Program Learning Outcome 6 & 7

      PLO 6 - Evaluate technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation

      PLO 7 - Utilize technology to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings

 Assessment and evaluation were one of the pieces to teaching and learning with technology that I had no concept of before I entered into the MATLT program. I understood from a distant, basic level that of course, evaluation and assessment are valuable tools. I had no understanding of what that really meant, or all of the parts and pieces that went into them. Going back and looking at one of my early assignments that was supposed to include a section that discussed these concepts was an enlightening experience. In my original assignment, I didn't even touch on the ideas of how to perform an assessment, collect and analyze data, interpret results, communicate findings, or use those findings to improve the activity. Looking at that same assignment with these learning outcomes in mind allowed me to completely redraft that section, and look at the lesson I had created with fresh eyes. Assessment and evaluation are necessary pieces to the success of any learning program.

Assessment and Evaluation: Learning Activity

Introduction

Assessment and evaluation are vital to the success of any learning activity. Not only do they allow teachers to identify weak areas that may need improvement, they can also highlight a program or activity’s success. Assessment results should help administrators as they plan for future programs, just as they should guide teachers in designing lesson plans. Teachers can more easily identify which instructional approaches might need to be modified to meet the needs of all students. To better measure student knowledge, assessments and evaluations should be given in varying formats, and just like the learning activity, be designed to accommodate multiple learning styles. Goals and objectives should be made clear, both for the students’ activity, and for the assessment. Not all assessments and evaluations are designed to measure the same aspect of a program or activity. It is also important to remember, even while the assessment is happening, students are still learning and internalizing information.

Original Activity: EDU 649 Learning Activity

In English and writing classes, one of the learning objectives is to learn the necessary parts and pieces that make up a story. These are called story elements, and include setting, conflict, plot, theme, character, and point of view. Often when learning these elements, students will study them in various reading assignments. This learning activity will focus on teaching these elements to literature or creative writing classes, Grades 8-10, in a cooperative learning and presentation activity that should take at least three classes to complete. The learning objective: Given iPads and mind mapping software, students in groups of four will brainstorm story elements to write their own short story. They will then write a summary of the story, which they will share with the class in a short, three minute presentation. Those observing each presentation will be asked to identify the story elements of each of the other groups.

Description of Instructional Methods:

The two methods selected for this learning activity were cooperative learning, and presentation. In cooperative learning, students are placed into groups, with each student assigned individual tasks that are inter-dependent on the project being completed as a whole (Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Russell, & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2011). Sometimes in group activities, only one or two people in the group end up doing most of the work, but in cooperative learning “such problems can be avoided by ensuring that each student’s success is dependent on everyone in the group completing assigned tasks” (Walker, 1996). The teacher must make sure that there is accountability. In presentation, “content can be presented verbally by the teacher or a student and the “audience” listens and takes notes” (Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Russell, & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2011). Both of these active learning methods have different approaches, and offer a different learning perspective for the activity.

Evaluation of Instructional Methods Selection:

Students will be divided into groups of four. Each member of the group will be given a different story element to create. One will be given setting, or the time and place. Another will be given plot, or the basic sequence of events to happen in the story. Another will be given conflict, which can be either internal or external, and the fourth will be given character, to create the story’s main character. They will need to work together to make these elements work together. For instance, having the time and place be America in the old west, and having the main character be an astronaut might be a difficult mix. However, this can also lead to an extremely creative story!

While brainstorming these elements, the group will mind map them using the software Mindmeister on the iPad. After each individual has created their element, the group will work together to decide on the final two: theme and point of view, and then they will write a summary of their story using all of these elements. These parts of the activity will each take a class period.

Next comes the presentation. Each group will need to decide how they will present their story. Some might choose to act it out, like a play, others will simply read their story, while others may add visual aids. As each group presents, the rest of the class will take notes, and each student will identify each of the story elements in each group’s story. These notes will be turned in and evaluated by the teacher.

Activity Redesign: 697

Even though the original design for this activity contains a section on evaluation, I don’t think I really had a handle on what that meant at the time. My “evaluation” contains more pieces of the learning activity, and doesn’t really do anything to evaluate or assess the effectiveness of the instructional methods. To properly evaluate this activity, I would first design a logic model. A logic model is designed to show a clear progression as to how a particular activity will meet the planned learning goals and objectives. It maps out inputs (who), resources, activities, outputs (resulting from the activities), and outcomes (changes accomplished by the activity) (McDavid, Huse & Hawthorn, 2013). In this case, the logic model would work as follows:

Inputs: the students, grades 8-10, and the teacher

Resources: a textbook containing several short stories, and either a handout or website providing students with the necessary information and definition of story elements. In this case, there will also be technology resources, an iPad and mindmeister.com.

Activities: Discussions between the teacher and students on the story elements; discussions on multiple short stories identifying story elements; training and supports provided to the students on using both the iPad and mindmeister.

Outputs: Students will be comfortable using the iPad and mindmeister. They will be comfortable with identifying the story elements, and thus better able to design their own during the activity.

Outcome: Students will end the activity with a working knowledge of story elements, how to identify them, and how to apply them in creating their own work.

The logic model gives us clear areas to observe and assess the activity, evaluating the effectiveness of student learning. Are there enough provided resources? Do the resources and activities provide the students with the necessary tools to complete the learning goals and objectives? How can they be improved? By breaking the learning activity down into the logic model, not only can a more complete evaluation occur, but the teacher can better design how to implement assessments and evaluations for each student, in each area. For example, in trying to evaluate the success of the outcomes, the teacher needs to observe all students using the iPad or mindmeister, but since this is a cooperative activity, it is possible that some groups will assign tasks in such a way that only one or two students actually use either of these. The teacher may need to redesign the activity to allow all students to have opportunities to use the technology.

Assessment and evaluation are not just about the outcomes, or learning objectives. They are about the entire activity, from beginning to end.

Challenges

The most challenging aspect of this redesign was remembering the various parts to the logic model, and how it fits with evaluation and assessment. Once I briefly re-familiarized myself with it, I felt confident going into my redesign. When I first designed this activity, I remember really struggling with the evaluation portion. I had no real concept at that time for what exactly entailed evaluation and assessment. The class which studied this in detail came late in the MATLT program, and was in itself, challenging. However, I am extremely grateful to have taken it, since I now feel much more confident in my evaluation abilities. I was able to take this learning activity, and break it down successfully into a logic model that allowed me to see weak areas I missed during the first design.

Conclusion

Evaluation and assessment are integral pieces to education as a whole, and particularly in the design and implementation of learning programs, or learning activities. In this case, I thought it would be fun to design something that allowed students to be creative. However, I didn’t take into account things like resources, activities, and outputs. I didn’t have an understanding for them when I sat down to create the lesson. I feel that having an understanding for how assessment and evaluation work allows me to create better and more complete learning activities that have a greater chance of success, with a wider range of students. I can see if I am lacking in one area or another, or if I am meeting the needs of the students.

References

McDavid, J.C., Huse, I., & Hawthorn, L.L. (2013). Program evaluation & performance measurement: An introduction to practice (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Newby, T. J., Stepich, D. A., Lehman, J. D., Russell, J. D., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2011). Educational technology for teaching and learning (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Walker, A. (1996). Cooperative Learning in the College Classroom. Family Relations. 45(3). pp. 327-335. Retrieved from JSTOR database July 16th, 2012.