Evidence for effective learning and teaching: ways and means

1. 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. 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 Survey Epidemiological study Case study Measurement Meaning Randomised Controlled Trial Quasi experimental study Practice based knowledge Participative action research Individual

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. Quality improving Impact Outcomes Effectiveness

15. improving 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

21. Purposes of enquiry Capacity

22. Thank you