Jeff Sun

He/him

About the Evaluator

Jeff Sun has 30 years of experience in mixed-methods, educational program evaluation. Taking a very practical and functional approach to program evaluation, his work focuses on working collaboratively with communities of stakeholders to develop compelling, data-based, stories of how educational systems and innovations can work to improve student outcomes.

Jeff works exclusively with clients in formal and informal STEM learning environments that serve students from pre-K through post-secondary in schools, school districts, colleges, educational non-profits, as well as museums and libraries.

A key feature of Jeff’s work is extensive and in-depth in-person engagement with project participants via focus groups, interviews, teaching observations, and even routine project staff meetings. His evaluation work centers the use of data to tell actual stories and to help projects discover the full range of benefits that their initiatives are delivering to participants and communities.

Evaluation Background

I specialize in...

Qualitative methods
Mixed methods
Culturally responsive evaluation
Developmental evaluation
Participatory evaluation approaches
Utilization-focused evaluation

I have worked with projects in the areas of:

ATE Centers
NSF projects other than ATE (e.g., IUSE, S-STEM, AISL, HSI, ADVANCE)
Projects at two-year colleges
STEM education projects supported by funder other than NSF

Training and Certifications

Professional development workshops, webinars, or online courses on evaluation

Outside of Work, I enjoy...

… writing and photography, dogs, and fixing/maintaining/repairing all manner of mechanical devices. Oh, and cooking too.

A Successful Evaluation...

… constantly works to help a project or initiative maintain a critical eye on the value its work has – and will have – on participant outcomes.

My Working Style...

… is one where I personally engage with and get to know my clients and their communities.

Evaluator Details

Education

M.A., American History and the History of Science and Technology B.A., Sociology and Anthropology

Stem Discipline

Agricultural and Environmental Technologies Bio and Chemical Technologies Engineering Technologies General or Cross-cutting Advanced Technological Education

Location

North Chelmsford, MA

Download Resume

“Evaluations build stories from data. A successful evaluator will help projects tell compelling stories that motivate, refine, and sustain initiatives over the long haul.”

Work Samples

Advancing Precision Agriculture In The Urban Environment External Evaluation Report – Year 2

Creator (Evaluator). This is the Year 2 annual evaluation report for a 2022 - 2025 ATE project in Norfolk, NE. Shared with permission.

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CitySprouts Data Report

Creator (Evaluator). This data summary report is a typical interim work product that would be one component leading to a full evaluation report.

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Other Work

A Proposal for Developing NY State Digital Learning Teachers' Centers

This short video was designed to describe a Sun Associates proposal for developing teacher professional development centers that focused on making effective use of classroom-based digital learning technologies. It highlights many of Jeff Sun's approaches to the development of goals and indicators.

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Sun Associates' Approach to Educational Evaluation

A brief video that served as a conference presentation. Focus is on overviewing our evaluation strategies for informal educational organizations.

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Online Workshop on Developing Evaluation Plans and Indicators

This was the third session of a 3-sesison workshop held during COVID (hence it was Zoom based) for school district teams to develop district-level evaluations for their technology plans. Focus of this session is developing evaluation indicators and data collection strategies.

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