Research and development on formative assessment has paid little attention to part-time adult basic education in informal community-based settings. A three-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, and the Quality Improvement Agency addresses that gap in vocational and…

Subjective well-being (SWB) has two components: affective well-being (AWB) and cognitive well-being (CWB). The present study demonstrated that AWB and CWB have are influenced by different factors in a nationally representative sample in Germany (N = 1053). Neuroticism was a stronger predictor of AWB than CWB. Unemployment and regional differences…

This paper describes the development of a model for integrating student evaluation of teaching results with academic development opportunities, in new ways that take into account theoretical and practical developments in both fields. The model is described in terms of five phases or components: (1) the basic student evaluation system; (2) an…

Fieldwork is central to teaching and learning in geography. The assessment of student learning from fieldwork can, however, be problematic. This paper evaluates the use of reflective diaries for assessing level three undergraduate geography fieldwork. It is concluded that reflective fieldwork diaries offer an innovative and flexible approach to…

This study investigated the usefulness of the many-facet Rasch model (MFRM) in evaluating the quality of performance related to PowerPoint presentations in higher education. The Rasch Model utilizes item response theory stating that the probability of a correct response to a test item/task depends largely on a single parameter, the ability of the…

The survey Performance Standards for In-service Teachers is widely used to help describe teacher skills relating to instructional technology for assessment or planning of professional development. It is based on the six constructs of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, and though used broadly in a variety of contexts, it…

This paper is based on the author's experiences of interviewing seven men and seven women who graduated from a Danish high school in 1980, at a moment when the upper secondary system underwent a process of democratisation. She questioned the informants as to the role education has played in their lives, and as to the sense their choice of…

In this paper, the authors report research focused directly on the validation of the Coding of Academic Teacher-Student interactions (CATS) direct observation instrument. They use classroom information gathered by the CATS instrument to better understand the potential mediating variables hypothesized to influence student achievement. Their study's…

Introduction: Physicians spend a considerable amount of time in Continuing Medical Education (CME) to maintain their medical licenses. CME evaluation studies vary greatly in evaluation methods, levels of evaluation, and length of follow-up. Standards for CME evaluation are needed to enable comparison among different studies and to detect factors…

Students are characterized by different learning styles, focusing on different types of information and processing this information in different ways. One of the desirable characteristics of a Web-based education system is that all the students can learn despite their different learning styles. To achieve this goal we have to detect how students…

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is increasingly being advocated as the preferred approach to practice in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The EBP process involves multiple steps. The asking of a well-built question is the first step in the quest for answers. At the same time it is also often the first stumbling block for…

In response to a recent call for research on the effectiveness of faith-based organizations, this article synthesizes how effectiveness has been defined and measured in evaluation research of faith-based programs. Although evidence indicates that religion can have a positive impact on individuals' well-being, no prior comprehensive review exists…

The study of the consequences of evaluation, or more specifically of evaluation use or utilization, represents a significant portion of the body of research on evaluation. Much has been written on the evolution of the multidimensional concept of evaluation use, most recently the examination of consequences of evaluation that are not a function of…

In this article, the authors examine evaluation process use in a large multilevel, multisite core evaluation. This case highlights the nature of the evaluation processes of the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) core evaluation in terms of four categories: (1) social processing; (2) engagement; (3) involvement; and (4)…

This article presents an interview with Michael Patton whose professional evolution has contributed to the way evaluation in the United States is understood and practiced today. Patton is an evaluation and organizational development consultant who spent 18 years at the University of Minnesota (1973-1991), including 5 years as the director of the…