Appreciative Inquiry

Gathering Meaningful Opinions and Perspectives

When evaluating a program, it is important to have meaningful data gathered in a way which makes sense for the methodological framework chosen. When evaluating the efforts of a community college in implementing an Allied Health program, Appreciative Inquiry is an appropriate methodological guide to assist in the formation of assessment questions, analysis of responses, and the development of recommendations for the future of the program. The purpose of this paper is to apply Appreciative Inquiry to data collection instrumentation and evaluation to understand the benefits and contributions of the community college Allied Health program.

Data Collection Methods

When designing data collection instruments,

Appreciative Inquiry is a methodology which can be applied to assessment which would guide evaluators through the principles of discovery, dream, design, and destiny (Whitney & Trosten-Bloom, 2010). The community college Allied Health program is a relatively new program which is still in development. Currently, the program offers certifications in medical assisting, phlebotomy, electrocardiogram, and patient care. Students can choose to seek one or more of these certifications. Education experiences consist of didactic classroom lectures, hands-on laboratories and simulations, and clinical experience in the community hospital and/or other clinical sites. To ensure that the program is developing according to the mission and goals of the community college and the needs of the community, evaluations must be

The evaluators have the duty to keep stakeholders and constituents informed in a clear and transparent manner. In order to ensure these duties are effectively executed, the evaluators would espouse the U7, Timely and Appropriate Communication and Reporting, and U8, Concern for Consequences and Influence, standards. U7 indicates that stakeholders be kept aware of needed changes and given insight into the timeline, results, and recommendations of the evaluation process. U8 requires evaluators to consider potential influences of the evaluation results and the possible future consequences of the recommendations made (Yarbrough et al., 2011). Using these standards in the application of Appreciative Inquiry will allow evaluators to carefully and honestly assess, modify, and recommend appropriate changes to the program based on the information gathered (McNamara,