Developmental Evaluation: six ways to get a grip on the potential of education scholarship to serve innovation

Abstract

In March 2020, COVID-19 challenged health and educational systems across the country. The rapid reallocation of resources to ensure public safety had taken priority over educational obligations. Healthcare students were removed from clinical environments as their learning came to a grinding halt. While academic institutions were pivoting and transforming teaching and learning experiences, students responded to the pandemic with innovation, attending to gaps in patient care. As educators, we must understand how we can further support students and faculty to unleash innovative thinking during a crisis. To begin to address this educational need, academic institutions now have an opportunity to broaden the practice of education scholarship in accordance with best practices to nurture innovation and innovative thinking. What framework can aid us in this endeavor? In times of instability, Developmental Evaluation is an approach that can support the implementation of innovations within medical education. Using an example of an innovation in medical education, we offer six practical tips to begin to use Developmental Evaluation to support and enable learners and faculty in the creation of innovations and contribute to a broader definition of education scholarship.

Developmental evaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Practice-based learnings from projects in British Columbia, Canada

“…Similar to other evaluators ( Erskine & Healey, 2022 ; Olson et al, 2021 ; Parker et al, 2021 ; UNODC Independent Evaluation Section, 2020 ), we learned that it is important for evaluators and their DEs to embrace flexibility . In all the projects, we experienced delays and complications that required flexibility in our response.…”

“…To further facilitate stakeholders’ trust and engagement with the DE, it was crucial to leverage and apply our knowledge of the context . This aligns with maintaining a systems-view and positioning the DE to not only evaluate but concurrently help to achieve the overarching goals of the project being evaluated ( Parker et al, 2021 ; Patton, 2021 ). For example, in adapting data collection to be led by youth being served by the project, we achieved our data collection goal while limiting contact and potential spread of COVID-19.…”

“…Since March 2020, various perspectives on applying DE during the pandemic have emerged across various fields, including education, social justice and healthcare programs. Parker et al (2021) implemented a DE to understand how to support medical students and faculty to transform their learning approaches during crisis. They identified the need for a systems-based, context-driven learning approach that embraces change, creates space for reflection and relies on real-time information.…”

“…Evaluators have also conducted DEs of initiatives while resources and attention were diverted towards pandemic response. While the literature describes practical steps for implementing DE in COVID-19, most remain theoretical and unreflective of real-life challenges faced by evaluators ( Parker et al, 2021 ; Patton, 2021 ). Other evaluators describe practical challenges with conducting DE during COVID-19 but do not necessarily offer solutions to these challenges based on their experiences ( Karalis, 2020 ; Muskopf et al, 2021 ; Wu et al, 2021 ).…”

Overcrowded curriculum is an impediment to change (Part B)

“…Developmental Evaluation: six ways to get a grip on the potential of education scholarship to serve innovation by Kathryn Paker and team 15 addressed the need to support students and faculty during a time of crisis. They offered six practical tips to use the Developmental Evaluation framework within medical education for the implementation of innovations forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”