Despite much progress in improving the quality of preschool programs, there is still an uneven quality of instruction in early childhood settings. Providing support and professional development (PD) for teachers that is practical, systematic and sustainable is one potential avenue to increase classroom quality in preschool, including quality of…

Professional preparatory health programmes generally involve clinical placements with a focus on integration of theory into real life practice. Reflective writing is often included in the assessment requirements for clinical placement courses. However enabling students to engage in deeper levels of reflective writing in action, on action and for…

In the introduction of this article, I presented theoretical aspects concerning evaluation methods of students' perception. In the second part, I presented my research results on students' perception about the new educational master programme "Evaluation of Resources and Sustainable Territorial Development" (ERSTD). The main purpose of…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the principles of Assessment for Learning (AFL) in light of John Dewey's writing about the purpose and possibility of education. In this paper, we compare Dewey's ideas to the goals of assessment for learning (AFL)--a practice emerging globally and, more locally, moved forward by the Alberta Initiative for…

Purpose: Although the number of higher education institutions adopting sustainability-focused faculty learning communities (FLCs) has grown, very few of these programs have published evaluation research. This paper aims to report findings from an evaluation of the University of Vermont's (UVM's) sustainability faculty fellows (SFF) program. It…

The "Multiple Intelligences, Curriculum and Assessment Project" at University College Cork was a collaborative project carried out between 1995 and 1999. The key research question focused on whether Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences could be applied to, and enhance, aspects of curriculum and assessment at primary and…

This report summarizes findings from a two-year study of Chicago's Excellence in Teaching Pilot, which was designed to drive instructional improvement by providing teachers with evidence-based feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. The pilot consisted of training and support for principals and teachers, principal observations of teaching…

This newsletter issue focuses on the issue of recommended instructional and curriculum changes that are part of the current reforms in science education. The issue is composed of four articles. The first article, "Science Education: Schools Pushed To Broaden Access, Overhaul Practice," discusses the call for a science curriculum that…

Human service fields, and more specifically public health, are increasingly requiring evaluations to prove the worth of funded programs. Many public health practitioners, however, lack the required background and skills to conduct useful, appropriate evaluations. In the late 1990s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created the…

Assessment, particularly formative assessment, is critical to knowing how a student is performing academically and how best to support that student. Teachers, especially new teachers, need ongoing support in developing and using both summative and formative assessments as an integral part of their instructional practice. Written collaboratively by…

Teacher-tested ideas for teaching and evaluating cognitive skills of students in physical education programs are offered. (DF)

This paper describes the role of and planning process for networking conferences in the cluster evaluation of the Michigan-based science education projects funded through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Science Education Initiative to improve science teaching and learning with a long term goal of improving the scientific literacy of Michigan…

A model to assess instructor concerns about, and use of, the innovation or change in classroom procedures and materials has been proposed and tested for its effectiveness in a vocational curriculum area. Indications are that this model has promise for improving the installation of desired change in vocational curricula. (Author)

This publication documents a participatory assessment project conducted from 1993 to 1995 with four afterschool programs in New York City. Key questions were whether the assessment project would develop the capacity of program staff to assess their own projects and whether the programs were successful in supporting the literacy development of the…

A system was developed for program evaluation throughout the university. It provides the user with guidelines, procedures, materials, and resources to conduct evaluations for the improvement of teaching skills and methods, course development, and administrative decisionmaking about curricular matters. The evaluation process is intended to be…