Teachers’ professional development should also be data-driven. A training evaluation tool developed at the Center LEARN offers a solution based on translational research.As part of his involvement in the reform to introduce digital education into schools across the Canton of Vaud (EduNum 2017–2022), Sunny Avry developed the Digital Training Companion (DTC). Faced with the need to provide the trainers at the Center LEARN with tools to facilitate the evaluation of their training programmes, he created a solution that turns evaluation data into a catalyst for promoting the practical implementation of learning in the field.A field observation that triggered the projectTasked with monitoring and analysing the impact of professional development programs for teachers, Sunny Avry quickly identified a significant gap between the content covered during training and its effective implementation in the classroom. The rate at which learning was transferred into practice proved to be lower than expected. This raised a key question: what obstacles were preventing the knowledge and skills acquired during training from being translated into day-to-day teaching practice?“Our team had developed pedagogical material intended to be disseminated through a cascade model, from expert trainers to teacher trainers, and then to teachers. It was essential to be able to verify, at each stage, that skills were actually being transferred, that the educational resources were achieving their objectives, and that this ultimately resulted in concrete learning outcomes for students,” explains Sunny Avry.A tool to go beyond simple satisfaction surveysTo address these challenges, he developed the DTC, a web application designed to automatically collect and analyze relevant data related to training programs and their application in the field. The tool is based on a model developed at EPFL, which in turn was inspired by Thomas Guskey’s evaluation model, now considered an international benchmark in the field of educational training evaluation.“Simply knowing whether a teacher enjoyed the training is not enough to verify that the content has been mastered and can be applied in the classroom. Satisfaction surveys alone leave far too many factors unaccounted for,” he notes.The DTC sheds light on each stage of the training process, highlighting both the factors that support success and the challenges that can hinder it. In particular, it has shown that organisational constraints, such as inadequate resources or the lack of technical and pedagogical support within schools, can quickly impede the implementation of what was learned during training.These practical obstacles, which are often overlooked in post-training satisfaction surveys, nonetheless play a major role in the limited transfer of learning to the classroom. Identifying them has made the analysis of these situations more precise and guided concrete adjustments: adapting trainers’ practices, strengthening the role of resource persons in schools, and intensifying dialogue with school administrators.From EduNum to a broader ambitionFollowing the reform in the Canton of Vaud, Sunny Avry and his team decided to continue developing the DTC, with support from the BeLEARN hub. Two successive rounds of funding allowed the project’s scope to expand beyond EPFL and enabled the tool to be tested in other Swiss cantons and even abroad. Last year, a collaboration with Réseau Canopé, a teacher-training organization in France, and with the Singapore Institute of Technology provided training on the tool to several dozen instructors.“The BeLEARN funding allowed us to move beyond the EPFL context and adapt our tool to the needs of continuing education in other settings and on a larger scale.”The founding of the evꜵlution associationThe creation of the evꜵlution association marks an important new milestone. This organization aims to ensure the project’s long-term sustainability outside the academic setting and to offer a broader range of services.“More and more organizations are recognizing the need to base their training programs on data and approaches derived from the learning sciences, in order to better measure their impact and improve their effectiveness. The services we are developing are part of this effort, offering practical tools to support this paradigm shift,” says Sunny Avry.To achieve this, the team brings together complementary profiles, divided between research and fieldwork. The research component is supported by EPFL, with Maria Pannatier, a researcher in learning sciences and secretary of the association, as well as Johann Groll, a full-stack developer. The implementation and outreach component is led by Sunny Avry, scientific assistant at the DIP in Geneva, and Émilie-Charlotte Monnier, a doctoral student in education sciences at HEP Vaud.A launch event open to the public will take place on September 3rd at EPFL. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about the Digital Training Companion and the evꜵlution association, and to explore various opportunities for collaboration.