Date of Award

1-2011

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Evaluation

First Advisor

Dr. Chris L. S. Coryn

Abstract

Evaluation reporting is an educational act and, as such, should be communicated using principles that support cognition. This study drew upon visual processing theory and theory-based graphic design principles to develop the Evaluation Report Layout Checklist intended to guide report development and support cognition in the readers of evaluation reports. It was then reviewed by an expert panel and applied by a group of raters to a set of evaluation reports obtained from the Informal Science Education evaluation website with maximum variability sampling. Results showed fairly high exact percent agreement and strong to very strong correlation with the author’s ratings. Ratings revealed a low level of theory-based report formatting in use of graphics and some aspects of type, alignment, and color among evaluation reports in the sample.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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