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For instructors engaged in teaching evaluation, bridging the gap between the content of formal educational experiences and what we want future evaluators to be able to do in practice remains a challenge. Studying the format and quality of university courses focused on program evaluation is one mechanism through which we might begin to narrow this gap. This article describes a community-engaged, project-based evaluation course that was taught during five semesters, and uses qualitative data to explore student experiences within the course along three dimensions: experiential education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community partnerships. In particular, we highlight the productive yet uncomfortable role that challenge and ambiguity play in animating evaluation learning. We suggest implications for teaching evaluation based on our findings.

Effectively addressing both cognitive and affective dimensions of learning is one of the greatest obstacles to teaching race and racial justice in higher education. In this article, we first explore the need to integrate attention to cognitive and affective development, along with evidence-based strategies for doing so. We then provide a case study of an undergraduate sociology course on environmental justice in which the instructor intentionally adopted holistic pedagogical principles of teaching race. Analyzing student responses from a pre- and post- course survey, course assignments, and instructor observations of student participation, we find that both white students and students of color experienced significant growth in their cognitive and affective understanding of the complexities of race and work toward racial justice. However, results also show how challenging it can be to create the conditions for productive multiracial dialogues that produce extensive affective development, particularly interpersonal skills of racial reconciliation. Reflecting on the limitations of the case, we conclude that more holistic teaching approaches are necessary to develop both students' cognitive and affective abilities to navigate race and work against racism, and we make suggestions for faculty development and administrative support.