The way that training and classroom courseware are delivered has shifted profoundly during the past five years. While a great deal of attention has been given to form of delivery, it’s clear that search and retrieval practice as well as other important factors influence how and what students actually learn and apply to their specific tasks.
Some educational institutions have tried to move entirely to online learning opportunities, for example, and yet not everyone is well suited to this approach. A significant portion of the population, especially those considered to be Gen X or Gen Y, love to learn on the computer. They even spend their leisure time on the computer. Others learn better in the more traditional training session where people get together, break up into groups, and talk to each other. Many of us prefer the classroom setting with all of its human interaction.
It’s critical, therefore, to understand how people learn, what they have in fact learned, and whether this knowledge is useful for their particular job. That’s why the cornerstone of developing successful educational, training, and certification materials is the effective use of assessments. While assessments used to consist of reams of paper upon which students filled in tiny boxes, now companies and educational institutions have a real opportunity to use technology not only to make assessments more widely available but also to make the process far more effective.
These educational institutions can use assessments to guide people to powerful learning experiences; reduce learning curves; extend the forgetting curve; confirm skills, knowledge and attitudes; and motivate people by giving them a real sense of achievement.
The purpose of this workshop is to illustrate how both educational institutions and instructors can use assessments to improve the learning process and achieve greater results. The workshop is designed to help educators:
• Distinguish the types and styles of assessments
• Distinguish the various types of assessment tools
• Know how to develop effective assessments
• Know how to analyze the results of assessments
• Understand reliability and validity
• Understand the benefits of computerizing assessments
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