INTRODUCTION

 

This evaluation of Round 1 attempts to identify successes and difficulties for each of the component phases and procedures of this pilot project, and to recommend changes, when appropriate, to be used in the next round.   The evaluation is based on examination of the online session transcripts and evaluation reports, and discussions of the project Coordinating Team.

EVALUATION OF PROJECT ELEMENTS

Choosing Students

 

Method Used

The students were chosen by the Highpoint East Staff.  The only guidance for them was a description of the project and its goals.

 

Evaluation Criteria

1. Assess whether the chosen students had the capacity to participate in the project.
1. Had the mental capacity
2. Had the emotional capacity
2. Assess whether the students’ home had a television set and telephone service required for the project.

 

Evaluation

1. Several students initially chosen were so disruptive during the training that they had to be replaced.
2. Two of the students were on medication which significantly reduced their capacity to participate in the project.

 

Recommendations

1. Have the Harris County Department of Education participate in the student selection.
2. Have the training instructor involved in student selection.
3. Prepare guidelines for student selection.

Recruiting Mentor-Mediators

 

Method Used

1. Mentors were recruited from South Texas College of Law faculty and students.
2. Announcements were posted on bulletin boards.

 

Evaluation Criteria

1. A sufficient number of volunteers were found.
2. The volunteers carried through with the entire program.
3. Volunteers were trained early enough.

 

Evaluation

1. A sufficient number of volunteers were obtained in a timely fashion.

 

Recommendations

1. Review the contents of the recruiting announcements and create guidelines for the announcements.

Training Students

 

Method Used

The trainer, Victoria Schear, chose three topics for training the students, peer mediation, anger management, and conflict resolution life skills.  She used the teaching methods she developed working with youth in various institutions (juvenile detention facilities, elementary, middle, and alternative schools, etc.).

 

The MSN TV/online training was a two hour session with the students using a MSN TV.  The students were given a hand-out manual for getting online and entering the chat room.  It also contained instructions on how to cope with various problems which might be encountered.

 

Evaluation Criteria

Assess whether the students:

1. seemed receptive to the training topics.
2. could relate their life experience with the discussions of the topics.
3. appeared to accept the lessons as valuable for them.
4. used the knowledge gained during the online sessions
5. established a rapport with the instructor.

 

Evaluation

1. The peer mediation training was not appropriate for these students to use during online sessions.
2. The other topics appeared to be appropriate for the students, and gave them insights they did not have.
3. Only one student was successful in getting online with their mentor/mediator team.

 

Recommendations

1. Drop the peer mediation training for these students.
2. Prepare instructor’s notes or guide book.

Training Parents

 

Method Used

The parents were trained during a regular monthly meeting of parents at the school.  An orientation presentation was made by HCDE and Resolution Forum describing the program.  A MSN TV was brought to the meeting, and was used for a demonstration of the online sessions.

 

A hand-out was given to the parents describing the procedures for installing the MSN TV and finding and entering the chat room.

 

The training session was also used to introduce the mentor/mediator teams to their respective students.

 

Evaluation Criteria

1. The family appeared to understand the training.
2. The family appeared to be enthusiastic about the program.
3. The family successfully installed and used the MSN TV.
4. The students met with their mentor/mediator team.

 

Evaluation

1. The venue was not ideal.  Other parents not involved in the program were present, which caused some confusion.
2. The presentation was heavily weighted towards a description of the program rather than a description of the student’s training and the MSN TV installation and use.
3. The families had difficulty installing and using the MSN TV.
4. Several mentor/mediator teams did not attend the training meeting, and several families did not attend.
5. The families were quite enthusiastic about the program.

 

Recommendations

1. Find a better venue for the meeting with only the families, trainers/presenters, and mentor/mediator teams present.
2. Improve communications among the various components of the project.
3. Weight the family training towards giving the families an understanding of the student training and the MSN TV/Internet/online sessions.
4. Have at least two sessions of training on the MSN TV/Internet/online sessions as part of the student training.

Training Mentor-mediators

 

Method Used

A half day training was conducted at South Texas College of Law.  Topics presented were:

1. An overview of the project.
2. A description of the students, their problems, and their behavior by Victoria Schear.
3. A demonstration of the MSN TV with an online live demonstration so that the teams could get hands-on training.

 

Evaluation Criteria

1. The teams were able to use the online chat room with the students.
2. The teams were able to establish a rapport with their student.

 

 

Evaluation

1. The teams were comfortable with conducting an online session with the students.
2. The one student who was successful getting online did not “open up” to the mentor/mediator team.

 

Recommendations

1. The teams need a handy reference to use for answering general types of questions concerning family problems.  This should include emergency telephone numbers, government agency contacts, etc.
2. The teams need a more in-depth discussion on methods of establishing rapport with the students.

Student-Mentor Online Sessions

 

Method Used

1. Scheduling: Since the family/student and mentor/mediator must be online simultaneously, establishing a time for the meetings is necessary.  The initial meeting between the mentor/mediator team and the family/student was used to set up the first meeting.  The initial approach was to set up a regular meeting time for the online sessions.
2. Conducting the sessions:  The mentor/mediator team was to take the lead and probe the student for any topics they wished to discuss.
3. Sharing experiences among the teams: An online email list was established for the mentor/mediators.  By sending a single message to the list, all members of the list receive the message.

 

Evaluation Criteria

1. Successive meetings are set up.
2. Online sessions took place at the appointed time.
3. Online sessions discussed meaningful topics concerning the student’s problems.
4. Online experiences were shared.
5. Difficulties with the MSN TV system, the Internet, and any other system difficulties were overcome.

 

Evaluation

1. The evaluation is based on the single family/student who participated.
2. The initial meeting was successfully set up as were successive meetings.
3. If either the mentor/mediator team or the family/student missed a meeting, there was no procedure for communicating outside the chat room.  Thus the team had to get a message to the student at the school or wait until the next scheduled meeting.
4. The student did not participate in a meaningful way.  Open ended questions were met with monosyllabic answers, and sensitive topics were not discussed.
5. Online problems were disruptive.  There were no instructions on what to do if, for example, the MSN TV modem dropped the call and disconnected.  Some of these problems were solved by modifications to the chat room, and additions were made to the student manual.

 

Recommendations

1. Use email for an alternative means of the teams communicating with the students.  This will require additional student training.
2. Include methods for establishing rapport in the mentor/mediator team training.
3. The mailing list worked successfully for sharing experiences.
4. System difficulties should be addresses in both the student and team trainings.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the first session was successful enough that the approach shows promise.

 

There are several areas which need attention:

 

Documentation

1.      Program evaluation forms are needed for:

a.       School Administration

b.      Families

c.       Students

d.      HCDE

e.       Mentor/Mediator Teams

2.      Contact forms are needed for on-line session evaluation by the mentor/mediator teams.

3.      A Document Retention Policy is needed.

4.      Manuals are needed for each step of the program so that the program may be replicated.

5.      General progress reports should be prepared on a monthly basis, and shared with members of the project.

 

Training

1.      Student training should include Internet/MSN TV training.

2.      Family training should concentrate on educating the families with respect to what the students are learning and the MSN TV/Internet.

3.      Mentor/Mediator Team training should include suggestions for techniques used to conduct online sessions.

4.      Teachers and school administration should be offered an orientation training for the project prior to the student selection.

 

Communications

1.      One person should be the focus of communication for the project.

2.      All participants should know what is happening and what is planned.  The existing mailing list (or a new one for announcements) should be used.

 

 

Online Sessions

1.      A general approach for the mentor/mediator teams to take should be implemented by all teams so that we may evaluate what works and what doesn’t.  This way we evaluate each approach with six students.

2.      There should be a list of possible approaches so if one approach fails, another can be tried.  All this should be documented.

3.      If on-line sessions are interrupted, a procedure should be in place to re-establish or re-schedule the session.  The training for both the mentor/mediators and student/families should cover this.