While that may not be true of everything, I think it is when applied to many activities in education. Our second external review went well this week, with no technical glitches (unlike the days after) and lots of valuable engagement. We learned lessons from the first time around and applied what we’d learnt. This included:

  • more preparation for those attending the external review visit
  • asking for more information from attendees ahead of time to facilitate more focused discussion during the visit
  • providing the external review team with feedback from participants ahead of time, so they could prepare specific questions and hone in on key points
  • changing some of the meeting groupings to allow more time for discussion

No doubt after this review there will be more changes to come, and that’s fine. We already have some ideas for that. Each time is an opportunity to hone and perfect the process. What’s evident is that making fairly small changes can have a large and positive impact.

During the two-day visit. as I navigated between meetings and focused on ensuring everyone knew when and where they needed to be, I took the time to work on my ‘Program Review Coordinator Manual.’ Although I’m doing this for myself, I’m writing it as though I’m creating it for someone who’s not been through the process before.

Each time I add something, I realize there’s something more I need to add.

I’ve always know the importance of focusing on detail and in the case of program review this is entirely true – whether it’s, “God is in the details” (Flaubert) or “the devil is in the details” (Nietzsche), both have a point.