Evaluation

Technological innovations in education require systematic testing and evaluation to determine the relative merit of the intervention. The purpose of evalutions is to gather data that can be used to inform decision-making and action. Evaluation provides information to improve the project as it develops and progresses. There are three kinds of evaluation that are employed at different times in a project development cycle: 1) Planning evaluation;2) Formative Evaluation; 3) Summative evaluation. The features of each are presented in the chart below.

Evaluation type Time frame Purpose Sample questions Outcomes
Planning Prior to the project Assess understand-ing of project goals, strategies and timeline Why was the project developed? What activities will address the problem? What are the measureable outcomes(quantitative)? What are the nonmeasureable outcomes (qualitative)? What is expected impact of program? A rich description of the project, goals, activities, particpants, resources, timelines, locale and intended accomplish-ments; prescription for key outcome indicators.
Formative During the life of the project Assess on-going project activities in order to improve them or discard them Are the participants moving toward the anticipated goals of the project? If so, which activities/strategies are instrumental in achieving goals? Are the learning outcomes being realized and if not, why? Interim data that indicates the effectiveness or failure of the program at a point in time in achieving goals and outcomes
Summative At project completion Assess the project's overall success What were the project strengths and weaknesses? Did the participants benefit and how? What components were most and least successful? is the project replicable and transportable? An external appraisal of the project's overall worth, value and merit so as to foster decision-making about dissemination, continued funding or discontinutation.

Resources

http://www-iet.open.ac.uk/iet/iet/PLUM/contentstext.html

http://www.st-and.ac.uk/cl/cal/newsletter/4/methods.html

Discuss Evaluation Issues Here

Evaluation type	Time frame	Purpose	Sample questions	Outcomes
Planning	Prior to the project	Assess understand-ing of project goals, strategies and timeline	Why was the project developed? What activities will address the problem? What are the measureable outcomes(quantitative)? What are the nonmeasureable outcomes (qualitative)? What is expected impact of program?	A rich description of the project, goals, activities, particpants, resources, timelines, locale and intended accomplish-ments; prescription for key outcome indicators.
Formative	During the life of the project	Assess on-going project activities in order to improve them or discard them	Are the participants moving toward the anticipated goals of the project? If so, which activities/strategies are instrumental in achieving goals? Are the learning outcomes being realized and if not, why?	Interim data that indicates the effectiveness or failure of the program at a point in time in achieving goals and outcomes
Summative	At project completion	Assess the project's overall success	What were the project strengths and weaknesses? Did the participants benefit and how? What components were most and least successful? is the project replicable and transportable?	An external appraisal of the project's overall worth, value and merit so as to foster decision-making about dissemination, continued funding or discontinutation.