Using evaluation in the development of open learning for YTS

Abstract

In this article Lorna Unwin (School of Education, Open University), Hillary Read (Project Manager, Oxfordshire Programme for Training, Instruction and Supervision), and Ian Haffenden (Surrey University) describe the development of a national project seeking to create flexible open learning strategies in the two‐year Youth Training Schemes, incorporating evaluation at each stage. An account of the way in which participative workshops have been run with practitioners demonstrates how the user can act as evaluator and directly influence the outcomes of the project. In this way, a structured evaluation strategy is shown to play a crucial part in the development of open learning approaches linked to the needs expressed by the learners.