Evaluation for Change: A TDF Learning Community

All Teacher Development Fund (TDF) projects are designed with a considered approach to evaluation and reflective practice. As TDF evaluation support consultants, we are continually impressed by the creativity, curiosity, commitment and care with which teams approach their evaluation. The evaluation process, carefully woven through the two-year projects, creates meaningful opportunities for real-time change within live projects through action research, enquiry and reflection loops. We also know that the evidence and learning from projects can significantly influence school and arts partners’ future practice and strategies. And what is exciting, nine years into the Teacher Development Fund, is the depth of nuanced learning that is now taking shape and contributing to wider research and evaluation in arts-based professional development, arts pedagogies and equity in schools.

Each year, we see another cohort of TDF projects celebrate and share the learning from their two-year professional development project through their final evaluation reports. Decisions about what is pulled together in the final evaluation report or sometimes ​‘suite’ of evaluation materials are made by the project teams themselves — the message from the project inception is clear — the evaluation is not for the funder, it is led by and is produced for the project partners and their intended audiences. But always with a focus on teachers’ professional learning. In this post, we reflect on shared challenges and highlight emerging insights at each stage of the evaluation process.

Over the years, we have seen many variations of evaluation design, but the most successful programmes situate evaluation as an integral element within the programme design rather than a separate strand of activity. Where the evaluation is undertaken by an external partner, experience has demonstrated that a close dialogic relationship between project leads and the commissioned evaluator at all stages is crucial. When this relationship has been established, we have seen meaningful opportunities for change within live projects enhanced, and partners owning and sharing their learning beyond their projects. In Creative Evaluation: The art of reflection, colleagues from Trestle Theatre describe the close working relationship they had with evaluators from the University of Hertfordshire and the value of listening and responding effectively in the early stages of evaluation design.

Several projects have also chosen to design and deliver their evaluation in-house, led by someone from the arts organisation, school, or a small team from both. Some projects have valued this approach as a professional development opportunity — upskilling team members in enquiry-based evaluation. The use of a ​‘critical friend’ within the process to provide challenge and support is becoming increasingly popular. The combination of the cohort learning programme, two years of evaluation support, and encouragement to truly own the process has emboldened teams to approach evaluation differently. In The Art of Evaluation: In-House and In Partnership in Doncaster, colleagues from darts and Town Field Primary School reflect on the value of their shared approach to the evaluation process for themselves and their organisations.

All projects are asked to build their evaluation through an ​‘enquiry’ based approach. This begins with a deep dive into the project’s aims to consider assumptions and identify important nuances and themes connected to their particular project plans. Through this process, a set of enquiry questions is developed and agreed by project partners and evaluation plans are, at least in part, designed to respond to these questions.

Recent projects have found that getting the questions right is key to deeper learning. Although projects want to evidence impact on participants and schools, the enquiry questions encourage a stronger focus on learning how this has come about, enabling colleagues to extend their learning and build on what is already evidenced and known.

The projects are built on the understanding that reflective practice and action research are more than effective evaluation methods; they are also essential ingredients in meaningful professional development. Focused action research — supporting teachers to understand, evidence, own and share the impact that their changing practice has on children’s learning — is an essential part of their professional development (Developing Great Teaching, 2015). The link between their changing practice and the positive impact for their children is made explicit, and professionals are more likely to commit to embedding these approaches ongoing. Professional reflection is then woven throughout the programme, also providing one important element of data within the evaluation. Some projects carve out additional termly or half-termly sessions where teachers can focus in on their learning and the impact on their pupils to produce their own piece of research.

Projects have either planned or seized opportunities for lead teachers to share their research and practice internally within school or at conferences and events. Although often daunted by this, colleagues have reported that taking part in these activities has had a powerful impact on teachers’ and leaders’ learning. Sharing learning during the life of a project can drive a deep analysis of practice, or metacognition, that often leads to a significant shift in teachers’ confidence, motivation and ambition.

Many projects use creative approaches to encourage and capture teachers’ reflections. Drawing, modelling, dancing and collage-making have been found to be effective in capturing teachers’ authentic responses or enabling them to express their feelings about aspects of their professional development journey. They may be more challenging to analyse, but such approaches can allow for deep understanding. Our previous evaluation-focused newsletter (Spring 2024) shared some of these approaches.

While project teams are naturally keen to advocate for arts-based learning and to report positively on project outcomes from the outset, it’s important to draw a line between the purpose of evaluation and advocacy. Action research-based evaluation requires participants to openly share their experience of the process. Projects speak of the importance of having a culture of trust and care in order to create an environment where it’s possible to share moments of vulnerability. This is particularly important when navigating the challenges of a new pedagogical approach. In The Role of School Senior Leaders in TDF Project Evaluation, Bernie Furey (Strategic Director, Teach Heart Alliance) reflects on the importance of senior leaders being open to having their ​‘feathers ruffled’ when something doesn’t go according to plan. From the ​‘ruffling’ will often come powerful insight to influence programme design and ensure that advocacy is rooted in genuine research.

Framing this authenticity in final evaluation documents, particularly those designed for the public domain, has been a focus of some tricky conversations and decisions by project teams. In the final ​‘write-up’, projects have the opportunity to share their valuable insight into the ​‘hows’, document their robust evidence, and importantly make explicit the often challenging and messy reality of how programmes unfold within complex partnerships and systems. Finding a format that enables projects to tell their whole story within a single digestible report that is engaging for different audiences, and feels comfortable for all project stakeholders, is complex to navigate.

Some projects have explored creative ways to frame their final reports to capture stories and share significant, granular detail while maintaining the robustness of methodology and evidence. To achieve this they have produced a suite of materials at the end of their programmes. This approach ensures that different formats such as films, stories, teacher research, and case studies can be used alongside the formal report with content tailored for specific audiences.

Carefully considering ways that projects might ​‘curate’ their final evaluation through a suite of assets seems to be one way that projects might tell their wider story in a way that works for them. But remember! The starting point for genuine evaluation needs to be a curious mindset which is open to honest exploration and discovery. Deciding how and what you want to share with others is a separate process.