Explains how to better evaluate professional development in order to ensure that it increases student learning, providing questions for accurate measurement of professional development and showing how to demonstrate results and accountability.

How can Academic Developers provide evidence of the effectiveness and ‘added value’ of their work to the key stakeholders within their institutions? Written for Academic Developers, academic administrators and others responsible for promoting organizational change, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Academic Development is a professional guide that shares best practice advice and provides developers with useful frameworks for effective evaluation and monitoring of their work. Through case studies and up-to-date examples from experts in the field, this collection explores the nuances of evaluative practice and the tensions inherent in claiming a causal link between academic development and organizational transformation. As higher education institutions continue to seek effective ways to determine the impact of academic development on organizational transformation in general and student learning in particular, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Academic Development is sure to be an invaluable resource.

A comprehensive and research-based text detailing the important relationship between school administration and human resources administration. "The author provides [students] with specific strategies for navigating the treacherous waters of personnel selection, development, retention, and removal. I wish I had the book when I began my work as Director of Personnel." —Zach Kelehear University of South Carolina Human Resources Administration for Educational Leaders balances theory and pedagogy to demonstrate the historical evolution of the human resources function in education, the link between human resources and organizational effectiveness, and the new trends in human resources accountability. Key Features and Benefits: Provides students with samples of the tools that practicing HR administrators use for planning, recruiting, interviewing, selecting, evaluating, compensating, and developing staff personnel Dedicates separate chapters to areas often neglected in other texts: collective bargaining, human resources responsibility for classified personnel, accountability, and organizational climate and the human resources function Features engaging simulations in the form of case studies and critical questions to help students apply the concepts to practice Accompanied by High-Quality Ancillaries Instructors′ Resources on CD-ROM includes a test bank, sample syllabi, PowerPoint slide presentations, and more.

This text puts forward the argument that higher education must develop better and more consistent practices with regards to the evaluation of training and development. Most evaluations are valueless unless they start by clarifying the puropse they are intended to serve, and this usually means clarifying whose puropses are being served. This text provides a guide to best practices and uses examples and case studies from both the UK and abroad to show the benefits that can be gained from using evaluation effectively.

Colleges and universities across the US have created special initiatives to promote faculty development, but to date there has been little research to determine whether such programs have an impact on students' learning. Faculty Development and Student Learning reports the results of a multi-year study undertaken by faculty at Carleton College and Washington State University to assess how students' learning is affected by faculty members' efforts to become better teachers. Extending recent research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to assessment of faculty development and its effectiveness, the authors show that faculty participation in professional development activities positively affects classroom pedagogy, student learning, and the overall culture of teaching and learning in a college or university.

Educational Psychology Series: Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome) focuses on the approaches, methodologies, and techniques employed in the valuation of the quality of learning. The publication first offers information on the quality and quantity of learning and origin and description of the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. Discussions focus on general intellectual development and the growth of quality; some assumptions and applications of stage theory; from developmental stage to levels of learning quality; and general intellectual development and the growth of quality. The text then examines the teaching of history, elementary mathematics, English, and geography. Topics include interpreting a map and drawing conclusions, explaining a natural phenomenon, appreciation of poetry, implications for the teaching of history, English, and mathematics, numbers and operations, and general application of SOLO to history. The manuscript takes a look at modern languages, place of the taxonomy in instructional design, and some methodological considerations. Concerns include alternative formats for obtaining SOLO responses, instructional processes, curriculum analysis, remediation, and teacher intentions. The publication is a vital source of data for educators interested in the SOLO taxonomy.

The National Science Education Standards set broad content goals for teaching grades K-12. For science teaching programs to achieve these goalsâ€"indeed, for science teaching to be most effectiveâ€"teachers and students need textbooks, lab kits, videos, and other materials that are clear, accurate, and help students achieve the goals set by the standards. Selecting Instructional Materials provides a rigorously field-tested procedure to help education decisionmakers evaluate and choose materials for the science classroom. The recommended procedure is unique, adaptable to local needs, and realistic given the time and money limitations typical to school districts. This volume includes a guide outlining the entire process for school district facilitators, and provides review instruments for each step. It critically reviews the current selection process for science teaching materialsâ€"in the 20 states where the state board of education sets forth a recommended list and in the 30 states where materials are selected entirely by local decisionmakers. Selecting Instructional Materials explores how purchasing decisions are influenced by parent attitudes, political considerations, and the marketing skills of those who produce and sell science teaching materials. It will be indispensable to state and local education decisionmakers, science program administrators and teachers, and science education advocates.