Making a difference:

evaluating the impact of

your work

Vivienne PorrittExecutive Director

London Centre for Leadership in LearningInstitute of Education

v.porritt@ioe.ac.uk

www.lcll.org.uk

Aims

To support you in developing

and refining your approach to

evaluating the impact of your

work

• Designing for impact – clarity of purpose

• Achieving impact - approaches

• Evaluating impact – applying the

approach and evidence

Key

questions…

• Why should we evaluate impact – what is its purpose?

• What is impact evaluation?

• For whom do you want to make a difference?

• What kind of a difference?

• By when will the difference be seen?

• Does it make a positive difference?

• How much of a difference?

• How do we know – nature of evidence?

• How can we evaluate impact simply and practically?© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Why should we work on impact evaluation?

For whom do you want to make a difference?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Designing

impact

By when do you want

to make a difference?

• short term?

• medium term?

• long term?

• practical implications of timescale?© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Establish learning objectives and

outcomes at the planning stage

“ Good evaluation does not need to be complex; what is necessary is good planning and paying attention to evaluation at the outset of the professional development program, not at the end ”

Guskey, 2002

Guskey’s

levels

initial reactions

professional learning

organization support and change

pupil learning

outcomes

use of new

knowledge and skills

From what ………. to what?

© Copyright LCLL, 2007

How will you

know?

• Baseline picture

• Current practice

• Information / data

• Type of measure

• Impact picture

• Changed practice

• Information / data

• Type of measure

• How much of a difference?

• Implications for return on

investment?

• To whom?

• By when?

Does it make a

positive difference?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

What evidence will

demonstrate the

difference

you have made?

Distinguish between

Evidence source

Evidence

Does it make a

positive difference?

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Evidence Evidence

source

A simple and

practical approach

Plan at the beginning

• For whom do you want to make a difference?

• What is the difference you want to make?

• By when?

• Establish a baseline picture and evidence and

data at the outset

• Establish the impact picture you want to achieve

and evidence and data at the outset

Then

• Evaluate the difference you have achieved© Copyright LCLL, 2008

© Copyright LCLL, 2008

Impact practice outset – date? For whom?

Adults? Pupils?

Evidence sources Evidence

Adults Pupils Adults Pupils

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Baseline practice outset - date? For whom?

Adults? Pupils?

Evidence sources Evidence

Adults Pupils Adults Pupils

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Your collaborative focus: School:

At the outset – to design actions needed

So

ft data

Ha

rd d

ata

Ha

rd d

ata

So

ft data