The Checkpoint Reporting Process

Reporting

The reporting process allows Regional Alliance team members to detail progress through a set of prompts that correspond to the five key elements of a pathway: embedded in the community; uses geoscience to address a local problem; consists multiple learning opportunities connected and sequenced; includes classroom learning coupled with community service; and has mentoring and signposting to support students. Reporting prompts included:

• How is your alliance embedded in the local community?
• What processes did you use to get community input?
• How are you using geoscience to address a local need or problem?
• How will mentoring and signposting support students in recognizing and navigating the pathway?

The reporting process also asked the Regional Alliance teams to provide visual representations of their pathway maps. These pathway maps showed how the regional alliances were connecting learning opportunities at multiple education levels as well as how learning activities at multiple education levels are connected to each other and to geoscience careers.

Evaluation

Following the submission of reports from each Regional Alliance, the internal evaluator used a checkpoint rubric to review each of the reporting pages based on strength of each of the pathways development elements of the rubric and four to six indicators for each element. The checkpoint rubric (Acrobat (PDF) 27kB Jul10 18) was developed and reviewed by the alliance team to include questions related to CI indicators, as well as items related to the essential elements that encompass an EarthConnections pathway.

Feedback

The EarthConnections leadership provides comments and questions for each report in advance of a virtual meeting using discussion boards on the Regional Alliance reporting pages. At the virtual meeting, each alliance reports on progress and a leadership team member moderates, synthesizes, and summarizes the discussion. The updated visual checkpoint rubric created by the internal evaluator is presented the alliance as a whole to monitor progress.

The EarthConnections Regional Alliance members valued the opportunity that the process provided for expressing successes and challenges, reflecting on advances, and learning through the shared resources and feedback across the alliances.

More Planning Tools

Building Educational Pathways

The EarthConnections Alliance brings together scientists, educators, and community leaders the create locally contextualized pathways for students that emphasize connections between science and community. Regional Alliances draw upon the assets and expertise of Program Partners, the National Alliance, and local partners to build and enhance these pathways. Learn more about Building Educational Pathways

Monitoring Alliance Health

EarthConnections monitors alliance health using indicators for the five pillars of a successful collective impact alliance: common agenda, shared measurement, systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and a backbone support organization. Alliance health is also measured using a real-time data analytics dashboard which allows for observation of communication and participation. Learn more about Monitoring Alliance Health

Evaluating Pathway Impact

EarthConnections is testing a system of shared metrics to monitor the progress of students along local educational pathways. The metrics and structure of the alliance facilitate opportunities to share data, analyze results, and adapt in response to that information. These metrics also include indicators of the progress of pathway development, regional activities, and the EarthConnections community of practice. Learn more about Evaluating Pathway Impact