Profile last updated: 7/20/07

Past experience: "Assessment of Inside Out (IO) Literary Arts Project" (December 2005). We presented the context and the origions of IO programs, including some national data about arts education programs. As part of this study's methodology we developed a logic model to represent how the program should work. The evaluation itself consisted of both quatitative and qualitative methods. We focused on the changes that we found between pre- and post-surveys of 1,121 students; especially important were the differences among the comparison groups of youth who did not received the IO program. We also surveyed 27 writers in residence and 8 school teachers. The survey data organized were also analyzed by grade (lower elementary, upper elementary, middle and high school). We found almost no detectable changes in the lower elementary IO programs, some changes in upper elementary and middle schools, and numerous changes among IO's high school students. The examination of the two comparison groups further supported the conclusion that changes amoung IO students were caused by the program. We used the data to determine the relevance of the logic model. We suggested that the differences among the grades and the differences among schools represented an enviornment for IO that fluctuated and required the program to be adaptable. what has developed in IO is a model that has tacitly adapted to these changes, and we suggested several ways these adaptations could be made more explicit.

I have used photovoice in work with various projects among hand paper making groups in South Africa and amoung youth, people with brain disorders, a college student in the United States. Photovoice is a humanistic method, a participartory action research technique that creates narrative descriptions of photographs taken by participants around a theme of their choosing.

My work with photovoice and with InsideOut has focused on the use of public creative activities on soical action and social change.