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faculty Spotlight
Rafael Davalos
Dr. Davalos’ research interests are in the areas of cellular engineering microsystems, bio-inspired microfluidics, tissue scaffolds, design of minimally invasive surgical devices, bioelectrics,... Read More
Steven Culver
- Program: Office of Assessment and Evaluation
- Email: sculver@vt.edu
- Role at CTE: Evaluation Coordinator
- Personal Webpage: www.assessment.vt.edu/Staff/S_Culver.html
About
Evaluation provides documentation and a measurement of achievements against intended outcomes and objectives. It is an important activity for planning, for reviewing and reflecting on program activities, and for directing the implementation of changes for improvement. For nearly 30 years, Dr. Culver has provided evaluation expertise to such diverse organizations as the Education Ministry of Finland, the National Community College Center for Cooperative Education, Eastern Mennonite College (VA), the Association of Alabama College Music Administrators, the Junior Engineering Technical Society, the West Virginia Department of Education, the United States Department of Education, and the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. His current research focuses on the relationship of student outcomes to gender, academic discipline, and institutional culture.
For the CTE program, his evaluation work focuses not only on whether CTE has achieved its stated goals, but how well students develop professional skills, knowledge, and attitudes in a trans-disciplinary context. Measures include not only GPAs, enrollment and persistence data, but attitudinal information from surveys, interviews, and focus groups.