: Tour : About OERL

OERL's purpose

OERL houses examples of plans, instruments, and reports that were created by evaluators in the course of their work on actual NSF-funded projects. The examples were picked from a pool of available projects to illustrate a range of sound evaluative practices. You can adapt them for your own evaluation work, use them as models, or just review how others have done similar work.

Organization of the site

Resource types appear as tabs across the top of every page. The resources are also organized into six project types, which are represented by the tabs on the left side of the page. The resource tabs and the project tabs create a matrix that can be used to navigate the site. For instance, if you click the Plans tab at the top of the page, you can find examples of plans in every project type listed down the left side.

The OERL home page

1) Resource types

Across the top of the page are tabs for each of the resource types in OERL: plans, instruments, and reports.

2) Project types

Down the left side of the page are the project types for which the resources were created: curriculum development, teacher education, faculty development, laboratory improvement, under-represented populations, and technology.

Getting to this page

The page shown is the site's home page, accessible in a new window at http://oerl.sri.com/

All the resources you'll find in OERL are aligned with the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation’s program evaluation standards and other guidelines. On the site you'll also find resources to help you learn more about evaluation, including a glossary, lists of evaluation criteria, and professional development modules.

Next stop on the tour: Plans »