Running head: ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Assessment and Evaluation Tiffany Bull EDU697 Capstone: A Project Approach Dr. D. Lawrence January 21, 2013

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

The most important component of the instructional design model is the evaluation section. The major role of the evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of the instruction (Dick). Evaluation concentrates on how well students are learning and how they like the instruction. The gathered information is then used to make the instruction more effective. According to Gardner (1977), Evaluation models based on the assessment of congruence between performance and objectives assume that the most important decisions regarding what is being evaluated are depending on the objectives and the criteria. To measure success or failure is in the achievement of those objectives. This type of evaluation can be either formative or summative. A formative evaluation is evaluation that is used to improve an ongoing process or project by providing feedback to the administrator in charge (Gardner, 1977). Summative evaluation is evaluation of a completed project. The evaluation design based on the congruence between performance and objectives in the redesigned blog is a form of formative evaluation based on a simple posttest technique to evaluate student learning. A blog entitled World Hunger: You Can Make a Difference was redesigned to effectively evaluate the objectives of the lesson created through a blog platform. A graded rubric was added to the page labeled Test on the blog so that students are clear as to how they will be assessed. In the blog students are interacting with each other and using posts and additional material such as videos to learn. After each activity the students engage in an activity that lets them manipulate the content they have learned. There is debriefing after watching a video. This is done in the ConnectType activity. Students can make real-world connections after completing all the activities provided in an orderly fashion. This is an example of scaffolding as a formative technique. It breaks a large process into manageable increments along a timeline (Bedard-Voorhees, Johnson, & Dobson, 2011). The formative assessments are done during the

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

activities that are provided within the blog. These three types of activities provided, which are Absorb, Do-Type and Connect learning activities are helping to improve the students skills and knowledge needed to meet the objectives for the class (Bedard-Voorhees, Johnson, & Dobson, 2011). According to Bedard-Voorhees, Johnson, And Dobson, (2011), Formative digital assessments can free up instructor time so that he or she can give feedback on more complex learning content of processing. These activities were designed to allow students to interact with concepts and feedback provided by both teacher and students through collaborative learning as the students manipulate the concepts within each interaction. The blog platform also provides an evaluation section that lets the instructor gather feedback on how well the students grasp the objectives of the lesson. The evaluation method can be used to improve the design of your lesson to ensure a continuous improvement process, but the ultimate evaluation is in the students performance (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2011). Evaluation gives feedback to the instructor who can then improve the lesson to better meet students needs in the future. Tests can be used to engage learners and provide objective feedback. Tests are popular for certification and development such as evaluating the effectiveness of training programs. Regardless of the purpose, to design a good test there are proper procedures that must take place. According to Rothwell & Kazanas, (1998), tests outcomes yield valuable information about how well the materials will work with the targeted learner. The test provided in the blog is accompanied by a rubric. A rubric is a tool developed by instructor to assess the performances of their students. This assessment tool lists the tasks of the performance to be evaluated, and the specific criteria used to evaluate each dimension (Kelly, 2013). The students will gauge themselves by using these guidelines as they write their post based on the dimension of the performance to be evaluated.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

The evaluation design process in the instructional design model has two features that are implemented in my redesign blog. The first is that the test is focused on the objective that is stated for instruction (Dick). The re-designed blog creates activities that focus on the objective that has been stated in the first page of the blog. The posttest is focused on the objective stated in the grading rubric. According to Dick (n.d), this is known as objective referenced testing. The purpose of the testing is to determine the extent to which objectives in the instruction has been mastered (Dick). If the students do not perform well in this test and in each given activity within the blog, it is in the best interest of the instructor to review and revise the lesson. The second feature of evaluation within the instructional design is to focus on the learners as the source of the data. Dick states that Formative evaluation in instructional design model should include a subject matter expert, but the major source of the input to the process is the learner (pg. 147). In the case of the blog, the instructor is the subject matter expert and all the data is being collected through the performance of the students. Evaluation will be based on the students ability to learn and determine how well they enjoy their learning experience. Without an evaluation system instructional design would be inadequate to the development of excellent instruction. Evaluation takes time and effort on the part of the instructor, but its rewards are beneficial to exceptional learning. Without evaluation to make judgments about a lesson or program, and to improve effectiveness based on the collection of data, education would not evolve to meet the needs of society.

http://whdifference.blogspot.com/

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

References
Bedard-Voorhees, A., Johnson, L. M., & Dobson, P. (2011). Letting Them Show What They Know: Ditgital Assessment Strategies. Education for a Digital World 2.0. Dick, W. (n.d.). Evaluation in Instructional Design: The Impact of Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Model. Gardner, D. E. (1977). Five Evaluation Frameworks: Implications for Decision Making in Higher Education. The Journal of Higher Education, 48, 571-593. Kelly, M. (2013). Creating and Using Rubrics. Retrieved from about.com: http://712educators.about.com/cs/rubrics/a/rubrics.htm Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. B. (2011). Teaching and Learning with Technology (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc./Allyn & Bacon. Rothwell, W., & Kazanas, H. (1998). Mastering the instructional design process a systematic approach (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Boss Inc.