DLESE description of Online Evaluation Resource Library

The Online Evaluation Resource Library (OERL) is a Web-based set of resources for improving the evaluation of projects funded by the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) of the National Science Foundation (NSF). OERL provides prospective project developers and evaluators with material that they can use to design, conduct, document, and review evaluations. It contains a collection of exemplary plans, instruments, and reports from evaluations of EHR-funded projects. It also contains criteria about good evaluation practices, professional development modules, and links to evaluation standards. Scenarios illustrate how the OERL resources can be used or adapted. Currently housed in OERL are 137 instruments, and full or excerpted versions of 38 plans and 60 reports. 143 science and math projects have contributed to the collection so far, including many in the earth system sciences. OERL's goals are to meet the needs for continuous professional development of evaluators and principal investigators, complement traditional vehicles of learning about evaluation, utilize the affordances of current technologies (e.g., Web-based digital libraries, relational databases, and electronic performance support systems) for improving evaluation practice, provide anytime/anyplace access to resources that support evaluators' needs and can be continuously updated with new content, and provide a forum by which professionals can interact on evaluation issues and practices. Over the next two years, additional plans, instruments, and reports from other projects will be added to the OERL collection. Also to be added are more professional development modules and online coaches for constructing key evaluation documents.