Student learning in the information landscape

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Student learning in the information landscape
ERO Improving education through evaluation

• Ko te Tamaiti te Pütake o te kaupapa
• The Child the heart of the matter

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Summary

• Evaluation introduction
• EROs process for reviewing schools
• Student learning in the information landscape
• Context
• Methodology
• Findings

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Evaluation - what is it?

• Evaluation refers to the process
  ofsystematically determining
• merit quality
• worth value
• significance importance
• Evaluation is the product of this process (
  involves reaching evidentially-based judgements
  on the above)
• (Scriven)

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Evaluation findings can serve the following
purposes

• rendering judgements
• informing action
• facilitating improvements
• generating knowledge

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All evaluation is concerned with providing
information
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The challenge for evaluators is

• To get the best possible information and to get
  people to use it
• in appropriate ways
• for intended purposes

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Factors in evaluation anxiety

• Evaluation anxiety depends on
• the situation
• our attitude / approach
• your attitude / approach

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People sources

• Lack of experience with evaluation
• Negative past experiences of evaluation
• Evaluators fail to highlight programme
  successes when presenting challenges
• Excessive fear of negative consequences
• Role ambiguity

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Consequences of evaluation anxiety (for you)

• Lack of utilisation of evaluation results
• Lack of programme improvement
• Dissatisfaction with evaluation

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Consequences of evaluation anxiety (for ERO)

• Difficult to gain access to stakeholders
  information
• Increased conflict tension
• Decreased performance productivity
• Prevents quality data collection

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ERO evaluations have a dual purpose

• Helping to bring about improvements in the
  quality of education
• Ensuring accountability

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Internal vs External Evaluation

• Everybody seems to hate external evaluation while
  nobody trusts internal evaluation
• David Nevo

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Evaluation Indicators
Student Achievement
Outcome Indicators
Knowledge, Skills and Values
Student Engagement with Learning
Process Indicators

• Governing and Managing the School

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Development of indicators for ERO Reviews

• In Poland under communism, the performance of
  furniture factories was measured in the tonnes of
  furniture shipped. As a result, Poland now has
  the heaviest furniture on the planet

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QualityQuality in EROs eyes is how well a
school improves the learning and achievement of
its students
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Quality
Improvement How well have we done it? How much
better can we do it?

• Compliance
• Have we done it?

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Context

• Government outcomes
• to grow an inclusive, innovative economy for
  the benefit of all
• to improve New Zealanders skills
• to reduce inequalities in education

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Current Education Strategies

• Ministry of Education
• higher levels of literacy and numeracy
• deeper knowledge in different subject areas
• stronger skills and competencies to apply,
  relate and create knowledge for specific
  purposes and contexts

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National Library

• Vision to connect New Zealanders with
  information important to all aspects of their
  lives

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Methodology

• The reference group and the working group
• Review officer training
• Sample characteristics
• Data collection
• Data analysis

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Methodological approach

• Reliability
• Validity
• Nature of stakeholer relationships
• Reporting

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Focus

• Connection
• Content
• Capability and Confidence

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Key elements and research

• Information Literacy
• Developing lifelong readers
• The school library and learning in the
  information landscape

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Evaluation questions

• Overarching question
• How well are schools supporting student learning
  in the information landscape?

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Key Questions

• Connection infrastructure
• Effectiveness of school leadership
• Effectiveness of school library

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Key questions

• Content information resources for supporting the
  needs, interests and abilities of students
• Content of school information resources
• School librarys resources

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Key questions

• Capability and confidence teaching and
  learning
• Information literacy
• Developing readers

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Student outcomes

• To what extent are students acquiring the
  knowledge, skills and values of information
  literacy?
• To what extent are students acquiring positive
  attitudes towards reading?

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Evaluation indicators

• Informed by
• Evaluation Indicators for Education Reviews in
  Schools (ERO, 2003)
• best evidence synthesis (Alton-Lee, 2003)
• The School Library Guidelines(National
  Library of NZ, 2002)
• E-learning evaluation (ERO 2003/04)32

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Findings

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools
• Maori students

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Conclusions
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Next steps

• ERO
• Good practice report
• Set of indicators for evaluating information
  literacy

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• What is the next actionthat you can take that
  will result in improved student achievement?

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I know of no safe depository of the ultimate
power of the society but the people themselves
and if we think them not enlightened enough to
exercise their control with a wholesome
discretion, the remedy is not to take it from
them, but to inform their discretion. Thomas
Jefferson Ki äku whakaaro ma te iwi anö e püpuri
te mana tüturu mö ngä ähuatanga whakahaere kei
roto i a rätou, mehemea hoki ki a tätou whakaaro
e hë ana tä rätou whakahaere, kaua e raupatutia
te mana kei a rätou, engari awhinatia rätou kia
mohio ai, kia tika ai, ngä whakahaere.