Monday, August 29, 2011

Catching up

As stated in WikiEd:
Evaluation in an educational setting has been defined by several scholars. For example,
"the collection of, analysis and interpretation of information about any aspect of a programme of education or training as part of a recognised process of judging its effectiveness, its efficiency and any other outcomes it may have"(Ellington, Percival and Race, 1988).
the systematic acquisition of feedback on the use, worth and impact of some activity, program or process in relation to its intended outcomes (Naidu, 2005).
"the process of making judgements and decisions about a product and trying to understand how people use the product in order to learn" (Phillips, 2005).

Myself and two colleagues are involved in a project to devise an evaluation plan. We have chosen a course entitled 'The Conditions of the Head and Scalp'. This is a course that has already been trialled (semester one, 2011) and so our project will be a summative evaluation measuring effectiveness. The course has changed from f2f lecture delivery to being completely online. The purpose of the evaluation is to establish the effectiveness of this form of delivery and whether the format can be utilised within the context of other courses.

I have been reading various literature regarding bench marks and best practice.

Stansfield, M. et al (2009), identify a number of key issues from organisational, technological, pedagogical, student/user and financial perspective. The technological issues are an important issue in regard to any online learning in particular ensuring adequate/on-going support for both staff and students. Pedagogical issues including appropriate approaches and stimulating content for the student. Student issues underpinning best practice demonstrates the importance of clear and effective communication, including online guidance, support and feedback. Peer feedback and support was noted to be effective means of supporting and interacting with each other.

The 'Good Practice Checklist for Online Courses' (Otago Polytechnic) will be a good framework to assist the evaluation of our course.

The eLearning guidelines for new zealand are an effective checklist and prompt supporting good practice and will be a good reference for our evaluation project.

Bates and Obexer (2005) conducted an evaluation on the effectiveness of online teaching and learning strategies for aviation students. They based their evaluation on teaching and learning strategies focussing on 5 areas: Social presence, Interaction, Cognitive strategies, Collaborative learning and Learner-centeredness. The evaluation involved a multiple methods approach combining both qualitative and quantative evaluation methods. The results were interesting to read from the different aspects of the Course observation for each of the five areas, the Student perceptions, and the Instructor reflections. Areas of particular note the social presence and environnment created were very positive. The importance of ensuring timely student feedback was noted as an issue that could be improved. The instructor felt that the reasoning behind the process of the group collaborative assignment was needed, stating where some students interact more easily with the student-centred approach, others require more coaching and information. These issues highlight the importance of evaluation not only conducted at the end but earlier on to focus on any issues that can be addressed.



Stansfield M, Connolly T, Cartelli A, Jimoyiannis A, Magalhães H, and Maillet K. “The Identification of Key Issues in the Development of Sustainable e-Learning and Virtual Campus Initiatives” Electronic Journal of e-Learning Volume 7 Issue 2 2009, (pp155 - 164), available online at www.ejel.org

eLearning guidelines for new zealand (2008). Retrieved 15 August, 2011 from http://elg.massey.ac.nz/index.php?title=Main_Page

WikiEdProfessional eLearning guidebook/evaluatiing the impacts of eLearning/definitions of evaluation. Retrieved 29 August 2011 from http://wikieducator.org/WikiEdProfessional_eLearning_Guidebook/Evaluating_the_impacts_of_eLearning/Definitions_of_evaluation

Bates, P and Obexer, R (2005). Evaluating student centred teaching and learning strategies for aviation students using a quality framework for online learning environments. Retrieved 15 August, 2011 from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/brisbane05/blogs/proceedings/08_Bates.pdf

2 comments:

Bronwyn hegarty said...

The range of literature you describe is very useful. The Bates and Obexer (2005) article should be a good practical and theoretical model to underpin your evaluation. Do you think you will look at any of the five areas they describe: Social presence, Interaction, Cognitive strategies, Collaborative learning and Learner-centeredness? Their evaluation framework could be useful even if you are only looking at one aspect - the learner-centredness. What do you think? I wonder how their work links with Stansfield et al's evaluation. Have you had a chance to look at this?

oonagh said...

The literature is interesting and certainly helpful, if somewhat confusing in trying to decide exactly what to focus on specifically for the group project. As a group we need to have a discussion to ensure a cohesive plan.
Thanks for you feedback