Any evaluation
is based on the idea that if you put in place the right strategy you
will see students meet the initial goals you set out at the very start
of the process. Often we see evaluation in schools as being of the
student, but in instructional design we see student outcomes as being a
means to critique our methods as well. For example, if we find that
students aren’t mastering a certain topic we examine how we can improve
our design so they will. Evaluation isn’t just about how the student
performs; it is also about how good the design is at meeting our goals.
Current
evaluation measures use the various ideas that have arisen from
Constructivism to look for more authentic ways for students to present
what they have learned for you to assess and measure. There is a
tendency to downplay such classical Behaviorist assessment strategies
such as short answer, multiple choice and true/false tests in favor of
portfolios, multimedia presentations and the assignment of authentic
tasks in a simulated environment.
Your evaluation
of your design can be based on the same tool you use to assess student
performance. You are, after all, measuring how successful your design
was in achieving your instructional goal of having a student competently
understand a given curriculum and be able to demonstrate a given level
of expertise.
When you
evaluate your students you are doing so within the context of your goals
and your strategy. You will be able to identify what needs to be
improved by seeing what goals were not met or those that were met
inadequately. You will also see where certain misconceptions have been
made in the course of their learning process and address that in your
design.
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