Welcome to Preparing to Evaluate the Activity
Welcome to your study notes for Unit A2 4: Public Health and Health Promotion! As part of your CCEA A Level coursework portfolio, you are tasked with planning, delivering, and evaluating a small-scale health promotion activity (for example, a session on healthy eating or smoking risks delivered to Year 8 pupils or a community group).
Before you stand up in front of your audience to deliver your campaign, there is a crucial step you must complete: preparing to evaluate your activity. Don't worry if this sounds like planning backward—preparing your evaluation tools before you deliver the activity is the secret to scoring top marks in your portfolio!
1. Why Must We Prepare Evaluation Tools in Advance?
A common mistake students make is thinking about evaluation only after their presentation is finished. However, proper evaluation requires planning before you even enter the room.
Baseline vs. Outcome Measurement
To prove that your health campaign actually made a difference, you need to measure what your participants knew before the activity (the baseline) and compare it to what they learned after the activity (the outcome).
Everyday Analogy: Imagine starting a fitness challenge. You cannot prove you have improved your running time if you never timed your first run! The pre-test is your starting stopwatch, and the post-test is your finish time.
Linking Directly to SMART Objectives
In the planning phase, you set SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) aligned with priorities set by the Department of Health Northern Ireland and the Public Health Agency (PHA). Your evaluation tools must be designed to directly test whether these exact objectives were achieved.
For example, if your objective states: "80% of Year 8 pupils will be able to identify three harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke," your evaluation tool must include a question specifically testing those three chemicals.
Key Takeaway: Evaluation preparation happens before delivery so you can capture baseline data and test your exact SMART objectives.
2. The Four Core Evaluation Tools to Prepare
CCEA coursework expects you to design and prepare a range of quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (descriptive) data collection tools before carrying out your session:
Tool 1: Pre- and Post-Activity Questionnaires
These are surveys handed out before the activity begins and again immediately after it finishes.
• Closed Questions: Multiple-choice questions, true/false tick boxes, or Likert rating scales (e.g., rating confidence from 1 to 5). These provide quantitative data that can be turned into percentages and graphs.
• Open Questions: Short written answers (e.g., "What was the most important thing you learned today?"). These provide qualitative feedback and personal insight.
• Measuring Knowledge Gain: By comparing scores, you can calculate the exact knowledge increase: \( \text{Knowledge Gain} = \text{Post-Activity Score} - \text{Pre-Activity Baseline} \).
Tool 2: Interactive Assessment and Knowledge Quizzes
Evaluation does not have to be boring! You can design engaging, age-appropriate assessment activities:
• Digital Quizzes: Interactive platforms such as Kahoot or digital forms.
• Formative/Summative Games: Card-sorting games, matching activities, or quick-fire team quizzes.
• Paper-Based Worksheets: Short puzzle sheets or recap worksheets tailored specifically to the reading level of your target audience.
Tool 3: Peer and Observer Evaluation Checklists
You cannot observe everything while you are busy presenting. Preparing standardized observation sheets allows a supervising teacher, classroom assistant, or peer to record objective evidence during your session.
Observer checklists should include sections to record:
• Presenter delivery skills and clarity of communication.
• Audience engagement and responsiveness.
• Timekeeping and pacing across each planned activity.
Tool 4: Self-Evaluation Reflective Frameworks
Before delivery, you should prepare a structured reflective template or log (drawing upon established reflective cycle frameworks). This ensures you have clear prompts ready immediately after the session to reflect honestly on your personal planning, team coordination, time management, and resource suitability.
Key Takeaway: A complete evaluation portfolio uses a mix of participant surveys (pre/post), interactive quizzes, third-party observer checklists, and self-reflection templates.
3. The Four Core Evaluation Domains
When creating questions and checklists for your tools, make sure you cover all four essential evaluation domains:
Domain 1: Achievement of Objectives and Learning Outcomes
Did the participants absorb the core public health message? Did they meet the learning goals aligned with Northern Ireland public health priorities (such as mental wellbeing, physical activity, or anti-smoking)?
Domain 2: Suitability of Materials and Resources
Were your visual aids, PowerPoint slides, handouts, and physical props appropriate? Were they visually engaging, clear to read, and suitable for the age and ability level of your audience?
Domain 3: Delivery and Communication Skills
How well did the presenter(s) communicate? This includes verbal communication (volume, tone, pacing, vocabulary) and non-verbal communication (eye contact, body language, gestures), as well as the ability to respond to audience questions and overcome communication barriers.
Domain 4: Logistics and Time Management
Did the session run smoothly? Were the room layout, equipment, lighting, and group sizes suitable? Did each activity run to time, and were contingency plans in place if something finished too quickly or took too long?
Memory Trick (O-M-D-L): Remember Objectives, Materials, Delivery, and Logistics to ensure full coverage of the four domains!
4. Common Pitfalls and Examiner Tips
Avoid these common traps that can cost you valuable coursework marks:
• Pitfall 1: Designing Tools After Delivery (Hindsight Bias): If you create your questionnaires after delivering the session, you will have no baseline data to compare against.
Examiner Tip: Date and include your blank pre- and post-test tools in your planning portfolio before you carry out the activity.
• Pitfall 2: Asking Vague or Untestable Questions: Asking only "Did you enjoy the session?" tells you about enjoyment, but nothing about whether health knowledge improved.
Examiner Tip: Ensure your questions test specific facts, attitudes, and intended health behaviors directly linked to your SMART targets.
• Pitfall 3: Inappropriate Language for the Target Group: Using complicated medical jargon with Year 8 pupils will confuse them and distort your results.
Examiner Tip: Keep question wording simple, clear, and age-appropriate. Use visual rating scales (like smiley face scales) for younger groups.
• Pitfall 4: Relying Solely on Self-Reflection: Only evaluating yourself without gathering peer or teacher feedback makes your evaluation one-sided.
Examiner Tip: Always include a completed observer checklist from a peer or teacher alongside your personal reflection.
5. Quick Summary Checklist
Before you deliver your health promotion activity, ensure you can tick off every item on this checklist:
✓ Pre-activity baseline tool designed to test prior knowledge.
✓ Post-activity outcome tool created with matching questions to measure knowledge gain.
✓ A balanced mix of closed questions (for quantitative stats) and open questions (for qualitative opinions).
✓ Observer/peer feedback sheets prepared with clear criteria on delivery and engagement.
✓ Reflective log framework set up to record personal thoughts immediately after delivery.
✓ Questions directly aligned with your SMART objectives and the four core evaluation domains.