Assessing the Impact of Teacher Education

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Assessing the Impact of Teacher Education
Dr Simon Borg
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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?

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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.

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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)

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Assessing Impact in Language Education

• Questionnaires
• Journal writing
• Observation
• Interviews
• Repertory grids
• Concept mapping

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Concept Map
(Farrell 2006 55)
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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.

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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.

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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?

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Assessing the Impact of Teacher Education
Dr Simon Borg