Lyn Shulha

• Program Evaluation: evaluation use, participatory and developmental evaluation, program evaluation theory
• Classroom Assessment Practices: outcome-based and performance assessment; the development of professional expertise in student assessment
• Professional Learning Models: learning for individuals and organizations, communities of practice
• Collaborative & Mixed Methods Research, Evaluative Inquiry

• Evaluation of the provincial School Effectiveness Framework; Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education
• Introducing notions of assessment for learning in medical education

Lyn Shulha joined the Faculty of Education in 1992 after degrees at McMaster, Western, Queen’s, and the University of Virginia (Ph.D. in Educational Evaluation). Five years as a classroom teacher triggered her interest in student assessment; work as a planner of educational and social programs led her naturally to program evaluation.

Lyn is a founding member of this Faculty’s Assessment and Evaluation Group (AEG) supervising masters and doctoral students in these areas. Her undergraduate and graduate courses in classroom assessment examine the use of assessment to stimulate, support, monitor and make judgments about the quality of learning . Graduate courses in evaluation theory and practice are informed by Lyn’s program of research in participatory evaluation and evaluation use. Working with colleagues from the American Evaluation Association, Lyn is currently conducting research into the principles of collaborative evaluation.

The evaluation of programs and policies typically calls on multiple or mixed methods, a feature of Lyn’s research and publications. She works collaboratively in assessment and evaluation with Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences and with colleagues across Canada, in the United States, New Zealand, Scotland, and Australia.

Lyn’s interest in international professional learning opportunities spurred her involvement with the Queen’s Teachers’ Overseas Recruiting Fair (TORF since 1987), prompted the development of a program focus course, Educators Aboard (since 1993) and has led to consulting work in classroom assessment and program evaluation in international schools (since 1996).

Lyn is currently the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) representative on the Joint Committee for Standards in Educational Evaluation (JCSEE), and on the editorial boards of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, the American Journal of Evaluation and the international journal, Assessment Matters and a founding member of the Consortium of International Researchers in Classroom Assessment (CIRCA since 2010).

• Editorial Boards: American Journal of Evaluation; Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation; (International Journal) Assessment Matters.
• Expert Reference Group Member, Learning to Become Assessment Capable Teachers: A New Zealand National Research Initiative. Auckland UniServices
• Chair, Research Forum. Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation

• Since 1988_Planning and Advisory Committee, Teachers’ Overseas Recruiting Fair (TORF). Roughly 1550+ Queen’s Faculty of Education Graduates have taken an initial overseas teaching position in one of 90+ countries
• Acting Chair of the American Evaluation Association, Topical Interest Group on Evaluation Use
• Member, Operations Committee, Canadian Consortium of Universities for Evaluation Education

Yarbrough, D. Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R., Carruthers, F. & Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (2010). The program evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

DeLuca, D., Klinger, D., Searle, M., & Shulha, L.M. (2010). Developing a curriculum for assessment education. Assessment Matters 2, (-).

Shulha, L. M., & Wilson, R. J. (2009). Rethinking large-scale assessment. Assessment Matters 1, (111-133).

Klinger, D., Shulha, L. M., & DeLuca, C. (2009). Teacher Evaluation, Accountability, and Professional Learning: The Canadian Perspective. Revista Pensamiento Educativo (43), Publicación de la Facultad de Educación de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. 209-222.

Cousins, J. B., & Shulha, L. M. (2008). Complexities in setting program standards in collaborative evaluation. In N. Smith & P. Brandon (Eds.), Fundamental Issues in Evaluation. New York: Guilford.

Poth, C. & Shulha, L. M. (2008). Encouraging stakeholder engagement: A case study of evaluator behaviors. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 34(4). 218-223.

Miller, T. & Shulha, L. M. (2008). Formative Computer-Based Assessment in Higher Education. In K. McFerrin et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference, 2008 (pp. 105-111). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Cousins, J. B., & Shulha, L. M. (2006). A comparative analysis of evaluation utilization and its cognate fields of inquiry: Current issues and trends. In I. Shaw, M. M. Mark & J. Greene (Eds.), Handbook of evaluation: Program, policy and practices. London: Sage.