The Campbellian validity typology has been used as a foundation for outcome evaluation and for developing evidence-based interventions for decades. As such, randomized control trials were preferred for outcome evaluation. However, some evaluators disagree with the validity typology's argument that randomized controlled trials as the best design…

The Region 15 Comprehensive Center (R15CC) is federally funded to provide high-impact, customized, and responsive capacity-building technical assistance to state educational agencies (SEAs) in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. In 2022, R15CC established a regional Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Collaborative for SEA leaders in…

Although teachers' learning has been increasingly recognised as nonlinear and contextually responsive, few studies have extended these understandings to the design and evaluation of professional development. In this case study, we examine nonlinear and contextual manifestations of high school science teachers' professional learning from a complex…

This article examines the intersection of service-learning with complex systems theory. It is based on a research project we undertook to explore whether complex systems theory might be useful for better understanding the dynamics of service-learning practice and thus for assisting in the design, running, and evaluation of service-learning…

In this chapter, the major concepts from program planning in adult education will be applied to health professions education (HPE). Curriculum planning and program planning will be differentiated, and program development and planning will be grounded in a systems thinking approach.

Many geoscience education initiatives now involve cross-departmental or multi-institutional programs. However, the geoscientists who lead such programs typically have little experience or training in program design, leadership, or evaluation. In this commentary, we make the case that geoscientists taking on these ambitious leadership roles can…

As students graduate and enter the workforce, they face the job market's demand for critical thinking (CT) skills. The demand is caused by the market's increasing need for providing professional services that require performing complex tasks. In response to this demand, institutions of higher education are expected to prepare their graduate…

The most pressing social problems facing humanity in the 21st century are what systems theorist Russell Ackoff referred to as "messes"--complex dynamic systems of problems that interact and reinforce each other over time. In this article, the authors argue that the lack of progress in managing messes is in part due to the predominance of…

Training can often be the right answer--or part of the right answer--to help people learn how to do something that is new for them. Although some may be tempted to ignore instructional design when faced with a tight time line, that is exactly when following a systematic process can provide a recipe for success. Given six important questions, the…

Outcomes-based program evaluation is a systematic approach to identifying outcome indicators and measuring results against those indicators. One dimension of program evaluation is assessing the level of learner acquisition to determine if learning objectives were achieved as intended. The purpose of the proposed model is to use Bloom's Taxonomy to…

The chapters in this volume set a rich context for understanding the challenges that environmental evaluators face in their everyday work. In particular, the authors highlight the need for responsive, contextual, flexible, adaptive, multidisciplinary, and mixed-methods evaluation approaches. In this chapter, I reinforce their call and further…

As part of its work to advance the multiple pathways approach to high school education, the James Irvine Foundation engaged the Bridgespan Group to develop a framework for assessing the nature and needs of the fields in which nonprofits operate. These agents of change often struggle to understand how to focus their field-building investments and…

This book describes the evolution of New American Schools (NAS) and its strategy for reform during its first 6 years of operation. After a short introduction in chapter 1, chapter 2 outlines the potential contribution of school designs and design-based assistance to education reform, focusing on the nature of NAS designs, the character of…

Provides guidelines for systemic change in education. Presents an overview of the change process. Discusses preparing for change; building a core team to lead the design effort; transforming vision into system design; shifting focus from planning to implementation; and implementation, summative evaluation, and closure. (AEF)

Structured decomposition is explained as a process of reduction to parts of an educational program. Resulting substructures aid in an overview of the entire entity. (RAO)