Evaluation helps clients judge the worth of a product, activity, or program. WordFarmers serves as a third-party evaluator: outside the project, but close enough to provide useful guidance as the work unfolds.
Most of our evaluation is formative. We identify what is working, what is not, and what might be improved, through meetings, conversations, and written reports. This is the essential evaluation function because it supports better work while the work is still underway.
We also conduct summative evaluation, documenting what a project accomplished, the relevance and usefulness of its products and services, and what participants learned. Summative findings matter greatly to clients and funders, but they are strongest when formative evaluation has already helped improve the project along the way.
Product development is the development side of R&D: creating something useful, usually in partnership with clients. Products include:
- measurement instruments such as surveys, questionnaires, and interview protocols;
- online instructional modules;
- webinars;
- podcasts;
- books and other written products; and
- components needed for larger client products
Instructional design makes curriculum and professional-learning products accessible and usable. Our work can include video production and editing, audio production, graphics, and narrative developed for websites and learning-management systems.
Research addresses important questions whose answers are not yet known, often with implications for educational policy and practice. Clients may want evidence to inform policy discussions or to test the effectiveness of practices and services.
Our research work can include:
- literature review and conceptualization
- research design and methods
- development of valid and reliable instruments
- survey, interview, and other data collection
- quantitative and qualitative analysis
- reporting, dissemination, and preparation for peer-reviewed publication
Related services include proposal preparation, feasibility studies, focused literature or resource reviews, short-term reviews of products or services, consultation on ideas and plans, and professional development developed or delivered with clients.