Date and time: Thursday 29 April 12.30pm - 2.00pm AEST
Topic: QLD Interactive Session: Thinking Bee Odyssey -  A serious game for evaluators and others to train your brain
Location: The End Room, Brisbane Square Library, 266 George Street Brisbane 4001
Presenter: Sam Abbato | Visual Insights People
Register online by: 27 April 2026

Event description: 

Doing and commissioning sound evaluation requires the recognition and doing of quality evaluative thinking and reasoning. Alongside AI and big data literacy, thinking skills (analytic and creative) are increasingly important, according to the World Economic Forum 2025 report, and critical thinking is essential for navigating the use of AI in evaluation. Evaluative thinking is defined as the application of critical and other types of thinking (i.e., reflective, practical, contextual, and creative) to evaluation contexts, including decisions about evaluation methods and processes, the making of rigorous evaluative judgements about the merit and worth of programs, and the communication of recommendations for use by stakeholders.

At this event, Sam will introduce Thinking Bee – Odyssey, a board game that trains your brain in eight core thinking skills. Played in teams, the game optimises the collective intelligence that is achieved by problem-solving and decision-making in groups, a human intelligence that is unlikely to ever be replaced by AI. Through an engaging play-based approach, participants will learn essential thinking skills and how to apply them in evaluation contexts, using scenarios commonly encountered by evaluators.

The learning outcomes include:
- Recognition of the importance of evaluative thinking as a set of foundational skills for evaluative attitudes, reasoning, methods and processes
- Ability to identify and practise eight essential evaluative thinking skills
- An increased understanding of how you think and your own thinking strengths and challenges (metacognition)

The interactive session introduces the game and provides the opportunity for networking.

Presenter details:

Sam has over twenty years of experience as an evaluator and a depth of expertise across both qualitative and quantitative disciplines. Her academic grounding in quantitative methods is built upon a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physiology and an MPH and PhD in social epidemiology (University of California at Berkeley).

She became an independent evaluator after teaching qualitative and quantitative methods for three years at the University of Queensland. Sam is passionate about effective communication and evaluation capacity-building using a pictures and stories approach and academic rigour of evidence. Sam leads the multidisciplinary team at Visual Insights People with capability in videography, graphic communication, cartooning, animation, virtual reality, systems thinking, and organisational psychology.

Over the last decade and a half, Sam has guided numerous organisations and government departments in building their evaluation capacity and is dedicated to developing frameworks, tools, and activities to strengthen the culture and practice of evaluation.

 Numbers are limited for this in-person event - please only register if you plan to attend.

This free event has been organised by the QLD Regional Network of the AES. Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators. Please also check your email address is correct on your registration form before submitting.