Importance Of Evaluating Learning Activities

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The quality and effectiveness of learning and development (L&D) activities can be assessed both formally and informally and show alignment to organisational performance. Our Profession Map encourages practitioners to view evaluation as learner engagement, transfer and impact.

Philips and Philips built on the Kirkpatrick model by adding return on investment (ROI). However, much ROI evaluating is carried out post project and does not build from a baseline. The arithmetic of ROI means that when a small cost learning intervention is set against a big project cost, it can look superficially impressive.

Measurement: L&D teams effectively and consistently measure the impact, engagement and transfer of learning activities as part of the evaluation process. It may be helpful to use a mixture of evaluation methods and broader measures of expected change and improvement such as return on expectation, and to link L&D outcomes to key performance indicators.

These specific objectives will provide direction to teaching-learning process. Not only that it will also be useful in planning and organising the learning activities, and in planning and organising evaluation procedures too.

He is completely free to select the type of learning activities. He may employ the analytico-synthetic method; he may utilise the inducto-deductive reasoning; he may employ the experimental method or a demonstration method; or he may put a pupil in the position of a discoverer; he may employ the lecture method; or he may ask the pupils to divide into groups and to do a sort of group work followed by a general discussion; and so on. One thing he has to remember is that he should select only such activities as will make it possible for him to realise his objectives.

In the fifth step, the teacher observes and measures the changes in the behaviour of his pupils through testing. This step adds one more dimension to the evaluation process. While testing, he will keep in mind three things-objectives, teaching points and learning activities; but his focus will be on the attainment of objectives. This he cannot do without enlisting the teaching points and planning learning activities of his pupils.

The last, but not the least, important step in the evaluation process is the use of results as feedback. If the teacher, after testing his pupils, finds that the objectives have not been realised to a great extent, he will use the results in reconsidering the objectives and in organising the learning activities.

He will retrace his steps to find out the drawbacks in the objectives or in the learning activities he has provided for his students. This is known as feedback. Whatever results the teacher gets after testing his pupils should be utilised for the betterment of the students.

The list goes on. The point is to be purposeful in what, why, how, when, and whom you are evaluating, as well as to whom you are reporting before you even begin to design and develop your learning program. The needs assessment phase serves as the basis for so many things in the learning program. Particularly for evaluation planning, a needs assessment, along with performance analysis, helps us identify stakeholders, current performance, desired performance, gaps, metrics, baselines, and other important data that drives the evaluation. As you collect data, you can even begin to formulate the quantifiable measurements of the evaluation. Needs assessments can provide baseline information to track learning, behavior changes, and increased business results that signify a successful training.

By anticipating and quantifying your expectations of the evaluations, you will be able to see if your learning programs are on target. If the actual numbers are different from your projected ones, that is an opportunity to learn what happened, why, and how to improve it for next time. Conducting the needs assessment as discussed above helps you project these targets. These targets also help to shape the learning goals of program, another critical element in effectively evaluating learning programs.

The purpose of monitoring, evaluation and learning practices is to apply knowledge gained from evidence and analysis to improve development outcomes and ensure accountability for the resources used to achieve them (ADS 201.3.7). Before we plan our activities, we need to know what we are trying to do and what we need to learn to ensure that the data we collect will help us make decisions.

As educational developers supporting the incorporation of technology into teaching, we are often asked by instructors for a tailored recommendation of an e-learning tool to use in a particular course. When they use the phrase e-learning tool, instructors are typically asking for some kind of digital technology, mediated through the use of an internet-connected device, that is designed to support student learning. Such requests tend to be accompanied by statements of frustration over the selection process they've undertaken. These frustrations often result from two factors. First, instructors are typically experts in their course's subject matter, yet they are not necessarily fluent in the best criteria for evaluating e-learning tools. Second, the number and the variety of e-learning tools continue to proliferate. Both of these factors make it increasingly challenging for faculty members to evaluate and select an e-learning tool that aligns with their course design and meaningfully supports their students' learning experience.

The rubric reflects our belief that instructors should choose e-learning tools in the context of the learning experience. We therefore encourage an explicit alignment between the instructor's intended outcomes and the tool, based on principles of constructive alignment.3 Given the diversity of outcomes across learning experiences, e-learning tools should be chosen on a case-by-case basis and should be tailored to each instructor's intended learning outcomes and planned instructional activities. We designed the rubric with this intention in mind.

Facilitation. Effective teaching presence requires a facilitative approach, characterized as: providing timely input, information, and feedback; questioning or challenging students' thinking; modeling inquiry; and demonstrating cognitive engagement. Some e-learning tools support these activities better than others. The rubric gives preference to tools providing easy-to-use features that enhance an instructor's ability to effectively engage in facilitation activities.

Enhancement of Cognitive Task(s). Ideally, an e-learning tool enhances or transforms learning. Ruben Puentedura's SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model provides a framework for evaluating how e-learning technologies influence cognitive tasks.20 The model gives preference to tools that transform learning by modifying or redefining engagement in the targeted task, either by redesigning the activity or by establishing new approaches previously inconceivable or unachievable through other means. Our rubric encourages tool evaluators to select technologies that modify or redefine tasks rather than simply substituting one task for another without adding functional value.

Assessment is used to evaluate the strengths and needs of learners, guide instruction, and measure progress and achievement. When using laboratory activities in Extension programming or in formal courses, developing an appropriate assessment can appear challenging. Laboratory settings are any location where the learner is able to interact with materials and/or models to better observe and understand the topic at hand (Myers, 2005). These settings may be gardens, ranches, or any other setting where learning is "hands-on." Using traditional forms of assessment such as quizzes and tests can make it much easier to quantify learner performance, but these approaches often do not adequately assess actual learner achievement. As Donaldson and Odom (2001) stated, "traditional lab assessments indicate students ability to follow lab instructions rather than showing that they have the thought processes that are necessary for them to question, design, conduct, and analyze an experiment" (p. 29). Concept maps, Vee maps, and portfolios are alternate forms of assessment that can replace traditional quizzes and tests and can be used to more effectively assess student learning in a lab setting.

In summary, retrospective analysis of training is problematic; it is difficult to show a direct link between training and performance improvement, and the results are available too late. However, my experience of evaluating examinations of previous programmes shows the broad outcomes of learning can invariably be predicted. When reviewing a programme retrospectively, it is evident that the factors that led to success or otherwise were nearly always evident at the outset and could have been predicted. Given a proper understanding of the factors involved and, most importantly, asking the right questions, I believe you can take a proactive approach that makes assessing programmes much more straightforward.

The key, therefore, for any L&D function looking to stand strong in the face of cuts is threefold. First, it is important to show that learning is integral to the achievement of organisational goals. Second, in order to demonstrate this, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of training delivery within the organisation. And third, through that understanding, it is possible to identify which areas are of the greatest importance and require the most investment to ensure the minimal impact on the organisation's strategic goals.

In adult education, the concept of self-directed learning has great importance. This term arose in the field of adult education in the 1970s and is still a widely used term in the field. Annual symposiums have been held by the International Society for Self-Directed Learning since 1986, dedicated to the promotion of self-directed learning. The society also publishes an international journal of self-directed learning. A term of more recent origin is self-regulation, used by some authors sometimes interchangeably with self-direction. This review article focuses on the term self-directed learning, which is the term most frequently used in adult education. Many consider the tendency for self-direction to be a fundamental difference between children and adults in a learning situation. This article deals with some factors that affect the understanding of self-directed learning. At the beginning is given a short case story and an account for different perceptions of self-directed learning. This is followed by a clarification of different aspects of self-directed learning, such as why it is advisable, what affects the tendency to self-directed learning, and if self-direction is essentially innate or learned. The situational aspect is dealt with separately as a relatively self-contained aspect of self-directed learning. The presentation is based on a literature study. 2b1af7f3a8