Assess Learning

ResearchGate, a site created by research scientists for research scientists, adapted content from Angelo and Cross (1993) to define assessment as an interactive process between learners and faculty that occurs during the learning and teaching activities in meeting course outcomes. Assessment gives faculty the opportunity to understand how well students are mastering course materials and to make adjustments to the interactions based on that understanding—it is formative.

Learners need regular formative assessment so that they know how they're doing, whether they are meeting expectations, and how they are to move forward. This is particularly important because of the physical separation of the faculty and learners in online courses. In face-to-face classrooms, formative assessment can be provided to students by the faculty through responses to inquiries and participation in class discussions and as notes on assignments that are handed back. It can even be in the form of body language and non-verbal communication.

In an online course, the latter options aren't available; therefore, regular feedback helps to prevent the sense of isolation that is often one of the criticisms of online learning. This may be of critical importance in the field of nursing where part of the role in nursing education is the socialization to the profession itself (Mancuso, 2009) and many nursing students are turning to distance education as a way of fitting in education into busy schedules.

The delivery of formative assessment by the faculty can let learners know they are being heard, their contributions are being acknowledged, and they are not out-of-synch with peers in the class. Let's talk about some specific situations. You can proceed through each section using the Next button or jump directly to a specific topic: feedback, rubrics, assessing groups, eportfolios, and online testing.

One concept that can be useful in planning your assignments and setting students up for success is that of 'transparent design'. As defined in this May 2020 Faculty Focus article, "Transparent assignment design is the process of designing assignments so that the process of learning is more explicit for students. In other words, transparent assignments shed light on the assignment’s purpose, task, and criteria."  The article contains some questions to consider when creating an assignment to provide students with a clear understanding of expectations.