Educational Evaluation Methods

Educational Evaluation

• Evaluation methods are criteria for judging program or project success.
• Evaluation methods tell donors if goals and objectives were met.
• Methods can be qualitative or quantitative.

Evaluation Methods and Techniques

• Qualitative methods focus on exploring "why" and "how" within topics.
• Quantitative methods focus on measuring and analyzing numerical data.

Choosing an Evaluation Method

• Factors influencing method choice include:
  • Purpose of evaluation (e.g., formative vs. summative)
  • Evaluation style (e.g., laboratory vs. field)
  • Type of measurement (e.g., qualitative vs. quantitative)
  • Level of information needed (e.g., high level vs. low level)
  • Available resources (time, subjects, tools, expertise)

Techniques of Evaluation

• Teaching Dossiers:
  • Portfolios summarizing a teacher's experience.
  • Include teaching philosophy, strategies, evaluations, sample materials, and future goals.
• Student Ratings:
  • Provide valuable feedback for staff evaluations.
  • Help improve teaching quality, human resource decisions, and enrollment.
• Peer Observations:
  • A structured learning process where students critique each other's work.
  • Develops lifelong skills in assessment and feedback.
• Interviews:
  • Good for understanding learners' feelings and behavior changes.
• Portfolios:
  • Holistic way to assess student growth and development.
  • Can be used for formative assessments or summative evaluations.
• Classroom Assessments:
  • Important for improving student learning and teacher methods.
  • Summative Assessments: Use rubrics or standards to grade performance at the end of a course/program.
  • Creative Assessments: Non-traditional methods to challenge students to present information creatively.
  • Examples: concept mapping, prototyping, or podcasts.
  • Diagnostic Assessments: Systematic way to evaluate student learning. Typically conducted at the beginning, during, or end of a learning process.

Detailed List of Methods, Techniques, and Approaches for Conducting Evaluation

• A long list of evaluation methods is presented.

Action Research

• Philosophy and methodology of research applied in the social sciences.
• Aims for transformative change through simultaneous action and research, linked by critical reflection.

Process of Action Research

• Stages in conducting action research include:
  • Focus selection
  • Clarification of theories
  • Identification of research questions
  • Data Collection
  • Data Analysis
  • Result Reporting
  • Informed action

Data Collection

• Procedures for gathering data in a research study are detailed (e.g., letter of request, questionnaires, survey).

Data Analysis

• Summary tables of data analysis (example given)

Result Reporting

• Frequency and percentage distribution of a characteristic (example given).

Alternative Assessment

• Alternative assessments differ from traditional standardized assessments.

Case Study

• In-depth investigation of a single individual, group, or event.

• Focuses on causes of underlying principles.

• Commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

• Purpose: Understanding complex problems, exploration of real-world problem-solving methods, and extraction of lessons for the future.

• Components: background information, problem/issue, analysis, solutions/outcomes, and lessons learned.

Feasibility Study

• Evaluation and analysis of a proposed project or system.
• Determines technical and financial feasibility.
• Common factors are considered: Technical, economic, legal, operational, scheduling.

Field Study

• Educational technique making the learning process more active,
• Students work in real situations.
• Parts of a field study: Problem, method, data collection, data analysis, and conclusion.

Focus Group

• Group interview with a small number of demographically similar participants.
• Studies their responses to specific questions.

Interview

• Structured conversation where one person asks questions, and the other answers.
• Between an interviewer and an interviewee.
• Provides information.
• Advantages: Flexibility, higher response rate, ability to judge non-verbal behavior.
• Disadvantages: Time-consuming, less anonymity, limited accessibility.

Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages of interviews: flexibility, higher response rate, ability to judge non-verbal behavior
• Disadvantages of interviews: time-consuming, less anonymity, limited accessibility

Observational Techniques

• Monitors and assesses a process or situation by documenting actions and behaviors.
• Understanding of the situation is facilitated by observing behavior in a natural context.
• Advantages: flexibility in data collection, mix of qualitative and quantitative data, non-intrusive approach.
• Disadvantages: large amount of data, need for two or more observers, and intensive labor

Explore the various methods of educational evaluation in this quiz. Learn about qualitative and quantitative techniques, factors influencing method choice, and the importance of teaching dossiers. Test your understanding of how to effectively measure educational success.