School of Education Faculty of Education Social Sciences

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Assessing the Impact of Teacher Education Dr Simon Borg

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Key Questions § What do we mean by the ‘impact’ of teacher § § education? What strategies can be used to collect information about such impact? What precautions are required in drawing conclusions about the impact of teacher education?

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Your Experience § As a teacher educator, give ONE example of how you collect information about the impact of your work. § Or as a participant, give ONE example of how teacher educators have collected impact data from you.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Levels of Impact § § Reactions (on immediate feelings) Learning (on beliefs, knowledge, skills) Behaviour (on what participants do) Results (on institution or organization) (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006)

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Assessing Impact in Language Education § § § Questionnaires Journal writing Observation Interviews Repertory grids Concept mapping

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Concept Map (Farrell 2006: 55)

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Evaluating Impact Data § Impact data may be influenced by assessment concerns. § Impact data may reflect enjoyment rather than value for practice. § Differences in reported pre- and post-course beliefs are not always indicative of deep change.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Evaluating Impact Data § Reported changes in beliefs will not always translate into changes in practices. § Observed practices are not always good indicators of teachers’ beliefs. § A lack of impact evidence does not mean a course has had no impact.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Conclusions In assessing the impact of our work as teacher educators: § What level of impact are we interested in assessing? § What strategies are appropriate for assessing impact at that level? § What alternative explanations may account for the degree of impact we discover?

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law Assessing the Impact of Teacher Education Dr Simon Borg