies in Continuing Education 22 (1), 45–56.
Torraco R (2005) Writing integrative literature reviews. Human Resources Development Review 4, 1–12.
Tyler RW (1949) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Vattimo G (1994) The Transparent Society. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Von Krogh G, Ichijo K and Nonaka I (2000) Enabling Knowledge Creation: How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge and Release the Power of Innovation. Oxford University Press, New York.
Watkins KE and Marsick VJ (1993) Designing an empirical audit of the learning organization. In Proceedings of the 34th Adult Education Research Annual Conference. (FLANNERY D, Ed), pp 328–333, University Park, PA.
Weiss CH (1972) Evaluation Research Methods for Assessing Program Effectiveness. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Wenger E (2004) Knowledge management as a doughnut: shaping your knowledge strategy through communities of practice. Ivy Business Journal 68 (3), 1–8.
Wenger E and Snyder WM (2000) Communities of practice: the organizational frontier. Harvard Business Review 78, 20–25.
Wiessner CA (2004) Where have we been? Where are we going? A critical reflection on a collaborative inquiry. In SCUTREA 2005 Conference Proceedings, University of Sheffield, UK.
Wiessner CA and Mezirow J (2000) Theory building and the search for common ground. In Learning as Transformation (MEZIROW J, Ed), pp 329–358, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chapman, D., Wiessner, C., Storberg-Walker, J. et al. New Learning: a different way of approaching conference evaluation. Knowl Manage Res Pract 5, 261–270 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500147
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500147