Evaluation

Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization, program, project or any other intervention or initiative to assess any aim, realisable concept/proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making; or to ascertain the degree of achievement or value in regard to the aim and objectives and results of any such action that has been completed.^[1] The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining insight into prior or existing initiatives, is to enable reflection and assist in the identification of future change.^[2]

Evaluation is often used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice, foundations, non-profit organizations, government, health care, and other human services. It is long term and done at the end of a period of time.

DefinitionEdit

Evaluation is the structured interpretation and giving of meaning to predicted or actual impacts of proposals or results. It looks at original objectives, and at what is either predicted or what was accomplished and how it was accomplished. So evaluation can be formative, that is taking place during the development of a concept or proposal, project or organization, with the intention of improving the value or effectiveness of the proposal, project, or organisation. It can also be summative, drawing lessons from a completed action or project or an organisation at a later point in time or circumstance.

Evaluation is inherently a theoretically informed approach (whether explicitly or not), and consequently any particular definition of evaluation would have been tailored to its context – the theory, needs, purpose, and methodology of the evaluation process itself. Having said this, evaluation has been defined as:

• A systematic, rigorous, and meticulous application of scientific methods to assess the design, implementation, improvement, or outcomes of a program. It is a resource-intensive process, frequently requiring resources, such as, evaluate expertise, labor, time, and a sizable budget^[3]
• "The critical assessment, in as objective a manner as possible, of the degree to which a service or its component parts fulfills stated goals" (St Leger and Wordsworth-Bell).^{[4][not in citation given]} The focus of this definition is on attaining objective knowledge, and scientifically or quantitatively measuring predetermined and external concepts.
• "A study designed to assist some audience to assess an object's merit and worth" (Stufflebeam).^{[4][not in citation given]} In this definition the focus is on facts as well as value laden judgments of the programs outcomes and worth.

Learning curve

For other uses, see Learning curve (disambiguation).

A learning curve is a graphical representation of how an increase in learning (measured on the vertical axis) comes from greater experience (the horizontal axis); or how the more someone (or thing) does something, the better they get at it.^[1]

Fig 1: Learning curve for a single subject, showing how learning improves with experience

Fig 2: A learning curve averaged over many trials is smooth, and can be expressed as a mathematical function

The term learning curve is used in two main ways: where the same task is repeated in a series of trials, or where a body of knowledge is learned over time. The first person to describe the learning curve was Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885, in the field of the psychology of learning, although the name wasn't used until 1909.^[2][3] In 1936, Theodore Paul Wright described the effect of learning on production costs in the aircraft industry.^[4]This form, in which unit cost is plotted against total production, is sometimes called an experience curve.

The familiar expression "a steep learning curve" is intended to mean that the activity is difficult to learn, although a learning curve with a steep start actually represents rapid progress.^[5][6]

In psychologyEdit

The first person to describe the learning curve was Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885. His tests involved memorizing series of nonsense syllables, and recording the success over a number of trials. The translation does not use the term learning curve—but he presents diagrams of learning against trial number. He also notes that the score can decrease, or even oscillate.^[6][7][8]

The first known use of the term learning curveis from 1909: "Bryan and Harter (6) found in their study of the acquisition of the telegraphic language a learning curve which had the rapid rise at the beginning followed by a period of retardation, and was thus convex to the vertical axis."^[3][6]

Psychologist Arthur Bills gave a more detailed description of learning curves in 1934. He also discussed the properties of different types of learning curves, such as negative acceleration, positive acceleration, plateaus, and ogive curves. (Fig 1)^[9]

Upanayana

Upanayana sanskara ceremony in progress at Nepal. Typically, this ritual was for 8 year olds in ancient India, but is now practiced for all ages.^[1]

Upanayana (IAST: Upanayanam) is one of the traditional saṃskāras (rites of passage) that marked the acceptance of a student by a guru(teacher) and an individual's entrance to a school in Hinduism. The tradition is widely discussed in ancient Sanskrit texts of India and varies regionally.^[2] The sacred thread(yajnopavita or janeu) is received by the boy during this ceremony, that he continues wearing across his chest thereafter.

The upanayana was restricted in many medieval Indian texts to the upper three of the four varnas (castes) of society — brahmins, kshatriyas and vaishyas. However, Vedic period texts such as the BaudhāyanaGrihyasutra encouraged all members of society to undergo the upanayana, even (manual workers) shudras.^[3][4][5] Women were encouraged to undergo upanayana in ancient India before they started Vedic studies or before their wedding.^[6]

EtymologyEdit

Upanayana (Sanskrit: उपनयन) literally means "the act of leading to or near".^[7] It is an important and widely discussed samskara in ancient Sanskrit text.^[2] The rite of passage symbolizes the leading or drawing towards the self of a child, in a school, by a teacher.^[7]It is a ceremony in which a guru (teacher) accepts and draws a child towards knowledge and initiates the second birth that is of the young mind and spirit.^[2]