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Session Title: Evaluating a Multi-site Twenty First Century Learning Program: Strategies and Results
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Panel Session 327 to be held in Lone Star F on Thursday, Nov 11, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Cluster, Multi-site and Multi-level Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Mary Nistler, Learning Point Associates, mary.nistler@learningpt.org
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| Abstract:
This two-part panel presentation summarizes two independent but related evaluation activities intended to bring coherence to a multi-site school improvement initiative implemented in 18 private schools in Hawaii, and lay the groundwork for future evaluation activities. The initiative, Schools of the Future, promotes the incorporation of 21st century learning skills and provides a high level of support to participating schools through online Communities of Practice (COPs). Two early activities are described in this panel. The first is framing the initiative and its diverse projects so that projects can be better understood and evaluated. The second activity addresses our development and use of a coding system and relational database to assess content and level of participation of the online COPs. This session will describe specific analytic strategies, principles guiding decisions, and their benefits and limitations.
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Order From Chaos: Building a Framework for the Evaluation of a Multi-site School Reform Initiative
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| Mary Nistler, Learning Point Associates, mary.nistler@learningpt.org
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| Manolya Tanyu, Learning Point Associates, manolya.tanyu@learningpt.org
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This presentation describes a step-by-step approach to give coherence to an initiative comprised of several diverse and loosely related projects. Schools of the Future is an initiative to promote 21st Century skills in Hawai'i private schools. The goals of the evaluation in the first year were to clarify the similarities and differences of the 18 different project sites, and to understand the ways that project design and context influences project success. We specified a conceptual framework into which we categorized each of the project sites. Through a review of written plans, we created an initial set of project typologies and categorized the projects according to dimensions of level of intended change, implementation strategy, and intended use of technology. We will describe the initial problem we faced, data sources, analysis, reporting frameworks, and benefits and limitations of the effort.
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Strategies for Evaluating Online Communities of Practice
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| Jonathan Margolin, Learning Point Associates, jonathan.margolin@learningpt.org
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An evaluation of the use of a social network site is a component of a multi-site evaluation of the Schools of the Future initiative, which aims to promote 21st Century skills. The initiative uses the social networking site Ning to support online Communities of Practice (COPs). The evaluation provided quarterly feedback on the extent to which Ning enhances communication and collaboration across schools, and supports implementation of the projects. The evaluation provided coherent feedback summarizing discussions among the 300+ participants over eight months. By creating a coding system and a relational database to catalog posts and threaded discussions, we were able to describe how the content and volume of Ning participation varied over time and across three different COP discussion groups. The presentation will provide practical tips for addressing the challenges of evaluating participation and effectiveness of online communities of practice social network sites.
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