Purpose: As new technologies such as immersive and augmented platforms emerge, training approaches are also transforming. The virtual reality (VR) platform provides a completely immersive learning experience for simulated training. Despite increased prevalence of these technologies, the extent literature is lagging behind in terms of evaluating…

In response to existing anecdotal evidence on faculty development in first-year experience program, this paper provides both a model and an adaptable heuristic for using assessment data to shape faculty development. The author argues that using a mixed method methods approach to assess FYE students' critical thinking provided unique data on…

Mixed methods research (MMR) is a useful paradigm for group work as it allows exploration of both participant outcomes and "how" or "why" such changes occur. Unfortunately, the group counseling literature is not replete with MMR studies. This article reviews the application of MMR to group contexts and summarizes the corpus of…

In this article, I respond to Noel Card's "Methodological Issues in Measuring the Development of Character." I focus on the ways in which social scientific knowledge represents human constructions of the world and the implications of this stance for the measurement of character. Further, I consider how context influences those…

Over the last decade, societal pressure has increased on public research agencies to provide evidence that their research contributes to achieve development goals. To address this challenge, the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (Cirad), developed an ex-post impact assessment method based on the impact pathway…

There is significant controversy over what counts as evidence in the evaluation of social interventions. It is increasingly common to use methodological criteria to rank evidence types in a hierarchy, with Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) at or near the highest level. Because of numerous challenges to a hierarchical approach, this article…

Academic advising is one of the key functions in higher education. While there has been a development of advising practices in the past decade, the assessment of academic advising practices is far from satisfactory. In this article, we review major academic advising approaches and key characteristics of quality assessment practices. Based on the…

Mixed methods evaluation has a long-standing history of enhancing the credibility of evaluation findings. However, using mixed methods in a utilitarian way implicitly emphasizes convenience over engaging with its philosophical underpinnings (Denscombe, 2008). Because of this, some mixed methods evaluators and social science researchers have been…

This short article provides a legal analysis of the Hale et al. white paper on specific learning disabilities identification. The white paper presents a purported consensus of experts that an approach combining response to intervention with severe discrepancy is consistent with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The analysis…

This article describes a hybrid standard setting method that combines characteristics of the Angoff (1971) and Bookmark (Mitzel, Lewis, Patz & Green, 2001) methods. The proposed approach utilizes strengths of each method while addressing weaknesses. An ordered item booklet, with items sorted based on item difficulty, is used in combination…

Assessment of student learning outcomes can be a powerful tool for improvement of instruction when a scientific approach is taken; unfortunately, many educators do not take full advantage of this approach. This article examines benefits of taking a scientific approach to critical thinking assessment and proposes guidelines for planning,…

This article considers various approaches to consulting primary pupils about mathematics. This is done first through a literature review and second by drawing on our experience of designing and piloting pupil consultation in collaboration with staff in one primary school. Our concern is with the utility and drawbacks of the methods used rather…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the value of the written comments section on student evaluations of teaching and develop a framework to improve the interpretability of such data. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews past investigations into the reliability and interpretability of student evaluations of…

A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

This article examines the Framework for Participation: a research tool established to support a recently completed study. The research was undertaken to explore the relationship between achievement and inclusion because headteachers and teachers in some schools continue to resist becoming more inclusive in their student intake on the grounds that…