SDPI Summer School
DCU
20 th August 2008
Sheila Coady

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Introduction
Overview of St. Leo’s College’s TY
Curriculum
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Evaluation of Transition Year
St. Leo’s College’s experience
 Evaluation templates (handout)
 Conclusion

School based Student focused
Delivery
Design
Assessment
Evaluation
Inspectorate
Monitor
DES Support

 All girls Voluntary Secondary School
 Founded by Sisters of Mercy in 1839
 Carlow Town
 Comprehensive intake
 900 students
 77 teaching staff
 Senior Cycle Programmes
– TYP, LCAP, LCVP, established LC

 Introduced in 1979 as a response to students’ needs
 2 class groups in 1985
 5 class groups in 2008/mixed ability
 137 participating students
 Optional
 Approximately 80-85% uptake annually
 External Evaluation in April 2002.

 Programme Co-ordinator
 T.Y. Co-ordinators
 Activities Co-ordinators
 T.Y. Year Head

Transition Year Guidelines 1994-95 Department of Education
 "The programme should be regularly reviewed and evaluated internally by the co-ordinating team in close co-operation with school management, staff, students, parents, work providers and community interests. As part of this process, schools should attempt to develop appropriate quantitative and qualitative indicators as the means of raising and assuring the overall quality of the programme provided in the school. Regular monitoring and external evaluation of Transition Year will be a responsibility of the Department's inspectorate and psychological service."

Evaluating the Transition Year Programme
What is evaluation ?
 The process of determining the quality of the service offered to students and charting ways to improve that service.
Transition News No. 7 1997

Why should a school evaluate its
Transition Year programme ?
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Mandatory part of “Writing the TY Programme”
Affirmation of staff
Data for co-ordinator and core team
Transition Year programme improvement
Diagnosis of student problems
Diagnosis of staff difficulties
Planning for the year ahead
Support for administrative decision-making
Public relations
Data available for external evaluation by the Inspectorate

What might be evaluated ?
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Overall effectiveness of the programme
Relevance of original goals of the TYP
Breadth and balance within the programme
Teachers' levels of satisfaction with their modules/subjects
Application of active learning approaches
Learning resources
Student induction programme
Allocation of resources
Communication flows

What might be evaluated ? Cont’d
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Students' progress and motivation
Communication with parents
Assessment procedures
Image of the programme
Use of external learning environments
Links with employers
Community connections
Staff co-operation and teamwork
Decision making procedures

Who might be involved ?
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Co-ordinator and core team
Teachers of Transition Year students
The whole staff
Employers providing work experience
Other ‘community' interests
Students
Parents

When might it take place?
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Weekly
End of Module/Course
During/after Work Experience
Following a specific event
End of term
Parents Night
Towards end of school year

Whole staff programme evaluation
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External evaluation report 2002
Re-writing of TY programme in line with “Writing the Transition Year Programme” (SDP 2003-
2004). Carried out by subject departments with internal facilitation
– Meeting of all TY teachers chaired by TY coordinators

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 Updated written Transition Year Programme
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Introduction to programme
Discrete subject programmes
Improved effectiveness of the programme
Assessment procedures further developed
– Project work, Student self-assessment
Wider certification
Community links and external learning environments
Formal and frequent communication with parents
TY graduation night (format developed)
Ongoing TY curriculum evaluation

Subject departments, teachers, students, external partners
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Calendar layer
– Evaluation of musical, work experience
TY specific/modular layer
– Evaluation of Social Skills programme/KAS, Young Social
Innovator
Subject sampling layer
– Evaluation of French, German, Art & Heritage
Core subject layer
– Evaluation of RE and Maths

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Students
– Specific event evaluation
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Individual subject evaluation
Mid-year self-evaluation
End of year evaluation
Teachers
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Evaluation of teaching styles
Subject/module evaluation
Self-evaluation
Parents
– End of year evaluation
Developed by TYCSS and adapted by subject departments and individual teachers

 Initiates and manages the evaluation process
 Selects areas of programme to be evaluated
 Defines success criteria
 Assists in the provision of evaluation templates
 Collation, analysis and interpretation of data
 Extracting recommendations
 Negotiating and implementing changes

 School culture of self-improvement
 Further promotion of collaboration/collegiality
 Whole school ownership of and commitment to the Transition Year Programme
 Improvement in aspects of programme planning, delivery and management
 Enhanced teaching and learning

 Increased programme coherence and clarity of purpose
 Utilisation of in-school expertise
 Provision of structures for listening to staff, pupil and parent needs
 Generates confidence in relation to external evaluation/WSE