Forge a Link Between Adult and Student Learning

Forge a link between adult and student learning

By Joellen Killion

Results, November 1999

Linking staff development and student achievement has challenged evaluators for years. Those who think the link between student achievement and staff development is too distant to make any conclusions about how staff development affects student achievement often opt for evaluations that are easier to implement. These forms rarely answer the questions policy makers and funders have.

The Theory of Change evaluation model is a systematic and cumulative examination of the activities, results, and context in which change happens. Innovators are required to construct a plausible, doable, and testable chain of events that make up the initiative. Constructing this sequence helps in implementation as well as evaluation. When the chain of events is identified before implementation, stakeholders have a big picture, participants and contributors agree on their roles and their involvement, the timeline is clear, and each group is able to work from explicit assumptions. Above is one example of a Theory of Change model for a staff development initiative.

With the Theory of Change in place, evaluators can use familiar evaluation methods to collect evidence and document what occurs at each step in the chain. For example, at Step 1, evaluators identify how many teachers attended the workshop. At Step 3, evaluators collect evidence of resources that were acquired or made available to teachers. At Step 6, evaluators document how many coaching sessions have occurred, topics discussed, and teacher reaction to the value of the coaching sessions. With such evidence, staff developers can build a more plausible argument for staff development’s impact on student achievement.

If a staff development program fails to increase student achievement, it’s important to know the answers to these questions:

1. Was the program successful in another school or district? What evidence of its success in similar situations exists?

2. Did teachers implement the program accurately?

3. Were the necessary program resources available to teachers?

4. Did teachers receive adequate coaching and support throughout the transition?

5. Did other changes occur in the school?

6. Are students learning as a result of changes in teacher behaviors and knowledge?

Collecting evidence at each step creates a comprehensive picture and enables evaluators to examine the impact of each step as well as the whole initiative. Program directors can monitor what occurs at each step and intervene more quickly if one step of the process lags behind in the results it hopes to achieve.

Theory of Change holds promise for evaluators who want to establish the link between staff development and student achievement. Filling in the gap between the staff development experience and the resulting student achievement will help evaluators more logically and conclusively link adult learning and student learning.

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