This handbook provides all those teaching in higher and further education with a reference on how to develop and use a "toolkit" which is capable of exploring and assessing all the relevant aspects of their students' learning. It discusses how readers can assess their own teaching quality.

Dr. Judith George is Deputy Director of The Open University in Scotland.

Introduction	p. 1
Approaching Curriculum Development Systematically	p. 6
Where does formative evaluation fit in?	p. 6
Why is it an iterative process?	p. 8
What approaches to evaluation are there?	p. 10
What kind of information do you need from formative evaluation?	p. 11
What, then, should your formative evaluation cover?	p. 13
How will you deal with the outcomes, and plan action?	p. 14
Don't neglect the students!	p. 15
The relationship between formative and summative evaluations	p. 16
Educational enquiries - a case study describing modes of enquiry	p. 18
Choosing A Method of Formative Evaluation - and Using It	p. 24
What do you want to know?	p. 24
The purpose should determine the method	p. 25
The potential to bring about change is an important consideration	p. 27
Multiple perspectives can enhance evaluation, and its usefulness	p. 27
Beware your own assumptions	p. 29
Consider resourcing carefully - especially in terms of human resource	p. 29
Is the evaluation likely to convince those who receive it?	p. 30
The process	p. 31
Our grouping of methods	p. 34
Obtaining Information about the Immediate Learning Experience	p. 37
Our descriptions	p. 37
Possible gender differences	p. 37
Self-confidence surveys	p. 38
Dynamic lists of questions - studying learning during an event	p. 39
Observations - a method which depends on the assistance of a colleague	p. 40
Critical incident technique	p. 43
Talk-aloud protocols	p. 44
Journals, diaries and logs - which we regard as different	p. 47
Self-review	p. 53
Collecting comments from groups	p. 54
Obtaining Information about Immediate Reactions During the Learning Experience	p. 57
Identifying students' constructs in relation to their learning	p. 57
Interpersonal process recall	p. 60
Journals - again!	p. 63
Obtaining Information about Learning Outcomes	p. 65
Concept mapping	p. 65
Pre-testing and post-testing	p. 68
Analysis of exam answers	p. 69
RSQC2	p. 70
Obtaining Information about Student Reactions After the Experience	p. 72
Questionnaires	p. 72
Interviews	p. 80
Delphi techniques	p. 83
A letter to next year's students	p. 84
A closing 'wash-up' session - perhaps with a preparatory session	p. 86
'Not quite' rounds	p. 87
Collecting Post-its	p. 88
Focus groups	p. 89
Stop/start/continue	p. 90
Identifying Topics that Merit Further Evaluative Enquiry	p. 93
Nominal group technique	p. 93
Q-methodology	p. 94
Other methods that can point to further enquiry	p. 95
Formative Evaluation of Assessment	p. 98
Why include assessment here, anyway?	p. 98
The need for improvement - and hence for evaluation	p. 99
How can these factors be evaluated?	p. 100
Action Research and Its Impact on Student Learning	p. 110
Reminder sheets for colleagues who assist you	p. 115
References	p. 124
Further reading	p. 129
Index	p. 131
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