Evaluation

Overview

As organizations struggle to find the most powerful uses for new technologies in education, there is a pressing need for research that can guide effective program design and project implementation. ILT’s Research and Evaluation team supports and extends the institute’s mission of developing, testing, and implementing new pedagogical approaches to transforming education in both K-12 and higher education, and in both site-based and online environments.

Dr. Susan Lowes, Director of Research and Evaluation, has many years of hands-on experience implementing and evaluating educational projects, from large-scale multi-site implementations whose goal is systemic change to smaller scale curriculum projects that integrate technology in new or interesting ways.

We have worked with public schools, universities, and community-based not-for-profits, in formal and informal educational settings. Our evaluation work has been funded through grants from the National Science Foundation (including ITEST, GK12, IGERT, CCLI, REU, BPC), the U.S. Department of Education (including PT-3, FIPSE, AEMDD, 21stCCLC, TICG) , the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Geographic Education Foundation, the New York City Department of Education, the New Jersey Dept. of Education, the International Baccalaureate Organization, and various private foundations.

In recent years, an increasing number of our projects have involved online learning. We have evaluated online professional development courses for teachers and principals; curriculum modules delivered online to K-12 students, as well as to teachers, doctors, and nurses; and full-semester courses delivered to K-12 students attending virtual schools.

We believe that evaluations should be participatory and developed in partnership with each project’s leaders. We work collaboratively with administrators, teachers, program staff, and other stakeholders to define clear objectives and to choose appropriate research methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative) to evaluate their success. As evaluators, we monitor progress, provide ongoing support, analyze planned and unplanned outcomes, offer recommendations for improvement and modification, and summarize results. As researchers, we are particularly interesting in understanding the complex ways in which technology can strengthen teaching and learning.

Contact Info:

Dr. Susan Lowes
Director, Research and Evaluation
Phone: (212) 678-8198
E-mail: lowes.tc.edu