Session C4. Telling ArtsNOW’s Professional Learning Story Through Data

Presenters:
Pamela Walker, President and CEO, ArtsNOW
Ashlee A. Lewis, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, University of South Carolina
Melinda Mollette, Ph.D., External Evaluator, R.E.A.L. K-12 Consulting
Dalisha Shingler, Ph.D., Research Assistant Scientist, University of South Carolina
Crystal Collins, Vice President and COO, ArtsNOW 

Evaluators from the University of South Carolina, R.E.A.L. K-12 Consulting, and leaders from ArtsNOW will share how they collaborated to design an impact survey, collect data, and ultimately tell the story of ArtsNOW’s impact on teachers’ classroom practice through high-quality professional learning. The evaluation team will share the impetus for the partnership, including a brief description of the study design, piloting, and data collection. After a results overview, ArtsNOW will share successful dissemination strategies, including their approach to tailoring their data-based narratives to various audiences and for various purposes. Then, ArtsNOW will engage attendees in an in-depth discussion around their own considerations for adapting the messaging of evaluation findings for different audiences. Telling ArtsNOW’s story to different audiences will be the central focus of this session. The evaluation team will first share how the perspectives and interests of different audiences such as teachers, school and district leaders, and funders were considered in the design of the impact survey, and the ArtsNOW team will share how they then used the data emerging from the survey to tell the story of their strong professional learning and school transformation model to each of those different audiences.