Introduction
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the comprehension of concepts which were presented during classes by ensuring the development of a plan aimed at assessing learner performances. A plan is put together in a portfolio blog elaborating on learning outcomes and purpose- wherefore the purpose of the plan is stated. The context of the assessment is the identification of a task familiar to learners; a holistic rubric is also developed in this context.
Learning Outcomes
Recently, there is an increased recognition by schools nation-over (in the United States) towards complete commitment to the teaching-learning process which ensures assessment and the documentation of the extent of comprehension by students under a given academic setting.
As much as this tool is put together to maximally benefit the learner, through assessment of outcomes, it has become imperative to emphasis more students focused learning improvement. The Outcome Assessment, in a way, is developed from freethinking based on an established educational outcome.
An Outcome Assessment (or a QA) may therefore be said to be a process involving the collection of information that expresses the degree to which an institution’s influences or activities are functional. Otherwise, the QA reflects a question of how much influence the institution has on its target(s).
From the blog, an attempt was made to ascertain statistical values of a given sets of data- such as the mean. It was noted that the mean made a provision that expressed the behavioural expectancy from a selected number of respondents. The mean was noted to have provided an average of the behavioural expectations for the respondents.
The significance of arriving at a mean was stressed to reflect the characteristics of the sample that was studied. The study was relevant as the ten respondents gave vital replies based on their preferences. A qualitative analysis from the result therefore revealed possible trends towards human behavioural patterns.
A clear advantage of the use of a QA is that if systematically employed, it provided analysis that is helpful across all layers of an institution for the administration to students.
As regarding the students, the QA helps through the following: it enables the students to have a clear expectation of a program and also gives them information which they may make use of in conducting a transparent and consistent analysis; it is a reassurance for the actualization of the general content through the entire course sections; it makes it easier for students to arrive at more acceptable decisions as this is based on outcomes arrived at by the participants.
The QA also helps the students to arrive at functional and non-functional parts of a program and facilitates beneficial interdisciplinary/intercampus discussions.
The following are also noted:
- The QA provides strong evidences for the justification of resources required in the maintenance and improvement of programs while it enables them to express their individual/collective stories; and
- It makes a provision that reassures the relevance and of course the core value that are meant (CDC, 2007).
For a facilitator, or an administrator, the QA helps in the implementation of college-wide policies and through the following:
- It demonstrates the commitment of the institution to a consistent improvement of academic programs or other services which may be made available by the school;
- It demonstrates how accountable resources are funded and provides essential data that helps in supporting local funding; and
- It makes available reliable data that is used in planning and in making decisions (Rebecca et. al., 2009).
All these enable a consistent impact on students in a systematic way.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
This essential toolkit has an outstanding importance in the Cognitive Domain and has up to 6 levels of intellectual-behavior where it is employed – including evaluations, analyses, applications, syntheses, comprehension, and knowledge (NTLF, 1999). There is progression offered by Bloom’s Taxonomy from simple to complex evaluations.
In demonstrating an understanding of the concepts learned from the course through the development of a learner assessment plan, it is expected that the QA will provide strong evidences for the justification of learning while it enables the students to express their individual/collective stories as regarding how they can arrive at more acceptable statistical values, and make a provision that reassures the relevance of course to the core value them are meant.
The assessment task identified (i.e. the statistical tool for analyzing human behavior) is relevant and can be demonstrated by learners easily because the mean provides an average of the behavioural expectations for the respondents. The significance of arriving at a mean is therefore stressed to reflect the characteristics of the sample studied.
Learners are expected to demonstrate a qualitative analysis from the result that may be used for revealing possible trends towards human behavioural patterns. In this regards, the learners are requested, as a Holistic Rubric, to describe how they can arrive at statistical values such as the mean for given population rather than apply the knowledge.
Testing Constraints
From previous studies, the relevance of learning outcomes was noted to embed characteristics for the learner to be effective (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010). To actualize the anticipated effective, however, it is always appropriate to put together constraints aimed at helping the learner achieve set-goals with more easy and of course faster. For the purpose of this study, specificity is stressed as an essential guide to learner goal-orientation.
Learners are equally expected to be very realistic both in their studies and in the presentation of their outcomes. The outcomes produced by the students must be measurable and quantifiable – such as it was the case with the statistical values in the blog. Lastly, it is important that the outcomes must be objective and time-bound or defined with respect to a given time. These constraints are such that the learner is able to produce outcomes under simple learning conditions; a reasonable comprehension of the expectation from the students is supposed.
The use of learning visual and pictorial materials is employed to make the learning more actual to the learner. Both the strength and weakness of the student are compared and best working partners suggested as particular attention is paid to individual students.
Conclusion
This paper focused on demonstrating the comprehension of concepts which were presented during classes by ensuring the development of a plan aimed at assessing performances of a learner. A plan was put together in a portfolio blog elaborating on learning outcomes and purpose- and the paper is developed around the context. The context of the assessment is the identification of a task familiar to learners where a holistic rubric is developed.
Reference List
CDC. (2007), Deaths in 2007 Final Data. Web.
Kubiszyn, T., & Borich, G. (2010). Educational testing & measurement: Classroom Application and Practice (9th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rebecca, C., Ken, W., & Samantha, S. (2009), Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Handbook. Web.
The National Teaching and Learning Forum, NTLF. (1999), Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy on Cognitive Behaviors. Web.