Evaluating learning designs: A strategy to create engagement with teachers

We know how to design meaningful learning experiences for our students; this knowledge is as old as formal education. For a very long time, we also have had an increasing range of excellent tools that are constantly improving. So why do our institutional web logs show remarkable little engagement with active and interactive learning designs? The answer to this question is complex, and this presentation will only focus on a partial solution. But all avenues to improve our teachers´ engagement with the opportunities for enhancing student learning should be pursued. The argument I will present is that, to date, we have not produced sufficient rigorous evaluation data that focuses on improved student learning. We do not have adequately persuasive evidence to offer our colleagues that will move the majority of teachers into seriously reflecting on the learning designs they use and how best to implement them. I will describe evaluation in all its facets and present a framework that links evaluation into the scholarship of teaching and learning. The need for a formal evaluation-research plan will be explored. There is a vast amount of data that can be used, and this needs to be logically and systematically linked to the evaluation-research questions that are of particular interest in any context. Reference will be made to the book: Phillips, R. A., McNaught, C., & Kennedy, G. E. (2011). Evaluating e-learning: Guiding research and practice. New York & London: Routledge. The example of a radical change in design of a very large first-year chemistry course will be used to illustrate how evidence for better student engagement, improved learning outcomes and even a reduced teacher workload can be obtained and used for dissemination to other teachers in the discipline area.