This post is provided by guest blogger, Paulette Richardson, graduate student, University of St. Francis, MS Training and Development Program.

In her article titled, “Improving Assessment in E-Learning Programs”, Mary Burns (2018) notes that “assessments drive instruction” (para. 1).  The idea is that what gets measured gets taught (Burns, 2018).  The article explains further that assessments are typically not the strongest part of the e-learning program.  It continued by outlining the reasons for making this claim.  To ensure that a strong case is presented, the article provided strategies that can assist with strengthening assessments in e-learning programs regardless of whether those assessments are formative (conducted during the learning process) or summative (conducted at the end of the learning process). These strategies range from knowing “the why” of assessment to understanding that the learners’ performance should be measured; not just their knowledge.

When completing this week’s research, I paused several times.  I asked myself, “As a former teacher, was I designing assessments just ‘for the fun of it’?” Or, was I designing them because I understood how crucial they were to the learner’s success. Additionally, when designed, were the assessments strong? This article has helped to re-examine my thought pattern regarding the validity and strength of the assessments used in the learning process.  I would recommend the article because it gave tools to help with examining the strength of, and presents strategies that can be used to strengthen, the assessment process.

Reference

Burns, M. (2018, May 23). Improving assessment in eLearning programs. Retrieved June 9, 2020, from https://elearningindustry.com/assessment-in-elearning-programs-improving