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Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology
Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology
Faculty Publications
3-2002
Repository Citation
Guskey, Thomas R., "Does It Make a Difference? Evaluating Professional Development" (2002). Educational, School, and Counseling
Psychology Faculty Publications. 7.
http://uknowledge.uky.edu/edp_facpub/7
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Authors
Thomas R. Guskey
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Educational Leadership, v. 59, issue 6, p. 45-51.
The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.
E
evaluation, you can improve professional development to programs more imponant than ever.
be their right- omething Traditionally, educators haven't paid
your school's professional they deserve as dedicated and much attention to evaluating their
development program. hardworking individuals. But professional development efforts. Many
But be sure to start with the legislators and policymakers have consider evaluation a co tly, time-
recently begun to question that right. As consuming proce s that diverts atten-
desired result-impr oued education budget grow tight, they look tion from more irnponant activities such
student outcomes. at what chools pend on professional as planning, implementation, and
development and want to know, Does follow-up. Otl1ers feel they lack the skill
the investment yield tangible payoffs or and expeni e to become involved in
could that money be spent in better rigorous evaluations; as a result, they
Thomas R. Guskey ways? Such questions make effective either neglect evaluation issues
completely or leave them to time was well spent? Did the
"evaluation experts." material make sense to them?
Good evaluations don 't have Were the activities well
to be complicated. They planned and meaningful? Was
simply require thoughtful the leader knowledgeable and
planning, the ability to ask helpful' Did the participantS
good questions, and a basic find the information useful?
understanding of how to find lmportam questions for
valid answers. What's more::, professional development
they can provide meaningful workshops and seminars also
information that you can use to include, Was the coffee hot and
make thoughtful, responsible ready on time? Was the room at
decisions about professional the right temperamre? We::re
development processes and the chairs comfortable? To
effects. some, questions such as these
may seem silly and inconse-
What Is Evaluation? quential. But experienced
In simplest terms, evaluation is professional developers know
"the systematic investigation of the importance of arrending to
merit or wonh"Ooint Com- these basic human needs.
mittee on Standards for Educa- lnformation on participants'
ti.onal Evaluation, 1994, p. 3). reactions is generally gathered
Systematic implies a focuse::d, through questionnaires handed
d1oughtful, and intentional out at the end of a session or
process. We conduct evalua- activity. These quel>'tionnaires
tions for clear reasons and wid1 typically include a combination
explicit intent. investigation of rating-scale items and open-
refers co the collection lmd ~ ended response questions that
analysis of pertinent informa- "' allow participants to make
tion through appropriate ! personal comments. Because of
methods and techniques. Merit the general nature of this infor-
or worth denotes appraisal and judg- Critical Levels of Professional mation, many organizations use the
ment. We use evaluations to determine Development Evaluation same questionnaire for all their profes-
the value of something-to help answer Effective professional development eval- sional development activities.
such questions as, Is this program or uations require the collection and anal- Some educators refer to these
activity achieving its intended results? Is y is of the five critical levels of informa- measures of participants' reactions as
it better than what was done in the tion hown in Figure 1 (Guskey, 2000a). "happiness quotients," in isting that
past? Is it berrer than another, With e::ach succeeding level, d1e process they reveal only the entertainment value
competing activity? ls it worth the of gathering evaluation information gets of an activity, not its quality or worth.
costs? a bit more complex. And because each But measuring participants' initial satis-
Some educators under tand the level builds on those that come before, faction with the experience can help
importance of evaluation for event- success at one level is usually necessary you improve the design and delivery of
driven professional development activi- for success at higher level . programs or activities in valid way .
tie , such as workshops and seminars,
but forget the wide nmge of less formal, Levell: Participa11ts' Reactions Level2: Participmzts' Leanling
ongoing, jo~mbedded professional The first level of evaluation looks at In addition to liking their professional
development activities-study groups, participants' reaction tO the profes- development experience, we also hope
action research, collaborative pL'Ullli.ng, sional development experience. This is d1at participants Jeam somedling from
curriculum development, tructured the most common form of professional it. Level 2 focuses on measuring d1e
observations, peer coaching, mentoring, development evaluations, and the knowledge and skills that participants
and o on. But regardless of its fom1, easiest type of information to gather and gained. Depending on the goals of the
professional development should be a a nalyze. program or activity, this can involve
purposeful endeavor. Through evalua- At Level l , you address questions anything from a pencil-and-paper assess-
tion, you can detennine whether these focusing on whether or not participants ment (Can participants describe the
activities are achieving their purposes. liked d1e experience. Did they feel their crucial attributes of mastery learning
Level 3: Orga11izalio11
Support arzd Cha11ge
At Level 3, the focus shifts to the
organization. Lack of organiza-
tion suppo rt and c hange can
sabotage any professional devel-
opment e ffon , even w hen all the
individual aspects of professional
development are done right.
Suppose, for example, that
everal ecoodary school educa-
tors participate in a professional
development program on coop-
er.ttive teaming. They gain a
thorough understanding of the
theory and develop a variety of class- That's w hy professional develo pment Level 4: Participa11ts' Use of
room activities based o n cooperative evaluations must include information on New Kttowledge and SkiUs
teaming principles. Following their organization support and c hange. At Level 4 we a.sk, Did the new knowl-
training, they try ro in1plement these At Level 3, you need to focus on edge and skills that participants learned
activities in schools w he re students are questions about the organization char.tc- make a difference in their professional
graded "on the c urve" -according to te ristics and attributes necessary for practice? The key to gathering relevant
t11eir relative standing among class- su ccess. Did the professional develop- information at this level rests in speci-
mates-and great importance is ment activities promote changes mat fying c.lear indicators of both the degree
attached to selecting the class valedicto- were aligned with the mission of the and the quality of implementation.
rian. Organi7..ation policies an d practices school and district? Were changes at the Unlike Levels 1 and 2 , this information
such as these make learning highly individual level encouraged and cannot be gathered at the end of a
competitive and w ill t11wart the most supported aL all levels? Were sufficient professional development se sio n.
valiant efforts to have students coop- resources made available, including Enough time must pass to allow partici-
erate and help one anothe r learn time for sharing and reflection? We re pa nts to adapt the new ideas and prac-
(Guskey, 2000b). successes recognized and share d? Issues tices tO their ettings. Because imple-
Evaluation Level What Questions Are Addressed? How Will Information What Is Measured or
Be Gathered? Assessed?
1. Participants' Did they like it? Questionnaires administered at the end Initial satisfaction with the
Reactions Was their time well spent? of the session experience
Did the material make sense?
Will it be useful?
Was the leader knowledgeable and
helpful?
Were the refreshments fresh and tasty?
Was the room the right temperature?
Were the chairs comfortable?
2. Participants' Did participants acquire the intended Paper-and-pencil instruments New knowledge and skills of
Learning knowledge and skills? Simulations participants
Demonstrations
Participant reflections
(oral and/or written)
Participant portfolios
3. Organization Was implementation advocated, District and school records The organization's advocacy,
Support & facilitated, and supported? M1nutes from follow-up meetings support, accommodation,
Change Was the support public and overt? Questionnaires facilitation, and recognition
Were problems addressed quickly and Structured interviews with participants
efficiently? and district or school administrators
Were sufficient resources made available? Participant portfolios
Were successes recognized and shared?
What was the impact on the organization?
Did it affect the organization's climate
and procedures?
4. Participants' Did participants effectively apply the new Questionnaires Degree and quality
Use of New knowledge and skills? Structured interviews with participants of implementation
Knowledge and their supervisors
and Skills Participant reflections
(oral and/or written)
Participant portfolios
Direct observations
Video or audio tapes
5. Student What was the impact on students? Student records Student learning outcomes:
Learning Did it affect student performance School records Cognitive (Performance &
t'
Outcomes or achievement? Questionnaires Achievement)
~
.. Did it influence students' physical Structured interviews with students, Affective (Attitudes &
! or emotional well-being?
Are students more confident as learners?
parents, teachers, and/or
administrators
Dispositions)
Psychomotor (Skills &
~
0 Is student attendance improving? Participant portfolios Behaviors)
~ Are dropouts decreasing?
~
u