Pathfinder start-up (part 3)
by Derek Morrison, 9 November 2006
As promised in Part 2 (19 October 2006) this posting will explore how we intend to approach evaluation and dissemination in the pilot phase of the Pathfinder Programme; there are some interesting, and possibly unique, aspects to how we propose to do this.
Readers should note that there is a complementary posting called the Evaluation and Dissemination Support Team on this topic to be found in the Academy’s Benchmarking of e-Learning weblog.
So let’s now start teasing out how we intend to approach evaluation and dissemination in the Pathfinder Programme.
First up, we are starting from the principle that the desired outcome of evaluation and dissemination inputs needs to be the enhancement of the capacity of the Pathfinder projects to evaluate themselves, as well as to enable them to disseminate their experiences and project deliverables and outcomes as effectively as possible. That’s a rather subtle, but at the same time singificantly different, approach from the Academy or JISC evaluating the projects per se. So let’s hold that ‘capacity enhancement’ thought bubble (let’s call it a node) for a moment. Now imagine two branches emerging from that node. One branch is labelled ‘evidenced by’ and the other is labelled ’supported by’. Those two branches now provide me with a conceptual launch pad for using the illustrations below to support the rest of my explanation.
Let’s focus on the ‘evidenced by’ branch for a moment. The illustration below will perhaps make this clearer.
To view a high resolution version of the above screenshot click your right mouse button and then View Image or select the menu item that allows you to save it to your own computer for local viewing.
What I hope the above illustrates is an outcome oriented view; outcomes, however, which belong to the institutions taking part in the Pathfinder programme and which make it easy for institutions to point to their evidence. Of particular note is the node ‘Projects Internal Evaluation Inputs and Support’. I’ve placed this in the ‘evidenced by’ and not the ’supported by’ branch for two reasons. Firstly, if a Pathfinder project is demonstrating a willingness to set up the processes and involve their own local evaluation personnel that’s evidence of capacity building. Secondly, I wanted to differentiate such inputs at local project level from the programme level inputs of the ‘Supported by’ branch.
Turning now to said ’supported by’ branch for a moment. The illustration below shows an overview of our thinking here.
To view a high resolution version of the above screenshot click your right mouse button and then View Image or select the menu item that allows you to save it to your own computer for local viewing.
The key features I want to attract the reader’s attention to in the above include:
- The presence of an Evaluation and Dissemination Support Team which I’ve now given the cringingly awful, but hopefully memorable, acronym, EDSuT. Note, it’s not the Evaluation and Dissemination Team, because, with our capacity enhancement focus, it’s about supporting the institutions in their evaluations and their disseminations. The EDSuT team is led by Professor Terry Mayes who will be supported by the Glenaffric e-learning consultancy, although the latter’s main focus will be the ongoing Benchmarking of e-Learning Exercise. As well as leading the EDSuT team it should be noted that Terry is ‘embedded’ within the Pathfinder Programme in that he is a resource available to all the Pathfinder institutions to advise and comment on their evaluation and dissemination proposals, provision and activities. Terry will also help to identify programme level support requirements and any potential synergies between Pathfinder projects or other e-learning initiatives and, or, resources. It’s this ‘embeddedness’ we view as a critical programme level element towards achieving our aim of enhancing capacity for evaluation and dissemination rather than evaluation or dissemination being something which is perceived as being ‘done’ to the Pathfinder institutions.
- The ‘Learn from node …’ intimates that Pathfinder projects should be aware of, and learn from, the work of others. Such awareness, and, when relevant, engagement with, other initiatives and utilisation of other resources should be seen as synergistic, i.e. it offers the possibility of ‘contributing to’ as well as being ’supported by’.
- The Evaluation and Dissemination Framework node introduces the ‘lite’ version of a framework which has the aim of providing a common conceptual scaffold for all of the Pathfinder institutions to think about (and share information about) the foci of their evaluations and disseminations. The proposed framework is shown following this list.
- The ‘interviews’ node is based on a simple two stage audio interview format. A member of Academy staff will record an interview with one or more members of a Pathfinder project team with the interview being made available for download or podcast from this weblog shortly afterwards.The first interview takes place in the early stages of the Pathfinder project and the second occurs near the end. I suppose this one could also have gone into the ‘evidenced by’ branch as it is also a dissemination activity on the part of the institution.
To view a high resolution version of the above screenshot click your right mouse button and then View Image or select the menu item that allows you to save it to your own computer for local viewing.
For lovers of visual complexity, in the illustration below, I offer the combined ‘evidenced by’ and ’supported by’ branches with this screenshot showing some of the potential inter-relationships between the two not shown earlier.
To view a high resolution version of the above screenshot click your right mouse button and then View Image or select the menu item that allows you to save it to your own computer for local viewing.
And that’s about it. The good ship Pathfinder is now underway and I’m sure there will be all sort of channels to explore, unexpected diversions, and navigational errors and other problems to overcome along the way … but that’s what makes pathfinding so difficult, dangerous (well only sort of), and exciting … sometimes all at the same time. 