1 Curriculum Design 9 Approaches to evaluation Instructor: Prof. Mavis Shang Erin M 97/06/12

2 Introduction ＊ Curriculum evaluation: Is the curriculum achieving its goals? What is happening in classrooms and schools where it is being implemented? Are those affected by the curriculum (e.g., teachers, administrators, students, parents, employers) satisfied with the curriculum? Have those involved in developing and teaching a language course done a satisfactory job? Does the curriculum compare favorably with others of its kind?

3 Introduction ＊ Evaluation may focus on many different aspects : curriculum design the syllabus and program content classroom processes materials of instruction the teachers teacher training the students

4 Introduction ＊ Evaluation may focus on many different aspects : monitoring of pupil progress learner motivation the institution learning environment staff development decision making

5 Introduction ＊ The scope of evaluation : Focus from test results to the need to collection information and make judgments about all aspects of the curriculum, from planning to implementation

6 Purposes of evaluation ＊ Weir and Roberts (1994): Program accountability : to examine the effects of a program or a project Program development: to improve the quality of a program or a project

7 Purposes of evaluation 1.Formative evaluation TT o find out what is working well, and what is not, and what problems need to be addressed OO ngoing development and improvement of the program SS ome typical questions (p. 288)  T o address problems and to improve

8 Purposes of evaluation 1.Formative evaluation EE xample 1: * situation: task-oriented communicative methodology * problem: teachers are resorting to a teacher-dominated drill and practice mode of teaching during the implementation * solution: provide videos to model teaching strategies

9 Purposes of evaluation ormative evaluation EE xample 2: * situation: to implement integrated skills * problem: different perceptions of what the major points in the course (after few weeks) * solution: to held meetings to review teachers’ understanding and to clarify the weighting as well as to provide peer observation

10 Purposes of evaluation 1.Formative evaluation EE xample 3: * situation: implement conversation skills for low-level, and the pronunciation is not a major element of the course * problem: students have serious pronunciation problem (after four weeks) * solution: refocus one section of the course which includes pronunciation component

11 Purposes of evaluation 2. Illuminative evaluation TT o find out the different aspects of the program and to provide a deep understanding of the processes of the teaching and learning without any change SS ome typical questions (p. 289)

12 Purposes of evaluation 2. Illuminative evaluation EE xample 1: * situation: 1) teach many reading skills for students 2) teachers are interested in what the students’ major focus of the course * evaluated way: conduct a short questionnaire => understand students’ opinion and need

13 Purposes of evaluation 2. Illuminative evaluation EE xample 2: * situation: teacher is interested in teacher-student interaction learning * evaluated way: to invited colleague to do the classroom observation => assess what happened during the course

14 Purposes of evaluation 2. Illuminative evaluation EE xample 3: * situation: teacher wants to know how students carry out group work and prepare students for group-work task * evaluated way: record and review the recordings => know what kind of roles for each member in a group and make sure students participate actively

15 Purposes of evaluation 2. Illuminative evaluation  classroom action research or teacher inquiry  Block (1998) : interview learners regularly  Richards and Lockhart (1994): do classroom action research (classroom observation, learner journals, and interviews) => useful to confirm and make explicit some things

16 Purposes of evaluation 3. Summative evaluation TT o determine the effectiveness of a program, its efficiency, and to some extent with its acceptability UU sed “after” a program SS ome typical questions (p. 292)

17 Purposes of evaluation DD ifferent measures of a course’s effectiveness and each one can be used for different purposes a) Mastery of objectives: “How far have the objectiveness been achieved?” ex: speaking skills Objective: In group discussions students will listen to and respond to the opinions of others in their group BUT it does not provide the whole picture of them effectiveness of a course

18 Purposes of evaluation b) Performance on tests: ◎ Formal tests ◎ Weir (1995): it is helpful for teaching and learning ◎ Brindley (1989): informal tests BUT Weir (1995) stated that summative evaluation and progress-sensitive performance tests for use are necessarily

19 Purposes of evaluation c) Measures of acceptability: ◎ satisfactory achievement of the objectives and good levels of performance on exit tests ≠teachers and learners’ opinion ◎ should be considered some factors: time-tabling, class size, choice of materials, or teachers’ teaching styles

20 Purposes of evaluation d) Retention rate or reenrollment rate: ◎ whether students continue in the course ◎ the percentage of students who reenroll for another course at the end

21 Purposes of evaluation e) Efficiency of the course: ◎ How to develop and implement the course efficiently ◎ some problems may occur during the course: * the time (planning and course development), * the needs (material and teacher training), * the time needed (consultations and meetings)

22 Issues in Program Evaluation WW eir and Robert (1994, 92) proposed: a need for both insider and outsider commitment and involvement to ensure adequate evaluation a central interest in improvement, as well as the demonstration of the “product value” of a program or project or their components An associated commitment to a deeper professional understanding of the processes of educational change, as well as the results of that change

23 Issues in Program Evaluation WW eir and Robert (1994, 92) proposed: Systematic documentation for evaluation purposes both during implementation and at the beginning and end of a program or project’s life A willingness to embrace both qualitative and quantitative methodology appropriate to the purpose of the evaluation and the context under review

24 Issues in Program Evaluation 1. The audience for evaluation ◎ to identify who the different audiences are and what kind of information they are most interested in Ex: new textbooks * Officers in the ministry: money * Teachers: the sufficient materials * Outside consultant: interaction and language practices * Vocational training centers: school leavers’ English ◎ Evaluation has to satisfy all interested parties.

25 Issues in Program Evaluation 1. The audience for evaluation ◎ For example * Students: What did I learn? Do I need another course?... * Teachers: How well did I teach? What did my students learned?... * Curriculum developers: Is the design of the course and materials appropriate?...

26 Issues in Program Evaluation 1. The audience for evaluation ◎ For example * Administrators: Was the time frame of the course appropriate?... * Sponsors: Was the cost of the course justified?...

27 Issues in Program Evaluation 1. The audience for evaluation ◎ Three audience are identifiable for all summative evaluation of language courses (Shaw and Dowsett, 1986): * other teachers in the program * managers of the institution or program * the curriculum support or development ◎ carefully identified different audience and the result should be appropriate for each audience

28 Issues in Program Evaluation 2. Participants in the evaluation process ◎ Two types of participants: * insiders: teachers, students, and anyone else Ex: formative evaluation: teachers summative evaluation: students Why insiders are important? => They are the direct participants for a curriculum

29 Issues in Program Evaluation 2. Participants in the evaluation process ◎ Two types of participants: * outsiders: consultants, inspectors, or administrators to provides teachers with some perceptions with independent observation and opinion

30 Issues in Program Evaluation 3. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation ◎ Quantitative measurement: * something can be expressed numerically => collect information from a large number of people and analyze statistically * more fair but some limitations

31 Issues in Program Evaluation 3. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation ◎ Qualitative measurement: * something can not be expressed numerically and rely on subjective judgment and observation => collect information from classroom observation, interviews, journal and so on * more holistic and naturalistic but hard to analyze ◎ Combine both Quantitative and Qualitative

32 Issues in Program Evaluation 4. The importance of documentation ◎ Relevant documentation: a) Course statistics: b) Relevant course documents c) Course work d) Written comments e) Institutional documents

33 Issues in Program Evaluation 5. Implementation ◎ to review the process of evaluation 1) Scope 5) Representativeness 2) Audience 6) Timeliness 3) Reliability 7) Ethical considerations 4) Objectivity ◎ to decide how to make use of the information obtained (see p. 299)

34 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 1. Tests 1) institutionally prepared tests 2) international tests 3) textbook tests 4) student records

35 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 1. Tests ◎ Advantage: 1) direct measure of achievement or performance ◎ Disadvantages: 1) hard to make sure the tests are a direct of teaching or are liked to other factors=> further investigation 2) “reliability and validity” problems

36 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 2. Comparison of two approaches to a course ＊ two different versions of the course => compare the effects of two or more different teaching conditions ◎ Advantage: 1) control all relevant factors and investigate strictly ◎ Disadvantage: 1) teachers’ load (maintain the difference at the same time)

37 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 3. Interview ＊ could get many different views of the course ＊ structured interview is more useful ◎ Advantage: 1) obtain more deeper (in-depth) information ◎ Disadvantages: 1) time-consuming 2) could not be generalized

38 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 4. Questionnaire ＊ could get wide range of teachers’ and students’ comment ◎ Advantages: 1) easy for administer 2) generalization ◎ Disadvantages: 1) questionnaire design (elicit unbiased answers) 2) difficult to interpret the information => follow-up investigation

39 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 5. Teachers’ written evaluation ＊ use structured feedback form ◎ Advantages: 1) good position to write the comment 2) provide information quickly ◎ Disadvantage: 1) only teacher’s point of view

40 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 6. Diaries and journals ＊ provide a narrative record of things ◎ Advantage: 1) provide relatively detailed and open-end information ◎ Disadvantages: 1) hard to decide how to use the information 2) need cooperation and a time commitment

41 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 7. Teachers’ records ＊ reports of lessons taught, material covered, attendance, students’ grades, and time allocation ◎ Advantage: 1) provide a detailed account of some aspects of the course ◎ Disadvantages: 1) some information will not be relevant 2) some information will be subjective (teachers’ view)

42 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 8. Student logs ＊ ask students to provide their opinion of the course ◎ Advantages: 1) provide students’ opinion of the course 2) give insights that teachers may not be aware of ◎ Disadvantages: 1) need cooperation and time commitment 2) no benefit for students to attend this activity

43 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 9. Case study ＊ to do how student made use of lesson plans throughout a course, or trace the progress of a particular learner ◎ Advantages: 1) provide more detailed information 2) provide a rich picture of different dimensions of courses ◎ Disadvantages: 1) the subject may not be representative 2) time-consuming

44 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 10. Student evaluation ＊ written or oral feedback on the teachers’ approach, the materials used, and their relevance to the students’ need ◎ Advantage: 1) easy to obtain information which contains a wide range of topics and a large number of learners will be involved ◎ Disadvantages: 1) subjective and impressionistic 2) difficult to interpret or generalize

45 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 11. Audio- or video-recording ＊ provide some examples of different teaching styles and lesson formats ◎ Advantage: 1) provide many teachings and record information ◎ Disadvantage: 1) recordings are hard to set up

46 Procedures used in conducting evaluations 12. Observation ＊ by other teachers or a supervisor (give a specific task and provide procedures to the observer ) ◎ Advantage: 1) observers can focus on many things in class ◎ Disadvantage: 1) need preparation and explicit guidance

47 ~Thank you~