The term participatory evaluation is commonly understood as stakeholder involvement in evaluation decision making and is generally accepted as a means of increasing the use of evaluation information. In spite of the popularity of participatory evaluation, there are few empirical studies which explain the casual processes of the participation-use relationship and few theories of participatory evaluation. Furthermore, it is not yet known what variables mediate participation and use, or what evaluation methodology best identifies these variables. This dissertation was designed to test causal relations between participation and use in a proposed model of participatory evaluation. The constructs in the model were Participative Climate, Level of Participation in Decision Making, Influence in Participative Decision Making, Process Outcomes, and Instrumental and Symbolic Use. An intervening mechanism design (Chen, 1990) was used to test the hypotheses that (a) Participative Climate, Level of Participation in Decision Making, and Influence in Participative Decision Making predict Process Outcomes and (b) Process Outcomes predicts Instrumental Use and Symbolic Use. The sample included 315 elementary and secondary teachers who participated in the 1995/1996 British Columbia (B.C.) School Accreditation Program, which is a participative school evaluation program sponsored by the B.C. Ministry of Education. Structural equation modeling was used to test the fit of the model. Overall, the analysis indicated that both hypotheses were tenable and the model was a plausible representation of the data. Furthermore, cross-validation strategies indicated that the model would likely replicate in other independent samples. Specifically, the findings indicated that (a) teacher participation in pre-evaluation decisions, (b) influence in decision making, and (c) teacher perception of the participative process mediated the relationship between Participative Climate and Use of evaluation information. Moreover, teacher perceptions of Process Outcomes is a key factor in understanding the nature and function of participatory evaluation. The model tested in this study provides an empirically based explanation of how participatory evaluation can be expected to work and thereby provides a basis for further development of a theory of participatory evaluation. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Orientador: Leonardo de Souza Mendes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T07:53:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AriasArias_Richard_M.pdf: 2020622 bytes, checksum: d259852aeda010c74fd5adffbf0cc63c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Esta dissertação propõe um modelo de avaliação de aprendizado de alunos baseado em lógica difusa para ambientes de educação mediada por computador. O modelo proposto contempla as três dimensões relevantes citadas pelo método de Weon e Kim (2001): dificuldade, complexidade e importância das atividades. A avaliação multidimensional é feita por meio dos processos de fuzzificação, defuzzificação e de inferência difusa de Mandani (1974). O modelo tem como entrada os acertos e o tempo gasto pelos alunos nas atividades realizadas nos módulos educacionais. As regras difusas e os pesos da complexidade e importância são definidos pelo professor especialista na disciplina. A saída do modelo é um vetor de notas correspondente ao desempenho dos alunos que foram avaliados multidimensionalmente. O modelo foi aplicado em uma escola que utiliza o sistema Conexão do Saber, desenvolvido pelo Laboratório de Redes de Comunicações da Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e Computação da UNICAMP. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o modelo pode ser usado para avaliar o desempenho de alunos em várias dimensões e de uma forma mais precisa e interpretativa / Abstract: This dissertation proposes a model to evaluate a student's learning development based on fuzzy logic for educational environments mediated by computer. The proposed model considers the three main dimensions quoted by Weon and Kim method (2001): difficulty, complexity and importance of activities. Multidimensional evaluation is carried out through the fuzzification, fuzzy inference and defuzzification processes of Mandani (1974). The inputs for the model are the ac-curacy rates of student's answerscripts and the time spent by them on educational activities in the modules. The fuzzy rules and weight for complexity and importance are defined by the specialist in the discipline. The output is an array of scores corresponding to the performance of students who were assessed multidimensionally. The model was applied to a school that uses the Conexão do Saber system, developed by the Laboratory of Communication Networks at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Campinas. The results show that the model can be used to evaluate the performance of students in various dimensions and an easily interpreted way / Mestrado / Telecomunicações e Telemática / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Orientador: Maria Márcia Sigrist Malavasi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T14:36:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ferrarotto_Luana_M.pdf: 10519418 bytes, checksum: f4f9dc6187e3b0a3c8a3c3c8b5308366 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O intuito da presente pesquisa foi acompanhar a experiência de avaliação do PROMASE (Programa Municipal de Avaliação do Sistema de Ensino), implementado na cidade de Amparo em 2006, verificando as práticas adotadas pela Secretaria de Educação a partir desses dados, assim como os impactos ocasionados nas unidades escolares. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa que, para tanto, utilizou os seguintes procedimentos: levantamento bibliográfico sobre avaliação; entrevista semi-estruturada com a Secretária de Educação; análise dos relatórios do PROMASE; seleção de quatro escolas, observando-as semanalmente; análise do Projeto Político-Pedagógico das Unidades Escolares (U.E.s); entrevista semi-estruturada com as gestoras das U.E.s; questionário e entrevista semi-estruturada com as docentes acompanhadas de cada escola. Evidenciou-se que no primeiro ano de implementação do Programa, o desempenho da rede nas primeiras avaliações mostrou-se baixo, com esse diagnóstico foram realizados investimentos como: produção de material de orientação para as disciplinas de Língua Portuguesa e Matemática; reestruturação curricular; apoio as crianças com defasagem de aprendizagem; qualificação dos docentes. Com a pesquisa, observou-se que: em duas das quatro escolas acompanhadas, a gestão, após a implementação do PROMASE, passou a realizar avaliações internas para acompanhar o rendimento dos alunos; Prova Brasil e SARESP são instrumentos utilizados pelas docentes das quatro escolas na composição de suas provas/atividades; algumas docentes afirmam que passaram a organizar os conteúdos de maneira diferenciada e a utilizar testes nas diversas disciplinas depois que o PROMASE foi instituído. / Abstract: This paper follows the experience of evaluation PROMASE (Municipal Program of School Evaluation), implemented in the city of Amparo in 2006, verifying the impact of the program's data on the practices used by the Education Secretary and its effect on the schools that took part in the program. Being a qualitative research, the following procedures were used: bibliographical survey about evaluation; semi- structured interviews with the Secretary of Education; analysis of the PROMASE's reports; selection of four schools, visited and observed on a weekly basis; analysis of the school's pedagogical project; semi structured interview with the school's managers; questionnaires and semi structured interviews with the teachers of the observed classes. The evaluated school's performance during the first year of the program didn't reach the expected standards, and this diagnostic led to investments such as the production of orienting material for the Mathematics and Portuguese Language classes, reformulation of the school's curriculum, support for the children with learning disabilities and qualification programs for the teachers. The research showed that in two of the four schools, the management, after the PROMASE implementation, started to use internal evaluation to follow the progress of the students; the Prova Brazil (Brazil Test) and SARESP are now used by the teachers in the four schools on their classes and planned activities; some of the teachers affirm that they started to organize their classes in a different way, making use of tests similar to the PROMASE after its implementation. / Mestrado / Ensino e Práticas Culturais / Mestre em Educação

This project was undertaken to analyze workshop evaluation forms completed by just over 2000 participants who attended workshops in 1995 throughout California related to the Project Learning Tree (PLT) environmental education program. These workshops were designed for teachers and other educators working with students from preschool through eighth grade.

No description available.

The project discusses how evolving technologies used to create digital portfolios can demonstrate student achievement in virtually unlimited ways. Evidence of student growth and achievement can be documented digitally. Such evidence can take the form of text, graphics, photos, sound, video data, and can even include database records of standardized or course-end test scores and grades.

This project addresses the question: does computer based instruction enhance student learning when compared to traditional lecture or teacher based instruction? The overall purpose of this project was an assessment of student performance before and after using computer based instruction versus a before and after assessment using traditional teacher based instruction.

abstract: Employee-owned businesses, benefit corporations, social enterprises, and other sustainability entrepreneurship innovations are responding to challenges such as climate change, economic inequalities, and unethical business behavior. Academic programs to date, however, often fall short in sufficiently equipping students with competencies in sustainability entrepreneurship – from a coherent set of learning objectives, through effective and engaging pedagogies, to rigorous assessment of learning outcomes. This dissertation contributes to bridging these gaps. The first study proposes a process-oriented and literature-based framework of sustainability entrepreneurship competencies. It offers a general vision for students, faculty, and entrepreneurs, as well as for the design of curricula, courses, and assessments. The second study presents an exploration into the nature of sustainability entrepreneurship courses, with a focus on teaching and learning processes. Using pioneering courses at Arizona State University, the study analyzes and compares the links between learning objectives, pedagogies, and learning outcomes. Based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews with course instructors, the study identifies cognitive apprenticeship from input processing to experimentation, constructive alignment from learning objectives to assessments, and curriculum-level coordination across courses as key success factors of sustainability entrepreneurship education. The result of this study can inform instructors and researchers in applying and further substantiating effective educational models for future entrepreneurs. The third study addresses the key question of competence assessment: what are reliable tools for assessing students’ competence in sustainability entrepreneurship? This study developed and tested a novel tool for assessing students’ competence in sustainability entrepreneurship through in-vivo simulated professional situations. The tool was in different settings and evaluated against a set of criteria derived from the literature. To inform educators in business and management programs, this study discusses and concludes under which conditions this assessment tool seems most effective, as well as improvement for future applications of the tool. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2020

During the past two decades, out-of-country development assistance training programs have emerged in response to the need to promote peoples' self-determination through increased participation at the community level. Participatory training based on an empowerment ideology has been advanced by some practitioners. Yet, little emphasis has been placed on evaluating the efficacy of this strategy as it pertains to applying training experiences in program participants' home setting. When this is attempted, the traditional evaluation procedures typically used render information which is of limited value to planners, practitioners, and program participants themselves. Thus, the development field operates with a distorted understanding of the complexity involved in applying empowerment training principles in actual community settings. The study investigates the possibilities and limitations of participatory evaluation (PE), and alternative evaluation approach, as a research strategy. A training case for Guatemalan community development workers referred to as the Central American Peace Scholarship Project sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development provides the program background. The PE strategy is based on a theoretical perspective rooted in critical theory and a methodological perspective derived from a participatory research paradigm. By focusing the PE process on participants' questions critical insights that might not appear in traditional evaluation findings are revealed. Further, PE increases the possibilities for evaluation to serve a developmental role for program participants and an informational role for program planners. In application, the process moves through three key stages: (1) a collaborative assessment of the Guatemalan research context, (2) the emergence of participants' evaluation questions through a series of informal interview encounters, and (3) critical reflections, the creation of alternative solutions and action-taking. PE provides participants with training reinforcement in their home setting while informing program planners of the efficacy of a particular training methodology from a Guatemalan perspective. Findings challenge policy makers, planners, practitioners, and researchers to acknowledge multiple field realities as well as contextual and structural impediments to applying an empowerment based methodology in various socio-political contexts.

abstract: Over the last decade, post-secondary international student enrollment has grown in the United States (US). In part, this growth has been facilitated by an increasing number of third-party recruitment partnerships; wherein US universities sign agreements to allow parties to engage in the recruitment and advising of students. By creating and expanding partnerships the university seeks to enroll more students at their university. With these additional parties involved in the advising process, it is more important than ever that students have as much information as possible to make an enrollment decision that makes them feel like they are members of the campus community and that they belong. To attain feelings of membership and belonging the university staff and faculty should be reaching out to students early in their academic career about the resources that are likely to enhance their feelings of membership and belonging at university. To understand and improve students’ feelings of membership and belonging the researcher developed a mixed-method intervention that included a control and experimental group. All groups completed a pre-posttest survey. The experimental group was exposed to 1:1 belongingness advising sessions and debriefing interviews. Twenty-two first-year international students participated in the study. The intervention had two objectives: 1) understand how a semester-long advising program, in the students first-year, enhanced international students feeling of membership and belonging at the university; and what components of the program were most effective and 2) based on how students were recruited to university, how did they differ in their developing feelings of belongingness and membership. The intervention was informed by agency theory, dropout model, and previous research on students’ feelings of membership and belonging. The results suggested that students in the experimental group were more likely to feel like members of the university when compared to their control group peers. Additionally, the results suggest that students in the experimental group were able to build relationships, knowledge, and support systems that enhanced their feelings of belonging. The discussion explains these outcomes as they are related to the research questions and extant literature. It also summarizes, implications for practice, future research, and lessons learned. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020