A More Efficient Path to Learning Improvement: Using Repositories of Effectiveness Studies to Guide Evidence-Informed Programming
Faculty Advisor Name
Sara Finney, PhD
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
Description
Institutions of higher education are expected to gather and use outcomes data to improve student learning and development (Jankowski et al., 2018; U.S. Department of Education, 2006). It is hoped that learning improvement will be evidenced by employing an iterative process of building educational programming, implementing programming, assessing outcomes, and using results to make changes to programming (Fulcher et al., 2014). Changes to pedagogy, activities, or educational content are common strategies employed in the hope of creating more effective programming and in turn improving student learning and development (Jankowski et al., 2018).
We endorse this improvement science (Bryk et al., 2015; Lewis, 2015) approach promoted in higher education (Fulcher et al., 2014) but call for a process of improvement that begins with programming that should be effective based on research (Kerr et al., 2020; Pope et al., 2019; Pope et al., in press; Slavin, 2020; Smith & Finney, 2020; Wight et al., 2016). That is, answering “what works” involves two fundamental steps: 1) identifying proven effective evidence-informed strategies; and 2) assessing if the strategies are effective in the current setting (Bryk et al., 2015). But where do faculty and student affairs professionals find programming that should “work”—that should result in increased student learning and development?
The goal of the current paper is to simplify this daunting task for faculty and student affairs professionals. First, we describe the use of systematic review repositories (e.g., Campbell Collaboration, What Works Clearinghouse) to support the selection, implementation, and assessment of “should-be-effective” programming. Then, we share a resource we created that organizes relevant systematic review repositories and other collections of evidence of effectiveness, providing numerous examples of evidence-informed programming pertinent to higher education. In this resource, we present nine repositories of systematic reviews with approximately half-a-dozen to a dozen reviews for each repository as exemplars. In addition to the nine repositories of systematic reviews, we provide details for and exemplars from twelve different collections of evidence and resources that are not necessarily systematic review repositories but still important sources of evidence. We also offer three additional resources that may be useful to create evidence-informed programming when a systematic review is not available: collections of research on a topic, the pyramid of evidence, and the Wise Interventions database.
Implementing evidence-informed programming is ethical and should result in more efficient engagement in learning improvement efforts. Knowing where and how to find credible evidence regarding program effectiveness can empower faculty and student affairs professionals to make evidence-based programming decisions. Thus, we introduce systematic review repositories to counter the deluge of misinformation and encourage the use of evidence-informed programming.
A More Efficient Path to Learning Improvement: Using Repositories of Effectiveness Studies to Guide Evidence-Informed Programming
Institutions of higher education are expected to gather and use outcomes data to improve student learning and development (Jankowski et al., 2018; U.S. Department of Education, 2006). It is hoped that learning improvement will be evidenced by employing an iterative process of building educational programming, implementing programming, assessing outcomes, and using results to make changes to programming (Fulcher et al., 2014). Changes to pedagogy, activities, or educational content are common strategies employed in the hope of creating more effective programming and in turn improving student learning and development (Jankowski et al., 2018).
We endorse this improvement science (Bryk et al., 2015; Lewis, 2015) approach promoted in higher education (Fulcher et al., 2014) but call for a process of improvement that begins with programming that should be effective based on research (Kerr et al., 2020; Pope et al., 2019; Pope et al., in press; Slavin, 2020; Smith & Finney, 2020; Wight et al., 2016). That is, answering “what works” involves two fundamental steps: 1) identifying proven effective evidence-informed strategies; and 2) assessing if the strategies are effective in the current setting (Bryk et al., 2015). But where do faculty and student affairs professionals find programming that should “work”—that should result in increased student learning and development?
The goal of the current paper is to simplify this daunting task for faculty and student affairs professionals. First, we describe the use of systematic review repositories (e.g., Campbell Collaboration, What Works Clearinghouse) to support the selection, implementation, and assessment of “should-be-effective” programming. Then, we share a resource we created that organizes relevant systematic review repositories and other collections of evidence of effectiveness, providing numerous examples of evidence-informed programming pertinent to higher education. In this resource, we present nine repositories of systematic reviews with approximately half-a-dozen to a dozen reviews for each repository as exemplars. In addition to the nine repositories of systematic reviews, we provide details for and exemplars from twelve different collections of evidence and resources that are not necessarily systematic review repositories but still important sources of evidence. We also offer three additional resources that may be useful to create evidence-informed programming when a systematic review is not available: collections of research on a topic, the pyramid of evidence, and the Wise Interventions database.
Implementing evidence-informed programming is ethical and should result in more efficient engagement in learning improvement efforts. Knowing where and how to find credible evidence regarding program effectiveness can empower faculty and student affairs professionals to make evidence-based programming decisions. Thus, we introduce systematic review repositories to counter the deluge of misinformation and encourage the use of evidence-informed programming.
