Friday, March 19, 2010

The Importance of Evaluation

Formative evaluation looks at determining the worth or merit of something that is devised or used throughout the process of designing instruction. This type of evaluation should be continuous as it is vital to receive feedback on products that will be used during instruction. If instruction is being developed for a particular group then the evaluation should be done using a similar sample group.

Summative evaluation is done at the end of developing the program, after it has been implemented. This evaluation looks at the worth of the finished product as a whole. Was it successful in helping learners achieve the goals and objectives?

Both types of evaluation provide essential information, referred to as feedback which is used to help further improve the instruction. For my model formative evaluation will be included throughout the design and development stages. I guess summative evaluation can be made by looking at the performance of goalkeepers during games. This will allow them to see what improvements are needed for the next training session.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Revamped Model

Ok so I have done a lot of thinking for my model this week, taking into account the comments from Gary and Gerry last week. So heres what I am thinking now.

Professional Context
Coaching Field Hockey, specifically goalkeepers. NCAA Field Hockey. I would like to focus specifically on the development of goalkeepers within the sport. As I am getting into coaching I realize there isn’t much in the way of guidelines on how to develop coaching sessions or curriculums.

I am wondering whether to focus the Goalkeeper Development Curriculum on High School level or Collegiate level....however, here what I got so far....

System- NCAA Collegiate institutions
Suprasystem - Field Hockey
Subsystems - Players and Coaches
Information Channels - Email and Blackboard
Subsystem Interface - Training Sessions

The Need
Need to develop a coaching curriculum for designing and developing goalkeeper’s performance. There is no current standard for developing a Field Hockey Goalkeeper’s curriculum in the Field Hockey team. New coaches coming into the program, who are unsure of how to develop a curriculum, will create a lack of constancy for the goalkeepers. By providing a standard they will be able to create and design a curriculum which will assess, analyze and develop all the needs of goalkeepers in field hockey. This will then be consistent with all goalkeepers and coaches ensuring that nothing is left out.

I will have to look a bit more in detail about specific current outcomes and the required outcomes.

Prioritize the Needs
What does it cost to meet the needs? -To meet the needs will require a lot of time from coaches. It will cost money to provide the right facilities and use the correct equipment. Time spend on developing goalkeepers is less time spent on developing players.

What does it cost to ignore the needs? - Without meeting these needs coaches may be missing out vital development areas with the goalkeepers. This can result in poor performance during games, goals being scored, games being lost and ultimately National Championships not being won.

Front End Analysis
Analyze Problems - Find out what is happening - goalkeepers are not performing at a high standard for all skill.
Identify the Causes - Find out why they are not performing - They are not receive the correct training.
Identify Solution - How to get them performing well - Develop a training program that includes everything.

Innovation of change
My model as an innovation for changing the development of Field Hockey Goalkeepers may or may not be difficult. It may take some convincing that the benefits are worthwhile. Once someone is set in their ways for coaching it may be very difficult to change what they have done for years. However, having the chance to design the teaching curriculum for field hockey goalkeeper gives me the opportunity to prove my case and try my model out.
To help implement the change the projected outcome should be brought to the attention of the coaching staff. They should be informed of all the changes going to be made and be aware of the process at all times.