1. Evaluating Staff Development Initiatives
C&S563--#9
Evaluating
Staff Development Initiatives

2. Critical Elements of Evaluation (Guskey)
1. Participants’ reactions
2. Participants’ learning
3. Organizational support & change
4. Participants’ use of new knowledge and skills
5. Student learning outcomes

3. Main Line Philadelphia High School
Evaluate the high school’s block scheduling initiative, which was in its third year of implementation.
Make recommendations to improve student learning.

4. Discern the goals that we needed to evaluate

5. Goal #1
1. To change the nature of the relationship between adults and students in the high school so that it becomes a more caring place where all students feel a sense of belonging.

6. Goal #2
To do an effective job meeting the individual needs of all learners.

7. Goal #3
To enhance student intellectual functioning especially in terms of higher-order thinking skills, such as problem solving and creative and critical thinking.

8. Create the tools to collect the data

9. Surveys of Students, Staff & Parents
Developed three surveys (one for each group)
Attitudinal and perceptions of learning
100% return from students and faculty
30% return from parents

10. Focus Group Interviews
Interview students, teachers, parents, and alumni in small groups
Attitude and perceptions
Conducted interviews of teachers and students during the day
Interviewed parents and alumni two evenings.

11. Classroom Observations & Document Analysis
54 classes were observed and documents analyzed using a stratified random sampling procedure.
Each class was observed for an entire period of instruction by one of six observers.

12. The Five Levels

13. Recommendations 1. Implement adviser/advisee period.
2. Generate more course for low-track students.
3. Implement professional development sessions to help teachers understand and use higher-order thinking in their lessons.