Publish at February 10 2014 Updated October 12 2022
Assessment is a necessary part of any training device. Assessment allows us to give value to the level of acquisition of the learner's skills and knowledge. This theme, if it is a permanent field of reflection, has returned to the center of attention with the arrival of new digital tools that offer new possibilities and new perspectives in terms of learning.
The learner seeks to achieve educational objectives through the activities provided. Assessment allows the student to position him/herself: "can I move on to the next module?" or "should I redo this module?". At the end of the study of each module, the student tries to situate him/herself in relation to the concepts and skills covered. Are they understood? Have they been acquired?
The interest for the pedagogue is twofold, depending on whether one is interested in the evaluation of the learner or in the evaluation of the training device itself.
With regard to evaluation , the pedagogue seeks to accompany the student on the path to success. These are not empty words. Practices and the frequent use of digital assessment tools provide the pedagogue with the means to circumscribe the learner's level of mastery and to offer the means to help him or her along the way. However, they are only tools and their value remains attached to the quality that the pedagogue will put into developing his or her assessment materials.
As far as the training device is concerned, it is essential to check that it meets the learners' expectations. The evaluation methods proposed by digital solutions, are largely inspired by the Kirkpatrick model, an American researcher whose work focused on the evaluation of corporate training. This issue is prevalent in the context of distance learning because it is necessary for the instructional designer to have feedback (the famous "feedback") both on the quality of content and on the diversity of activities, their combination and access to online resources. Thus, the quality of the implementation is linked to the evaluation that is done, the only way to adjust and make improvements. Sylvain Vacaresse in the module "designing an e-learning device" proposed by SCEREN /CRDP also distinguishes between the needs of the tutor and those of the instructional designer in terms of evaluation and emphasizes the evaluation choices.
It is common to distinguish 4 types of assessment:
The benefit of diagnostic assessment is to locate the prerequisites needed to study a module. It is a tool that is useful to the learner for two reasons: first, he or she knows whether he or she has the necessary knowledge before beginning the module itself, and if not, he or she can benefit from remediation or even an adapted training path.
Formative assessment is essential at the end of the learning module in order to verify that the student has mastered the knowledge and abilities/skills set by the learning objective. If the student has means of remediation, he or she should logically achieve success, which allows him or her to move on to study another module.We will note the value of "badges" that punctuate the learner's success in his or her learning journey.
.Summative assessment ext one way to identify the degree of acquisition of a set of learning objectives. Whether it is repeated at the end of the training period or at the end of a series of sequences, it allows for verification that the student has achieved the educational objective and thus the situation in relation to his or her training.
Finally, summative assessment is a means of identifying the degree of acquisition of a set of learning objectives.
Finally, the certifying evaluation attests that the level attained respects the institutional expectations or even the curriculum. It can be organized in the form of examinations or tests. A document attesting to the level reached may then be handed out.
Finally, a certificate of achievement may be issued.
Skills-based assessment modifies the traditional framework of graded assessment in favor of an attestation of skills attained. We can welcome this opening towards a greater transparency regarding the learner's achievements. Thus, free software such as NexEv offers the possibility of evaluating their students according to their skills booklet. The SACoche site (Sésamaths project) proposes to follow the acquisition of items by limiting itself to three degrees of acquisition.
While assessment management tools have progressed well, assessment tools are hardly varied in themselves: Quizzes and MCQs are still predominant today. There is therefore a need to innovate in this area. This is easily translated into the detour of certain tools: thus the use of virtual classrooms, the use of learning platforms where assignments, comments, planning,.... are deposited make it possible to ensure regular and individualized control of learning.
Today the functionalities of the evaluation management tools make it possible to have data concerning the degree and evolution of the learner. To these "scoring" functionalities come to be added those of "tracking". The tracking of the student's progress is of great pedagogical interest as it improves the follow-up of the student by the teacher and also by his family. Nevertheless, one can question the drifts that can arise from data mining and too wide a distribution of these data.
The data mining process is not always easy.
References
Designing an e-learning device - Canopé - Académie de Versailles.
https://webtv.ac-versailles.fr/spip.php?page=recherche&recherche=Design+a+de+training+device
The Digital School " NExEv, a new tool to assess skills. http://www.cndp.fr/ecolenumerique/tous-les-numeros/boite-a-outices/vie-scolaire-en-ligne/nexev-un-nouvel-outil-pour-evaluer-les-competences.html
SACoche " Presentation Documents. https://sacoche.sesamath.net/index.php?dossier=presentation&file=home__documents
Authenticated Digital Credentials. http://www.industrie-techno.com/diplomes-numeriques-authentifies.26791
eLearning Expo 2010: assessment and digital tools - Training Practices. http://www.pratiques-de-la-formation.fr/eLearning-Expo-2010-evaluation-et.html
Find the other articles in the series dedicated to educational scripting:
Part 1: Defining the Objective
Part Three: scenario development
Photo: donskarpo, Shutterstock.com
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