Skip to main content

Abstract

Educational technology research and development nearly always involves an intervention of some kind aimed at solving a problem or improving a situation pertaining to learning and instruction. Those involved—the stakeholders—naturally want to know whether the problem was solved and/or the extent to which the situation was improved. Attributing any outcomes to the intervention is not as easy as it may appear, as many factors are typically involved, beyond just the technology involved. This chapter describes a holistic approach to educational technology project and program evaluation. The emphasis is on evaluating the entire process from needs assessment through design, development, deployment, and support with particular attention to evaluating every aspect of the process so as to increase the likelihood of successful technology integration. The use of a logic model to organize evaluation as well as research is described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aldrich, R. (Ed.). (2002). A century of education. London: Routledge/Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronback, L. J. (1989). Designing evaluations for educational and social programs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellsworth, J. B. (2000). Surviving change: A survey of educational change models. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse.

    Google Scholar 

  • GagnĂ©, R. M. (1985). The conditions of learning. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart &Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knox, H. (1971). A history of educational research in the United States. Washington, DC: National Institute of Education. Retrieved January 3, 2012, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED088800.pdf.

  • Langemann, E. C. (2000). An elusive science: The troubling history of education research. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louw, J. (1999). Improving practice through evaluation. In D. Donald, A. Dawes, & J. Louw (Eds.), Addressing childhood adversity (pp. 66–73). Cape Town: David Phillip.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Nagel, E. (1994). Introduction: Philosophy in educational research. In S. R. Sharma (Ed.), Encyclopedia of modern educational research (pp. 1–16). New Delhi: Anmol Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K. (1963). Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter, C. (2006). Program evaluation. In M. Terre Blance, K. Durrheim, & D. Painter (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (2nd ed., pp. 410–428). Cape Town: UCT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, V., & Woolcock, M. (2003). Integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches in program evaluation. In F. Bourguignon & L. Pereira da Silva (Eds.), The impact of economic policies on poverty and income distribution: Evaluation techniques and tools (pp. 165–190). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, A. J. (1998). Confirmatory program evaluation: A method for strengthening causal inference. American Journal of Evaluation, 19(2), 203–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, P., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2004). Evaluation: A systematic approach (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, T. L. (2001). The no significant difference phenomenon: A comparative research annotated bibliography on technology for distance education. Montgomery, AL: The International Distance Education Certification Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Scriven, M. (1960). The methodology of educational research. Review of Educational Research, 30(5), 422–429.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scriven, M. (1994). The fine line between evaluation and explanation. Evaluation Practice, 15, 75–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, J. M. (2010). Mental representations and their analysis: An epistemological perspective. In D. Ifenthaler, P. Pirnay-dummer, & N. M. Seel (Eds.), Computer-based diagnostics and systematic analysis of knowledge (pp. 17–40). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Spector, J. M. (2012). Foundations of educational technology: Integrative approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Suchman, E. A. (1967). Evaluation research: Principles and practice in public service and social action programs. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Suppes, P. (1978). Impact of research on education: Some case studies. Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Michael Spector .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Spector, J.M. (2014). Program and Project Evaluation. In: Spector, J., Merrill, M., Elen, J., Bishop, M. (eds) Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_16

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics