Presenters:
Sandra Ayoo, PhD, Assistant Professor Educational Research Methodology (ERM) Department, UNC Greensboro
Jeanne Zimmer, PhD, Adjunct, The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University
Description:
Attendees will have the opportunity to assess their approach to handling conflict and to build on that assessment to improve their conflict resolution and negotiation skills in program evaluation. Through a hands-on, experiential approach using real-life examples from program evaluation, participants will learn practical applications of conflict resolution skills as they apply to situations in program evaluation.
Learning Outcomes:
Attendees will learn: the nature of conflict in program evaluation; how to diagnose conflict and determine appropriate interventions; how to incorporate the five styles of conflict-resolution as part of reflective practice; approaches to resolving conflict among stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and experiences; techniques for responding to anger and high emotion in conflict situations; how to problem solve effectively, negotiation skills, win-win guidelines, clarifying, summarizing, and reframing; and a vocabulary of conflict resolution, leading to conflict fluency.
Agenda and Learning Strategies:
Based upon the principles of andragogy, the session begins with interactive introductions and an overview of the session, including establishing guidelines/covenants, background and history/purpose, developing reflective practitioners, and evaluator competencies. 20 minutes. Overview of conflict, including: a personal reflection exercise and discussion dyads; diagnosing conflict (lecture and discussion of concrete examples from program evaluation); conflict styles overview and individual exercise with small-group discussion. 50 minutes. Conflict-resolution processes: definitions and jargon overview; negotiation role play with debrief and discussion; compromise vs. collaboration. 45 minutes. Intercultural conflict and cultural identity exercise, debrief and discussion. 30 minutes. The role of emotions: empathy and understanding. Dealing with Difficult People, high-conflict personalities and BIFF. 15 minutes. Summary, key thoughts, final questions, and evaluation 15 minutes.
This workshop is aligned to AEA’s Competencies and Guiding Principles as follows:
AEA Interpersonal Competency 5.8 calls for evaluators to be able to "manage conflict constructively," which will be directly addressed by this workshop.
This workshop is specifically aligned with the principle of respect for people, although all five principles are embedded.
Facilitation Experience:
The presenters have over 50 years' combined experience in the not-for-profit sector, including 30 years combined experience in conflict resolution, negotiation, and program evaluation. Sandra brings teaching experience in higher education. Previously, she taught in elementary and high schools in Uganda, in addition to facilitating capacity development workshops for program participants for non-profit organizations in Africa. She has facilitated negotiation skills to different audiences at AEA in the Skill-Building Workshop sessions since 2016 to 2018. She uses active learning techniques such as think-pair-share, group work, and interactive lectures to encourage participation throughout the sessions. She provides handouts to participants to use in their everyday work. Sandra maintains professional relationships with participants after the workshops. Sometimes she has responded to either questions or requests for tips for people involved in negotiation with their evaluation clients. Many participants sent emails of appreciation after the sessions. For example, some participants at AEA 2017 wrote, "Thank you! Your session was very helpful," "Just wanted to say you had a great presentation and thank you so much for providing the information. I really appreciate it," and, "Thank you! I very much enjoyed your presentation!" An educator, scholar, and practitioner, Jeanne has facilitated conflict-resolution training for AEA and the Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute. Each training is customized to the interests of the group; current research is incorporated and an extensive reference list is shared. If possible, input from participants prior to the session is solicited, and adaptations have ranged from modifying slides and handouts to crafting new role-play scenarios for the group. For each workshop, the co-trainers bring a variety of options, and craft the content to the group.
Date:
July 25th, 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time