Evaluation Of and For Learning

1. Evaluation Of and For Learning Sarah Sullivan, PhD Department of Surgery University of Wisconsin

2. Goals for Today • What is evaluation? • Different forms and purposes of assessment • Developing assessment tools • How would you assess…? • Discuss the importance of feedback as part of assessment to facilitate learning • Reflect on how to effectively complete an evaluation • Evaluation to identify projects and areas for improvement • Evaluations used in your programs

3. What is Evaluation? • Evaluate: to judge the value or condition (of someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way -Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary • We assess to inform decisions • Three broad purposes for assessment • Measuring Individual Achievement • Evaluating Programs • Assisting Learning

4. Use of Assessment needs to be: • Valid • Interpretations of assessment scores are justified • Reliable • An assessments’ results are consistent across individuals or groups • Fair • Assessments should be absent of bias and measure what is being learned Use of Assessment

5. A plan ensures that our standards, instruction and assessment are aligned. • Includes • Learning Objectives • Time Frame • Types of Assessment and Evaluation • Use of Results • You should always know how you will or can assess before you teach and structure learning environments! Assessment Plans

6. ACTIVITY!

7. Some things to decide… • What will you assess? What are the steps? • Do all steps have the same importance? • How will you grade? • What is your cut off for “passing”? • Other things??

8. Adult Learning • Adult learners must be active participants in their learning • i.e., Self-regulated learning • Application to practice • The pedagogy of medical education is changing

9. University of Wisconsin • Department of Surgery Importance of Feedback • Specific • Actionable

10. Tips for Eliciting Useful Feedback • Develop goals for the rotation or learning context • Elicit feedback that is: - specific rather than general - focused on behavior rather than personality - descriptive rather than evaluative - timely • Ask generalizing, process-oriented questions such as: • “How do you decide to…?” • “What is the difference between…and…?” • “How are…and…similar?” • “What is the best…and why…?” • Take time to reflect and self evaluation to promote practices for life-long learning • You’re not done learning when you leave school!

11. Completing an Evaluation Activity: • Review the sample evaluation form: • Imagine that you were the evaluator • How would you go about completing this form? • How could you make the information you provide most valuable for understanding the performance of the student? • Imagine that you were the learner • How would you use the feedback and information provided to you? • What would you find most useful?

12. Bloom’s Taxonomy

13. Formal vs. Informal • Formal is preplanned, systematic • Informal is spontaneous and/or unstructured • Formative vs. Summative • Formative determines progress, checks understanding, and adjusts midstream • Summative is evaluation of progress at end for students/program/instruction • Traditional vs. Authentic • Traditional is the tests, quizzes and paper and pencil we are used to • Authentic is situated in the context of learning and/or relevant to future use of material Variations in Assessment Types

14. Performance • Carrying out a relevant activity or performing a skill/task • Authentic • Problem solving tasks that allow use of knowledge and skills in a meaningful way • These assessment types: • Use multiple forms of assessment • Assess a broader range of abilities and talents • Use assessment as a part of instruction • Use tasks that are relevant to real life or represent common tasks in the discipline Performance & Authentic Assessments

15. Checklists • Especially good for performances. • Important that the elements all be weighted the same • Rating Scales • Can be graphic, numeric or descriptive • Rubrics • Good when you have multiple criteria being assessed • Clarifies standards Performance & Authentic Assessment: Some Methods

16. activity!

17. Formal vs. Informal • Formal is preplanned, systematic • Informal is spontaneous and/or unstructured • Formative vs. Summative • Formative determines progress, checks understanding, and adjusts midstream • Summative is evaluation of progress at end for students/program/instruction • Traditional vs. Authentic/Performance • Traditional is the tests, quizzes and paper and pencil we are used to • Authentic is situated in the context of learning and/or relevant to future use of material Variations in Assessment Types

18. Questions? Thank you!!