University of Massachusetts at Boston
Graduate College of Education
Critical & Creative Thinking Program
Seminar on
Evaluation of Educational Change
CrCrTh693
Spring 2003
Syllabus
Instructor: Peter Taylor, Critical & Creative Thinking Program
Email: peter.taylor@umb.edu
Phone: 617-287-7636
Office: Wheatley 2nd flr 143.09 (near Counseling & School Psychology)
Class: M 4-6.30, McC 4-272
Office/phone call hours: M 1.30-3.30, or by arrangement
Email office hours: M & Th 7.30-9am
Course Website: http://www.faculty.umb.edu/peter_taylor/693-03.html
General email: Emails sent to cct693@yahoogroups.com go to everyone in the
course.
E-clippings: Clippings from the internet sent to cct693clips@yahoogroups.com
will be archived for all to read at
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/cct693clips
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
This course covers techniques for and critical thinking about the evaluation of
changes in educational practices and policies in schools, organizations, and
informal contexts. Topics include quantitative and qualitative methods for
design and analysis, participatory design of practices and policies,
institutional learning, the wider reception or discounting of evaluations, and
selected case studies, including those arising from semester-long student
projects.
COURSE DESCRIPTION for Spring 2003
Theme: Facilitation and Evaluation towards Educational Change*
*In this course educational change is construed broadly to include
organizational change, training, and personal development, as well as
curricular and school change.
One side of the course explores an Action Research approach to formulating
possible educational innovations and building a constituency for them.
Activities introduce tools for group facilitation, participatory planning, and
reflective practice. Whereas this exploratory side of the course "opens up and
out," the other side of the course "focuses in" on tight evaluations, that is,
on a) demonstrating the effectiveness of specific changes in educational
practices and policies in schools, organizations, and informal contexts (so as
to help promote changes); and b) identifying needs in such settings (so as to
design the changes proposed).
These two sides of course and the tension between the them are further explored
through student projects and case studies, which also highlight the wider
political reception or discounting of evaluations and educational change
initiatives.
PREREQUISITES: CrCrTh601 and 602, or permission of instructor.
For CCT students, this course is best taken in your third last semester (before
the Practicum and Synthesis).
ACCOMMODATIONS: Sections 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 offer guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students
with documented disabilities. If applicable, students may obtain adaptation
recommendations from the Ross Center (287-7430). The student must present
these recommendations to each professor within a reasonable period, preferably
by the end of the Drop/Add period.
Students are advised to retain a copy of this syllabus in personal files for
use when applying for certification, licensure, or transfer credit.
This syllabus is subject to change, but workload expectations will not be
increased after the semester starts. (Version 26 Jan '03)
SECTIONS TO FOLLOW IN SYLLABUS
TEXTS and MATERIALS
Calhoun, E. F. (1994). How to Use Action Research in the Self-Renewing
School. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Schmuck, R. (1997). Practical Action Research for Change. Arlington
Heights, IL: Skylight.
A set of readings are available on reserve for personal photocopying.
Books and additional readings in the bibliography are available on reserve.
(Arrange time in your schedule to read or photocopy relevant selections in the
Healey Library.)
Recommended: ZIP disk & drive and synchronization & bibliographic
software. (For more info see http://www.cct.umb.edu/competencies.html)
Additional materials linked to the course website include:
REQUIREMENTS
More detail about the assignments, expectations, and rationale is
provided in the Notes on Teaching/Learning Interactions and Rubrics handouts.
Written assignments and presentations (2/3 of grade)
A. Action Research assignments (four) and Evaluation Clock assignment
(one).
B. Design Project: Design EITHER an evaluation of a change or intervention in
a specific classroom, workplace or personal teaching/learning practice, an
educational policy, an educational institution, or a social policy OR your
facilitation of a reflective and/or collaborative process to shape such a
change or intervention. A sequence of 5 assignments is required--initial
description, notes on research and planning, work-in-progress presentation,
complete draft report, and final (1500-2500 words) report.
Participation and contribution to the class process (1/3 of grade)
C. Building learning community through prepared participation and
attendance at class meetings (=13 items)
D. Personal/Professional Development (PD) Workbook submitted for perusal
before week 7 (with worksheet in week 7) & at the end of the semester (=2
items)
E. Minimum of two in-office or phone conferences on your assignments, PD
workbook, and project -- one before mid-semester break; the other before week
10 (=2 items)
F. Peer commentary on another student's draft report (with copy submitted to
PT or included in PD workbook)
G. Assignment Check-list maintained by student and submitted week 12
H. Process Review on the development of your work, included with your PD
Workbook at end-of-semester perusal.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Narrative: A quick overview of the course is provided in week
1, but it is assumed that this will make most sense if you directly experience
the issues raised. So from week 2 you are thrown right into a month-long unit
in which you explore what Action Research entails by working on student-defined
problems arising from a issue in organizational/educational change. Each week
also introduces an other approach to group facilitation.
Class 1 (1/27) Introductions
--to the need for evaluation (incl. activity digesting a clipping)
--to the idea of Action Research, incl. AR spiral and the ideal of Participatory Action Research
--to the general experience of the course, through interviewing an alum (tentative)
--to Action Research unit on "Enhancing diversity in the CCT Program"
--to formative evaluation, through an end-of-class Critical Incident
Questionnaire
Homework tasks include: review the syllabus and overview, get set-up to use the
internet and computers, download Notes on Teaching/Learning Interactions,
peruse vision charts and evaluations from previous semesters, begin your PD workbook, sign up for first conference, warm-up for
Action Research sessions (see handout).
Class 2 (2/3) Action Research Session 1
Reading: Schmuck, p. vii-29
Feedback on Critical Incident Questionnaire
Questions on Syllabus and course mechanics
From ill-defined case through structured brainstorming to defining
problems, tasks, and lines of cross-communication for the week ahead (handout)
Additional reading: Greenwald, "Learning from Problems."
Class 3 (2/10) Action Research Session 2
Reading: Taylor, Overall lessons learned from Action Research unit in 2002
(handout)
Introduction to Co-operative Group work, including discussion of video and modeling of small group activity (procedures)
Small group work: review tasks undertaken; reformulate direction and tasks;
adjust the people to communicate with and check-in for the two weeks ahead;
verbal preliminary reports to the whole class.
Post-class readings: Notes on facilitating collaboration (handout)
2/17 No class (Presidents' Day)
*A* Asmt. 1: Email PT by 2/18 a 250-500 word report on task(s) you have taken on and how they relate to the specific tasks others who you are communicating with have taken on.
Class 4 (2/24) Action Research Session 3
Pre- or post-class reading on Focused Conversations: Stanfield, 6-29.
Focused Conversation on Action Research experience to date (handout)
Small group work: review tasks undertaken; plan presentations (including co-ordinating with others); define tasks remaining
Class 5 (3/3) Presentations by Action Researchers
Presentation to peers and guest panel (invited by Action Researchers)
*A* Asmts. 2 & 3: Oral presentation and Draft written report from each student.
Post-class reading: To reflect on your experience, start early on reading for
class 7. (See PT's lessons learned, Action Research Cycles)
Narrative: You can now examine what others have written in
light of your own Action Research experience. While you are doing this (in
preparation for class 7 & asmt. 5), we shift to the focusing in side of the
course through the tool/discipline of the evaluation clock.
Class 6 (3/10) Formulating informative comparisons as a basis for evaluations
Reading: Introductory/overview sections from either Patton, Weiss, Stark, or precis of Patton or Weiss until you get a feel for the contrast between Action Research and evaluation.
Introduction to statistical formulations of comparisons and background
assumptions
Comparison steps (2-4) in the evaluation clock, used to analyze a clipping on
the effects of a smoking ban
Post-class reading: PT's precis of Pietro, Evaluation Sourcebook, p.
22-23 (on evaluation clock) and p. 12-17, & 21 (to provide context)
(handout); Guide to the Evaluation clock (handout)
*A* First conference must be completed by 3/14 to discuss Action
Research experience, the course thus far, and your PD workbook (bring to
conference)
*A* Schedule second conference before 4/21 to discuss your projects and
use of evaluation clock
3/17 No class (Spring break)
*A* Asmt. 4a due 3/18 by email (or by mail to 41 Cornell St., Arlington,
MA 02474). Use the comparison steps (2-4) in the evaluation clock to analyze a
clipping on an evaluation or related study (chosen during class, handout)
Class 7 (3/24) Comparing your Experience as Novice Action Researchers with
the Considered Formulations from Other Sources
Reading: Selection from Calhoun, How to Use Action Research;
Hitchcock & Hughes, Chap. 3, "Access, ethics, and objectivity"; Greenwood
& Levin, Chaps. 8 & 11, "Action research cases," & "Action science
and organizational learning"; Rokovich, et al., "Implementing change"; Jenkins,
"Action learning"; CEDAC, Our Economy; Greenwald, Science in
Progress; Madison Metropolitan School District, "Classroom action research"
(and linked pages), study of CIT
Small group discussions and reports back to the class
Guest Panel of school change action researchers
Critical Incident Questionnaire on course to date
*A* Submit worksheet on PD workbook and research organization (as part of participation item on PD workbooks)
*A* Amst. 5 due: Reflection paper (500-1000 words) relating your Action
Research experience to points made by at least one of the readings for class
7.
Narrative: In order to complete a satisfying course project
you need to focus on something tight and do-able, but Strategic Personal
Planning allows you to find this focus by first opening out and acknowledging a
wide range of factors and wishes that your work could (should?) take into
account. Strategic Personal Planning provides a glimpse of Strategic
Participatory Planning, which can be used to facilitate group endeavors.
Class 8 (3/31) Strategic Participatory Planning, applied to personal course
and life projects
Reading: Weissglass, "Constructivist Listening," Spencer, chaps. 5 &
7; also Review Project reports from previous semesters (on reserve and
online).
Feedback on Critical Incident Questionnaire
Supportive Listening (a variant of constructivist listening) on one's
hopes/fears re: educational change
Strategic personal planning workshop (about the educational/organizational
change you want to facilitate/promote) (handout)
In-class drafting of initial description of design project
Post-class reading: Materials on Strategic Participatory Planning from ICA
Facilitators Manual, CEDAC, Our Economy
*A* Asmt. 4b due: Full evaluation clock used to analyze the chosen
clipping and plan the missing pieces of the study.
*A* Asmt due by email by 4/4: Initial Project Description
Reading: Hitchcock & Hughes, Chapter 5, Designing, planning and evaluating
research.
Narrative: The combination of Opening out and Focusing in
always seems hard for most CCT students and others who take CCT courses, so we
take another look at use of the Evaluation Clock and Strategic Personal
Planning. Meanwhile and for the weeks ahead you concentrate on development of
your own projects and supporting each other to complete them.
Class 9 (4/7) More on Evaluation Clock and Strategic Personal Planning
Peer coaching on Evaluation clock assignment and its extension to
students' projects
Additional readings: More from Patton, Weiss, Stark, or precis of Patton or
Weiss
Class 10 (4/14) Work-in-progress Presentations on Student Projects I
Work-in-progress Presentations and peer/instructor evaluations
*A* Asmt due: Work-in-progress Presentation on Project (or class 11)
Titles of Projects