Tips
and Tools on Evaluating Learning
Evaluation: Appraising
the value or worth of some educational undertaking such as a curriculum, a
particular instructional procedure, an individual performance in some area of
learning, or a conference.
Two kinds of
evaluation:
Formative:
Less typical, occurs at each stage of an event, used for improving instructor,
learner, or program performance; examples include end-of-session evaluation
forms, informal interviews with learners, participant observations, etc.
Summative:
Most typical, occurs primarily at the end of an event, used for assessing
learner performance, justifying a program's worth, or ensuring a learning
activity has been effective; examples include final exams, term projects,
supervisory ratings, instructor evaluation forms, course evaluation forms,
smile sheets, post meeting reaction forms, etc.
Some evaluation
concepts:
·
Evaluating
in relation to your philosophy
·
Evaluating
in context of learning goals
·
Learning
contracts
o
Personal
evaluation
o
Instructor
inputs
o
Outside
validators
o
Evaluation
teams, etc.
o
Grading,
testing, or critiquing
§ Criterion-referenced
§ Normative
o
Negotiating
with learners
o
Understanding
institutional policies
Some evaluation
tools:
·
Post
meeting reaction sheets
·
Various
interview techniques
·
Evaluation
groups
·
Direct
observations
·
Using
a variety of instruments
Evaluation
involves answering several questions:
·
What
were the objectives?
·
What
did the learners or participants do?
·
How
were the objectives implemented?
·
How
did the learners implement the objectives?
·
Were
the objectives realized?
·
Did
the learners have success?
Some recommended
evaluation steps:
1.
Review
the objectives
2.
Determine
who is best qualified to do the evaluation
3.
Develop
the desirable methods to achieve the desired evaluation plan
4.
Implement
the evaluation procedures
5.
Summarize,
analyze, and interpret the findings
6.
Write
an appropriate report
7.
Reorganize
present plans and activities in light of the evaluation data
Some evaluation
standards:
·
Utility
(serving the practical information needs of audiences)
·
Feasibility
(ensuring the evaluation is realistic)
·
Propriety
(assuring that legal, ethical, and moral issues are addressed)
·
Accuracy
(revealing technically adequate information)
·
Don't
forget, too, to address various political, social, and philosophical issues
that may be involved
Some suggestions
for improving your evaluation efforts:
·
Be
critical of your own findings
·
Recognize
and take into account your own biases
·
Don't
draw a conclusion from a single or few observations
·
Consider
all causes for any observed human behavior
·
Don't
read into an analysis what you wanted or expected to find
·
Use
consistent judgment criteria
·
Don't
generalize beyond the limits of your data
·
Finally,
always tell the truth
Click here for
additional insights on evaluating learners, the learning process,
and yourself.
____________________
Created January 1, 2009
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