Evidence for Learning works with organisations to map their improvement frameworks to the Teaching & Learning Toolkit (the Toolkit).
The LearnFast programs are neuroscience research-based tools for educators to address learning and literacy challenges in Australian and New Zealand schools. They are built from neuroscience research about how students’ brains learn.
Assessing Evidence of Effectiveness
Evidence for Learning has developed the Impact Evaluation Cycle, part of our vision of a building a thriving Evidence Ecosystem. The Impact Evaluation Cycle has phases as outlined in Figure 1 and Table 1. Within these phases there are important questions that educators can ask themselves to lead research within their classrooms and schools.
Figure 1: The Impact Evaluation Cycle
Table 1: Phases of the Impact Evaluation Cycle
| Phase of the Impact Evaluation Cycle | Questions to ask to inform research |
|
What is the school level data saying? What are the underlying needs and conditions that must be addressed? What are the goals and objectives that will address the needs and change the underlying conditions? |
|
| Which evidence-based models and best practice approaches can be used to reach the goals? | |
|
Adoption and Adaption |
What actions need to be taken so the selected approach is helpful for the context? What is the plan for implementation? |
|
Act, Evaluate, Adjust |
Is the program being implemented? What is the performance data – with a focus on the targets, trajectories and longitudinal – saying? How is the dosage, the fidelity, quality of delivery and acceptability? What are the immediate changes we can make to improve the implementation? |
|
Embed or Omit |
Based on the evidence of the outcome evaluation, do you decide to embed or omit? How will the approach be sustained? |
Adapted from Research to practice – implementation in education featured in ACER Teacher magazine, drawing from the Summary of key findings of a scoping review of Implementation in Education.
Themes within the Educating with Neuroscience Conferences
Within the Awareness and Analysis phase, educators are scanning their environment and looking for reliable sources of evidence. The Teaching & Learning Toolkit is a reliable evidence base for the key themes that will be covered during the Educating with Neuroscience 2017 Conferences.
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Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking: How these four elements of language are linked in the brain. What to do when a deficit in one affects the performance of the others. |
|
Stress, Poverty & Learning: The impact of poverty, stress and social disadvantage on the developing brain. |
The complete Teaching & Learning Toolkit can be accessed here.
How do Leading educators make decisions?
The Educator Evidence-Based Decisions Survey by LearnFast Group is asking for participation to help towards building the evidence based about how educators in Australia and New Zealand make decisions when considering an education program or intervention. Complete the four minute survey and include your email to receive the aggregated results.
