Assessment+and+Evaluation+in+a+DL+Environment+-+Discussion+Summary


 * Assessment and Evaluation in a DL Environment - Discussion Summary

__Assessment in a DL Environment__

1. Key Questions** A discussion board thread was started with terrific input from classmates. The following are key questions which were asked or came up during the discussion.
 * Should some of the assessment be based on group work in order to have students connect more with one another?
 * If exams are being used, how many exams are appropriate?
 * When using assignments, how can the instructor be sure the student is completing the assignment and is this even an issue?
 * Does assessment of discussion boards impact the learning outcomes of participants?
 * As an instructor, do you assess the discussion board and if so, what do you base your assessment on?

During the discussion board thread, some opportunities and challenges came up and are summarized below.
 * 2. Exploration**
 * It was noted that some courses use short assessments or quizzes which students can repeat in order to achieve success. There was discussion and concern that this may benefit those with good memorization techniques and not necessarily add to learning. There was further discussion that if there were a limit put on the number of times a student could repeat the process and that there was opportunity for students to review material/activities prior to repeating the assessment or quiz could contribute to learning.
 * There was concern about group work in an online environment where it is difficult, because of sometimes extreme differences in time zones, for participants to connect for group work. Some suggestions were to ensure groups were small enough to be workable, that enough time was given by the instructor for participants to connect and also to ensure that not all of the course mark was attributable to group work.
 * Further to the above point, some additional difficulties with collaborative work including where workload is not balanced between group members. It was noted that this is easier for the instructor to manage and negotiate in face to face than online. It was suggested that in online, not all group members receive the same mark but the mark should be based on contribution efforts and a further suggestion was made to use individual self-assessment of what was learned as part of the mark for group work.
 * Group work was discussed as a way to reduce cheating as there would be peer pressure for everyone in the group to contribute. This also led to a discussion about cheating and how cheating may be more prevalent in face to face where students get to know one another better. An article was shared that agreed with this.
 * Case studies were recommended as an assessment tool as they promote essential skills such as problem solving and critical thinking in real world applications.

The following recommendations and conclusions were draw from the discussion.
 * 3. Integration**
 * Generally exams have to be invigilated while being written, so for convenience for the students, a maximum of one exam per course was suggested.
 * A study reviewed regarding assessment of discussion boards indicated that when discussion boards were assessed, students seemed to contribute on a deeper level and learned more from them. An article was provided that agreed with this.
 * Suggestions were made that if the discussion board was being assessed, the instructor would have to ensure that there are clear directions with the expectations regarding the discussion board

How do I will apply these "lessons learned" to my own distributed learning context?
 * 4. Resolution/Application**

I am currently involved in developing and facilitating online courses in a higher education environment. The main topics that I teach are math, accounting and finance. I have always thought that these topics do not lend themselves well to group work, and I have not included many group activities in my courses. After exploring this issue as well as doing research for my final paper, I see how group work can add to the development or fostering of community within an online course. I may be adding some group work to my math classes!

I found the discussion and exploration regarding discussion boards an enlightening process. The discussion and the study reviewed concluded that discussion boards that were assessed were more helpful to students and provided richer discussion than those that were not. I will keep this in mind in future course development.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion of this topic - you provided some thoughtful discussion and insightful comments. ~Lauren


 * __ Evaluation in a DL Environment __

1. Key Questions** What were the key questions identified for your topic/issue? · What is the purpose of evaluating faculty? · Who should conduct the evaluation and what criteria are used to determine competence of faculty? · Should faculty use the same approach of teaching online as in conventional classes? · How could the seven principles of good practice be a useful tool for faculty to improve distributed learning? · Are the seven principles of good practice the ideal principles on which to base evaluation of faculty’s performance?

What opportunities and challenges were discussed? // · //// It was noted that it was very difficult to use the seven principles of good practice as a standard for evaluation since many institutions have developed their own systems of evaluation. It is difficult to formulate faculty evaluation system because it is essential to get inputs from all faculties. When people are able to contribute their ideas to developing a system, they are generally more accepting of the system. // // · //// There were challenges about “who should evaluate instructors”. Student evaluation faces the doubt of objectivity. An instructor could be evaluated highly by students based on the level of contact he/she has established with students, but not on how well course materials are delivered. Self-evaluation by instructors carried in some institutions also has its shortcoming especially if evaluation results are to be used for promotion or retention/renewal of contract. External feedback may be sought from peers of instructors that work in other institutions, but such feedback may not be accurate since peers expect their institutions to ask for peer feedback from the instructors they are evaluating now. //
 * 2. Exploration**

What recommendations and conclusions can you draw from the discussion? // · //// Allow each institution to design its own evaluation system for instructors and only incorporate some aspects of the seven principles of good practice that apply to their situation. // // · //// Evaluation of faculty need only be done to improve their practice, and allow faculty to become actively involved in the development of faculty evaluation system. //
 * 3. Integration**

How do you plan to apply these "lessons learned" to your final assignment or your own distributed learning context?  // For my final paper, I will use the above lesson to search deeper in my sub-topic of //// “ // how administration of distance learning and institutional motivations for using distance learning help to bring success for resources, practices, and results”. I will have to research on cost-benefit analysis of distance learning as well. Last year I went to Juba, South Sudan in Africa and one of the lecturers at Juba University talked to me about the possibility of starting an online ESL program at the university. I believe I can now advice him with certain level of confidence based on what I have learned, for example, the immediate issues of concern such as having qualified faculty, institutional support, quality of internet connection, and student interest. Thanks to all who shared their thoughts on the topic. Okema
 * 4. Resolution/Application**


 * Resources **

Following is a list of resources to find further information/ideas about this topic.

Bangert, A. W., (2006). The development of an instrument for assessing online teaching effectiveness. //Journal of Educational Computing Research.// Volume 35(3), pp 227-244.

Berg, G. A. (2002). //Why Distance Learning?: Higher Education Administrative Practices.// CT: Praeger Publishers. Retrieved from: [|//http://books.google.ca/books?id=62XUdAVQOD8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=evaluating+distributed+learning+practice&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false//]

Brown, S. (2004). Assessment for Learning. //Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1),// 81-89. Available online at: @http://www2.glos.ac.uk/offload/tli/lets/lathe/issue1/articles/brown.pdf

Community of Inquiry: []

Communities of Practice, []

Discenza, R., Howard, C., & Schenk, K. (2002) PA: Idea Group. The //Design and Management of Effective Distance Learning Programs.// Retrieved from: [] DiStefano, A., Rudestam, K. E., & Silverman, R. J. (2004). //Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Retrieved from: [] Johnson, J. L. (2003). //Distance Education: the Complete Guide to Design, Delivery, and Improvement.// N.Y: Teachers College, Columbia Univ. Retrieved from: []

Klisc, C., McGill, T., Hobbs, V. (2009) The Effect of Assessment on the Outcomes of Asynchronous Online Discussion as Perceived by Instructors. //Australasian Journal of Educational Technology.// 25(5), pp 666-682. []  Knapczyk, D., Hew, K., (2007). An analysis and evaluation of online instrucitonal activities. //Teacher Education and Special Education.// Volume 30(3), pp 167-182.

 Nicol, D.J. & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. //Studies in// //Higher Education,// 31(2), 199–218. Available online at: []

Pelz, B. (2004). (My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. //Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks//, 8(3), 33-46. Available online at: []

Penny, L., Murphy, E., (2009). Rubrics for designing and evaluating online asynchronous discussions. //British Journal of Educaitonal Technology//. Volume 40(5), pp 804-820.

Re-engineering Assessment Practices in Scottish Higher Education [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Team Based Learning: []

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Vrasidas, C., & Glass G.V. (2002). //Distance Education and Distributed Learning//. IL: Information Age Publishing Inc. Retrieved from: []

Watson, G., Sottile, J. (2010). Cheating in the Digital Age: Do Students cheat more in online courses? // Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume XIII, Number I, Spring 2010 //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. <span style="color: #003366; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">

Yates, R. W., and Beaudrie, B., The Impact of Online Assessment on Grades in Community College Distance Education Mathematics Courses. //American Journal of Distance Education. V23, n2, p62-70, 2009.// <span style="color: #003366; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[]

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