Uncovering Unexpected Outcomes - How to Capitalize on Distributed Leadership

As evaluators, we are charged with telling the whole story of a project. Often, we include evaluation questions like "What unanticipated outcomes positively or negatively impacted the project?" Rarely do these questions lead to deep insights that not only change the program but are springboards for whole new areas of study. However, there are times where good evaluation methods do uncover hidden gems not considered in the initial proposal. In this paper, we will highlight not only how we uncovered a significant impact on teachers' efficacy for hands-on STEM education but also how a shared leadership model supported that growth. We will discuss how this unanticipated outcome has spread beyond the initial program, into the classroom and engaged the community. We will also discuss how the distributed leadership model fostered cohesiveness across a multi-state program while still allowing for local control and customization.