Evidence for effective learning and teaching: ways and means

Professor Marilyn Hammick

July 2009

2

Education developments

Shaped by tradition context professional knowledge(s) ideology professional experience & expertise learner experience evidence …

3

Current changes

.. in curriculum/module/learning session

organic small adjustments rarely evidence informed await testing

4

Evidence

EffectivenessEnquiry

Ethics

5

Enquiry about education’s impact Culture

Practice

6

Cultural History Habit and customs: ways of finding out the

‘truth’ Attitudes: support, capacity to change Expectations & challenges of results Values and beliefs: what counts as evidence

7

General

Individual

Measurement

Meaning

Case study

Randomised Controlled Trial

Quasi experimental study

Survey

Epidemiological study

Practice based knowledge

Participative action research

8

Descriptive Descriptive accountaccount

- Story

- Narrative

Ethnography

Enquiry into the Enquiry into the beingbeing of the learning activity of the learning activity

EvolutionaryEvolutionary

Products/outcomesProducts/outcomes

Critical/contextual Critical/contextual

Roles/relationshipsRoles/relationships

Theory buildingTheory building

Summative Summative evaluationevaluation

-Numerical data-Numerical data-FormalFormal

Controlled trialControlled trial

9

Knowledge building in education Humanities

ideas, theorising no empirical testing

Scientific understanding testing

Engineering how it works products, solution focussed

10

Practice

Methodologies, methods Outcomes: of interest to whom Pace of change Collaborative working External influences Packaging the messages: products, papers

and conference presentations Capacity: time, money, interest, intellect

11

Capacity

… an evaluation of outcomes and processes of the Parenting Fund Project: Growing Parenting Support in xxxxx

Measuring how well CVA met the milestones of the Parenting Fund project. Evaluating the effectiveness of the delivery process including timing, learning

processes used and staffing. Evaluating the lasting impact of CVA’s Parenting Fund project on organisations

and individuals involved. Eg. further training, continued membership of networks, partnerships created, personal/career development

Making recommendations on the possible future development of this project.

The final delivery date for the completed evaluation report is June 25th 2008 before 5pm.

The budget for the evaluation is set at £2,500 which includes costs for focus group meetings.

Proposals to be received by May 6th 2008.

12

Capacity

… an evaluation of outcomes and processes of the Parenting Fund Project: Growing Parenting Support in xxxxx

Measuring how well CVA met the milestones of the Parenting Fund project. Evaluating the effectiveness of the delivery process including timing, learning

processes used and staffing. Evaluating the lasting impact of CVA’s Parenting Fund project on organisations

and individuals involved. Eg. further training, continued membership of networks, partnerships created, personal/career development

Making recommendations on the possible future development of this project.

The final delivery date for the completed evaluation report is June 25th 2008 before 5pm.

The budget for the evaluation is set at £2,500 which includes costs for focus group meetings.

Proposals to be received by May 6th 2008.

13

Moving forwards …

14

BelievableTransferable

UtilityEnquiry as

a purposeful activity

Evidence

15

Four guiding principles – that an enquiry should be: contributory: advances wider knowledge and/or understanding;

defensible in design: provides a research strategy which can address the questions posed;

rigorous in conduct: through the systematic and transparent collection, analysis and interpretation of data;

credible in claim: offers well-founded and plausible arguments about the significance of the data generated

Ref: UK HM Government Strategy Unit

16

Quality judgement

Contribution

Design

Conduct

Claims

17

Contribution Assessment of current knowledge

Identified need for knowledge

Takes organisational context into account

Transferability assessed

18

Defensible design

Theoretical richness Evaluation question (s) Clarity of aims and purpose Criteria for outcomes and impact Resources Chronology

19

Conducted rigorously

Ethics and governance Clarity and logic

sampling data collection analysis synthesis judgements

20

Makes credible claims

Interpretation

Judgement

Collection

21

Purposes of enquiry

Development

Knowledge Accountability

Capacity

Thank you