Teacher Evaluator Training & Certification: Lessons Learned From the Measures of Effective Teaching Project

Makes recommendations for the design and implementation of programs to train and certify principals in conducting teacher evaluations, including content, format, and length of training, scoring practice, and criteria for certification tests

Don't Just Judge the Spelling! The Influence of Spelling on Assessing Second-Language Student Essays

When judging subject-specific aspects of students’ texts, teachers should assess various characteristics, e.g., spelling and content, independently of one another since these characteristics are indicators of different skills. Independent judgments enable teachers to adapt their classroom instruction according to students’ skills. It is still unclear how well teachers meet this challenge and which intervention could be helpful to them. In Study 1, N = 51 pre-service teachers assessed four authentic English as a Second Language (ESL) essays with different overall text qualities and different qualities of spelling using holistic and analytic rating scales. Results showed a negative influence of the experimentally manipulated spelling errors on the judgment of almost all textual characteristics. In Study 2, an experimental prompt was used to reduce this judgment error. Participants who were made aware of the judgment error caused by spelling errors formed their judgments in a less biased way, indicating a reduction of bias. The determinants of the observed effects and their practical implications are discussed

PENGEMBANGAN MATERI ONLINE PADA MATA DIKLAT ANALISIS DAN PEMANFAATAN DATA DI PUSDIKLAT BKKBN

Abstrak: Penelltlan ini merupakan penelitian pengembangan (R&D). Penelltlan ini bertujuan mengembangkan materi online mata diklat Analisis dan Pemanfaatan Data KKBPK di Pusdiklat BKKBN. Penelitian dilaksanakan di BKKBN Pusat dengan sasaran peserta Diklat Teknis Operasionalisasi Kampung KB. Metode penelitian mengacu pada model pengembangan Allan Jolliffe. Hasil pengembangan materi online mata diklat analisis dan pemanfaatan data dapat diakses pada URL http://www.annangguru.com/elearning. Pengembangan materi online menggunakan Software aplikasi moodle dengan model moove. Prosedur pengembangan produk dilakukan sesuai acuan model pengembangan Allan Jolliffe. Proses review bertahap dilakukan pada para ahli yaitu kepada ahli materi, ahli media, dan ahli desain instruksional. Kepada sasaran penelitian dilakukan uji satu-satu, uji kelompok kecil, dan uji lapangan. Evaluasi dilakukan hingga tahap evaluasi sumatif dengan penghitungan N-Gain Score. Hasil evaluasi sumatif menyatakan bahwa Materi Online Mata Diklat Analisis dan Pemanfaatan Data KKBPK efektif meningkatkan hasil belajar peserta pelatihan di Pusdiklat BKKBN. Kata Kunci: Web-Based Course, Studi Pengembangan, Materi Onlin

Afterschool Matters Spring 2018

Welcome from the Managing Editor of Afterschool Matters, Spring 2018 Wellesley College, home of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, has a significant connection to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, site of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. 1 page. By Georgia Hall Critical Friendship: Helping Youth Lift as They Climb Together By Tanya G. Wiggins Critical friendships can help youth build their own social capital and counteract negative messages from society and peers. 9 pages. Youth-Led Participatory Action Research: Promoting Youth Voice and Adult Support in Afterschool Programs By Yolanda Anyon, Heather Kennedy, Rebecca Durbahn, and Jeffrey M. Jenson Participatory action research with a social justice emphasis can help keep middle school students engaged in afterschool. 9 pages. Seed Balls and the Circle of Courage: A Decolonization Model of Youth Development in an Environmental Stewardship Program By A. R. S. Wenger-Schulman and Lauren Hoffman Drawing on child-centered pedagogy from Native American traditions, facilitators help young New Yorkers take responsibility for the local ecology. 6 pages. Positive Change Through a Credential Process By Tinnycua Williams Being forced to earn a school-age care credential was an unexpected boon for this afterschool program director. 3 pages. Measuring Program Quality, Part 2: Addressing Potential Cultural Bias in a Rater Reliability Exam By Amanda Richer, Linda Charmaraman, and Ineke Ceder Like assessments of youth outcomes, the instruments used to assess program quality need to be as free from bias as possible. 9 pages. Beyond “Research Into Practice” By Diane Gruber Review of Creating Research-Practice Partnerships in Education by Penuel & Gallagher. 2 pageshttps://repository.wellesley.edu/afterschoolmatters/1036/thumbnail.jp

The Effectiveness Of Homeland Security Training For Rural Communities: A Comparative Analysis Of Web-Based And Instructor-Led Training Delivery

The development of advanced training technologies such as Web Based Training (WBT), coupled with the proliferation of computer and Internet availability, has increased training opportunities for rural communities. This advancement is critical to meeting the training needs of emergency response personnel in rural communities who routinely face the challenge of providing continuous services to their community with limited resources. Despite the perceived convenience of WBT for emergency responders, little research has been conducted in homeland security on the knowledge acquisition of those who are trained using an electronic medium as compared to those in a traditional, Instructor-Led Training (ILT) delivery. For purposes of this study, data from two U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) courses (each offering both a WBT and ILT version) were analyzed. Through the participant data from these nationally delivered awareness and management level courses, a comparative analysis was conducted to determine if significant differences existed between the delivery modalities. Results indicate that while ILT provided greater learner outcomes on course examinations, each modality was effective in increasing both gain scores and producing satisfactory scores on the course posttest. The findings can be used to further plan and develop strategies for training this nation\u27s rural responders, especially in light of budget and human resource deficits

A Summative Program Evaluation of Online and Hybrid Military Professional Development Courses

Instructors at a U.S. Military School transitioned traditional courses used for professional development (PD) of military and civilian personnel to fully online and hybrid formats that combine online and face-to-face instruction. No evaluation of student satisfaction or instructor experiences during the transition has been conducted. The purpose of this sequential mixed methods summative program evaluation was to evaluate hybrid and online delivery of 2 PD courses by analyzing student satisfaction data and instructor experiences. This study was grounded in Knowles, Holton, and Swanson\u27s adult learning theory and Anderson\u27s and Salmon\u27s online learning theories. Data from 96 course evaluations from students who completed traditional, online, and hybrid versions of the PD courses, and interviews with 4 instructors who taught the courses were analyzed. Kruskal-Wallis analyses of variance tests were used to examine student satisfaction ratings for significant differences. Student satisfaction narrative and instructor interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis and axial coding to find themes. There were no significant differences in student satisfaction ratings among course delivery methods. The courses were not relevant to jobs, contained little interaction, and identified technology challenges as common themes in the student comments and the instructor interviews. Based on the findings of this study, an evaluation report was drafted with recommendations to incorporate job-related activities, interactive teaching strategies, and technology orientation sessions for future course transitions. This endeavor may contribute to positive social change by informing military officials and faculty to guide future course transitions from traditional to online and hybrid delivery