The assessment portion of the learning and development cycle is a vital part of the learning process. Assessments are vital for discovering what information learners retain from your instructional design course.
The Latin root of assessment is “assidere,” meaning “to sit beside.” What a nurturing, encouraging concept – and a helpful visual to keep in mind when developing your assessments.
In a training context, assessments are a way of observing the learning process: how learners collect, record and interpret information from the course. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in the learning and development process. Evaluation consists of two parts: formative and summative. Formative evaluation measures learning outcomes during training. Summative evaluation measures learning outcomes after training, or the final stage of instructional design.
Beyond the dreaded “test,” assessments can be interactive, fun, even entertaining. To include creative evaluation in your training, check out these links:
· Assessing the 4 C’s (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication): https://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-assessments-meaningful-heather-wolpert-gawron
· eLearning tips and suggestions: http://www.about-elearning.com/instructional-design-principles.html
· Authentic Assessment: http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/curriculum-instruction/tips-on-how-to-use-authentic-assessment-as-a-teaching-strategy/