Author(s): Joellen Killion

Institutional affiliation/Agency/Program: Journal of Staff Development, Fall 2003 (National Staff Development Council)

Publication date or date of most recent update: Fall 2003

Number of pages: 13 (PDF version)

Website URL: http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/jkillion244.cfm
or
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/jkillion244.pdf
(Coordinator's Note: I found the CFM version to be easier to read for review purposes. However, I would recommend the PDF version for the web site as it has a more sophisticated layout and also includes additional samples of how the tool can be used.)

Type of product (lesson plans, curriculum, training product): Tool (training product)

Key words: Program improvement, Management, Professional development, Staff development, Evaluation

Subject of materials:

Target population: Professional Development Staff

Skill levels of instructional materials (lessons, curricula): N/A

Training required: N/A

Abstract: Evaluating staff development requires applying a scientific, systematic process to ensure reliable, valid results. Evaluation not only provides information to determine whether programs are effective, it provides information about how to strengthen a program to increase its effectiveness. This article explores a step-by-step strategy for conducting an evaluation that can provide the evidence needed to make critical decisions about improving staff development programs for the benefit of teachers, administrators, and students.

What the experts say: This resource lays out all the steps required for an adult education program to show evidence that staff development programs are effective and contribute to improvements in student learning. The resource emphasizes the crucial planning stage of evaluation, describes powerful ways to connect program components with expected outcomes, and strongly aligns these activities with intended results. The resource would, in fact, be useful as a guide for designing the evaluation of any program activity or project. In addition to a discussion of the evaluation steps, the article contains templates that can be used. Some of the technical detail, such as the statistical analysis, may be daunting. Program staff may need support from a trained facilitator to help build a logic model and to clarify the change process.