High-quality, evidence-based professional development is essential to ensure that teachers obtain the knowledge, strategies and skills necessary to positively impact student learning. While the primary form of professional development, training has rarely been evaluated for quality beyond the satisfaction of those being trained. The Observation…

This chapter proposes approaches for assessing learners and evaluating courses and curriculum that could be used by directors of health professions education (HPE) programs to determine the effectiveness and impact of their programs.

This article argues that evaluation of professional development (PD) requires a focus on student learning and an evidential baseline to enable practitioners and school leaders to determine the impact of the PD in which they are engaged. Several models of evaluating PD are briefly considered and it is suggested that most of these enable programme…

This article discusses learning that occurred during primary school visits to the UK National Marine Aquarium (Aquarium). Before visiting, children were asked to independently create a drawing of marine life off the Devon coast and a drawing of tropical reef marine life, allowing an assessment of prior knowledge. Post-visit, children created…

Program evaluation is recognized as an essential skill set for practitioners in service-related fields, such as education, nonprofit management, social work, and public health. Recently, the need for a public workforce trained in evaluation has increased and is driven primarily by our nation's emphasis on accountability during a time when…

Many factors affect students selecting a university to attend and almost as many factors that can present challenges once they enroll and begin attending classes. Once they start taking courses, the next challenge is completing them, and this can be particularly taxing for online students. In the case of online universities, quality assessment…

Excelsior College, located in Albany, New York, has been a pioneer institution in distance learning. The Integrated Technology Assessment (ITA) is one particularly unique dimension of student assessment offered by the School of Business and Technology at the College. This portfolio-based assessment method is a capstone experience for the BS…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

Many adults in OECD countries have low language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills. The consequences of these low foundation skills span the economic, health and social well-being of individuals, families and communities. Investment in this sector of adult education is therefore crucial. This study looks specifically inside the programmes for…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

The purpose of this guide is to help experienced professional developers and others organize and conduct professional development that trains facilitators of National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) study circles. Promoters of the study circle facilitators training should be experienced trainers. This guide includes…

Professional development practices implemented in rural school systems have often led nowhere. These practices seem to produce adult learning activities with few results other than participants' mounting frustration and another innovation left by the wayside. To encourage the development of productive professional development, many studies are…

Performance appraisal continues to be an area of research within Human Resource Development. This case study explores the impact of promotion portfolios upon the performance and professional development of university professors. Specific themes from data analysis indicated that portfolios are viewed as a performance appraisal measure/learning tool…

This study was commissioned to investigate whether or not, and if so, how, use of different assessment methods makes a difference to learner achievement and progress in the learning and skills sector (LSS). This is the first comprehensive study of assessment procedures and practices employed across the full range of LSS contexts--school sixth…