A
good educator knows when it is time to speak, and when it is time to
listen. As we recognise that education is much more than just
transmission of data, we recognise that educators have a
responsibility to design a system of learning which includes regular
feedback and evaluation systems which improve that design. Through
feedback
we seeking meaningful data of student learning on which to form
judgements and through evaluation
we plan and make strategic decisions on the basis of that data.
These are fundamentally questions of educational design
not administrative policy.
If
there is one core theme of this manual it is the importance of moving
beyond the strictures of compliance, audits and institutional review,
to instead look at evolving good practice by which an educator is
tapped into the learning environment, makes connections with learners
and shapes their practice accordingly. Academics are all skilled
researchers and it is through our feedback and evaluation procedures
that we turn that critical lens on our teaching practice to best
enable learning.
Welcome to the online version of the Learning Evaluation Manual, which provides a menu of different options for gaining quality feedback on learning and teaching. It is published under a creative commons licence. While it has been written as a practical manual for my home university, I am developing a more extensive version for publication to a broader audience, including more academic discussion.
Scott
