Projects

What is this study about? 

The purpose of this study is to evaluate an innovative model of teaching and learning through evaluation courses at the University of Alberta. These evaluation courses (including but not limited UEval, SPH 504, SPH 563, SPH 631, MACE 552, MACE 597, MACE 496, EXSPH 2207) are based on co-created curriculum, experiential blended learning, and mutually beneficial co-learning between university and community. Studying this model will enhance teaching practices and learning in evaluation. Specifically, we will: i) explore the teaching and learning experiences of students and the instructional team (i.e., course instructors, facilitators, teaching assistant); ii) determine the impact of the courses on individual- and organizational-level evaluation capacity; and iii) mobilize learnings from this course to inform course and program development, and to contribute to literature on teaching of evaluation.

 

Why is this study important? 

Self-regulated learning, a multidimensional process in which learners manage their learning in pursuit of goals, is increasingly identified as an essential educational outcome needed to prepare learners to address global crises (e.g., climate change, social inequalities). With teachers being called on to foster self-regulated learners internationally, research is needed to inform pedagogical approaches that support self-regulated learning. Formative assessment, which includes practices that inform teacher instruction and student learning (e.g., strategic questioning, observation, feedback, peer and self-assessment), has been identified as a particularly promising pedagogy for supporting self-regulated learning.  

 

However, how formative assessment can facilitate self-regulated learning is understudied in elementary education, a crucial stage for students’ development of self-regulated learning skills. Additionally, since assessment and learning are understood differently across cultures, cross-cultural perspectives are needed to support approaches that are effective across education contexts. This research will culminate in a novel theory of the relationship between formative assessment and self-regulated learning in elementary education, informed by survey, interview, and classroom observation data collected in Canada and China to advance self-regulated learning across cultures.

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This research is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

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