Program Being Evaluated. The Main

¶ … program being evaluated.

The main evaluation question is then, Is the Teacher Education Program (TEP) at Huntington-Ball University effective? Other questions related to the research will be: Are TEP participants more versatile in their teaching methods compared to graduates who did not take part in the program? Are they knowledgeable in the subject they teach? Does student performance meet acceptable standards? Is the curriculum equally successful for trainees of varying ages, interests, and experience? The answers to these questions will reveal information regarding the effectiveness of the program, and whether further planning will be needed to make it more effective.

The standards of a program refers to a predetermined set of standards that a program should meet in order to be effective. In the evaluation of the TEP, standards are determined in the following ways: Annual testing and survey of all participants in the 2-year teacher training and internship program. Annual observation of trainees from their entry into the program until two years after they graduate. The standards determined in this way will provide evidence of whether the program has met its goals.

Participants in the program should demonstrate a development of knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of the program as stated above. Standards should be measurable, appropriate, and credible. Standards determined for the program relate to outcomes in terms of the teaching skills developed. In other words, they are to possess versatile teaching methods and in-depth knowledge of the subjects that they teach. The design of the evaluation relates to the way in which the study will be conducted, and how measurements will be taken and evaluated.

For the TEP evaluation, participants in the program will be measured against graduates who have not been part of the program in the past. The program is fairly new, making it possible for the new group of students to be compared with those before them. Because the program is tested in terms of its effectiveness, the design is set up in such a way to measure the actual performance outcomes of participants.

A group studying at the University in the past, without the benefit of the program, is compared to a group entering the program now. Secondly, existing program participants are compared to new entrants, while the initial skill level of a certain group is measured over the time of participation in the program and beyond to determine their progress in terms of skills.

The design of the evaluation is therefore comparative in nature on various levels: among non-participants and participants; among current and new participants, and between the initial and progressive skill level of the same participant group. Data is collected by means of surveying and testing. The survey and test results will be compared among groups and over time for the same group in order to demonstrate the level of progress, improvement, or lack thereof.

The variable to measure is performance of participants in the TEP in terms of their teaching versatility and knowledge level of the subjects they teach. Measures are comparatively established, with the level of previous graduates, initial skill levels, and new entrants being used to determine improvement levels. Specifically, three data collection measures will be used: achievement tests, observations, and the published and unpublished literature. The combination of these measures will then also be used to demonstrate the reliability and validity of the data obtained.

The most important piece of additional information that is needed to effectively evaluate the TEP is baseline data. This refers to data collected before the start of the program. It is necessary to determine the current status of the TEP in order to differentiate between its current and future performance. Changes in status can then be used as a measure and explanation for future findings. Baseline data can for example be collected via questionnaires or observation.