For programme and evaluation leaders
Preparing for evaluation visit meetings
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This section provides practical guidance for Programme Leaders (PLs) and Evaluation Leaders (ELs) preparing for and facilitating meetings during an IB evaluation visit. There are two complementary sets of meetings:
Programme standards and practices (PSP) meetings
These meetings are organised around the four PSP categories: Purpose, Environment, Culture and Learning. They help the evaluation team understand how the school views and implements its programme(s), and explore the relationship between the IB philosophy and everyday practice.
Programme development plan (PDP) meetings
These meetings focus on how the school has identified its development priorities, planned and implemented change, and evaluated the difference it has made.
An appreciative inquiry approach
Both sets of meetings should be informed by appreciative inquiry. The aim is to engage the school in a shared professional dialogue, exploring what is working well, why it is working and how successful practice might be developed further. This does not mean avoiding difficult questions. It means approaching them constructively, drawing on evidence and the perspectives of different members of the school community.
Throughout the meetings, PLs and ELs should look beyond what a school says it does to understand what happens in practice, what students experience and what difference it makes.
Please explore the guidance in this section to help you review documentation, identify areas for exploration, prepare purposeful questions and facilitate meaningful professional dialogue.
[The jigsaw is a good image for planning an evaluation visit because it represents the school as a learning organisation and an interconnected ecosystem. Each piece reflects an aspect of the school's activity – its people, relationships, culture, structures, resources, roles and practices. Understanding how these pieces fit together, influence one another and contribute to the school's work is central to activity theory. Effective preparation helps the Programme Leader and Evaluation Leader look beyond individual activities or isolated evidence to build a more complete picture of how the school works and how it brings about development.]