FORMATIVE EVALUATION FOR ONLINE LEARNING:
A PROPOSAL FOR SOFAD’S SOCIAL STUDIES COURSE
by
Samantha Slade
Final Paper presented in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements of
Integrative Project RM810
Capella University
December, 2001
Address: / 1659 Marie-anne estCity, State, Zip: / Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2J 2E2
Phone: / 514-529-5177
E-mail: /
Mentor: / Dr. Monday McLain
Table of Contents
FORMATIVE EVALUATION FOR ONLINE LEARNING: i
Table of Contents ii
1. Developing a Proposal For Formative Evaluation in Online Learning 1
1.1 Why develop a proposal? 1
1.2 Who can benefit from the proposal? 2
1.3 How will the proposal be developed? 3
2. Understanding the ContexT: Society, Education, and Technology 4
2.1 Society: Learner Expectations 4
2.2 Education: New Paradigms 5
2.3 Technology: Opening New Doors 7
3. SOFAD and the New Context 9
3.1 Successful Online Learning: The CASE Approach 9
3.2 Connecting Distance Education and Online Learning 9
3.3 A Pilot Project: The SOFAD Social Studies Course 10
4. Challenges in Online Learning Development 11
4.1 Instructional Design 11
4.2 Learner Support 13
4.3 Choices in Technology 15
4.4 Learning Objects 16
5. Towards a Proposal for Online Formative Evaluation 17
5.1 The Working Committee 17
5.2 Working in Line with the Social Studies Course 17
5.3 Learning from Other Models 21
5.4 Formative Evaluation Ideas for SOFAD 29
5.5 Analysis of the Formative Evaluation Ideas 31
6. The Proposal 34
6.1 Form: Proposal for Online Formative Evaluation 34
6.2 Functioning: Proposal for Online Formative Evaluation 36
6.3 Context and Challenges 37
7. Conclusion 40
References 41
List of Tables
Table 1: Summary of the Changes 5
Table 2: Integrated Evaluation 7
Table 3: Educational Potential of ICT 8
Table 4: Social Studies Course (Quebec in the 20th Century) 20
Table 5: Learning Events per Module 21
Table 6: CCFD 24
Table 7: Télé-université 25
Table 8: OSCAR 26
Table 9: Cyberschool Consortium 27
Table 10: SOFAD 28
List of Figures
Figure 1: Formative Evaluation Proposal-Learner Perspective 2
Figure 2: Formative Evaluation Proposal Instructor Perspective 3
i
Formative Evaluation for Online Learning A Proposal for SOFAD’s Social Study Course
1. Developing a Proposal
For Formative Evaluation in Online Learning
The goal for this project is to develop a proposal for the form and functioning of the formative evaluation section for the secondary level adult education online Social Studies course for SOFAD (Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires du Québec). This paper presents the larger issues that ground and guide the task of developing the proposal; the process used to develop the proposal; and finally the proposal itself.
1.1 Why develop a proposal?
SOFAD is an organization mandated to produce learning resources for adult secondary level courses for both distance and in-class learners in Quebec. Presently transitioning from the production of paper-based learning materials to the production of on-line learning resources, SOFAD finds its role of a centralized organization providing learning materials for school boards under question. At the heart of the issue is formative evaluation. If online learning is to address the learning experience, the support of that leasùarning and the evaluation of that learning, then the form and functioning of the formative evaluation model for SOFAD online courses will have an impact on a larger level. In fact, the roles and functioning of the different players in the educational system, from student to instructor, but possibly also SOFAD and its partners, the school boards could be called to change. Therefore, it is essential that SOFAD take stock of the full picture, and that it works in collaboration with its educational partners in orienting its formative evaluation model.
Are there other models of online formative evaluation that SOFAD could use? In general, reflection and research on online learning environments focus on the university level where the context and culture of course development and delivery are radically different from the adult secondary structure in Quebec. First, the approach used for formative evaluation at the university level is not applicable for adult education learners who are fragile learners in need of much more structure. More importantly though is the difference in the system organization: at the university level, online course production and support services, including evaluation, are centralized, the same person who produces the course is responsible for its delivery. However, in Quebec, student registration, learner support (teaching and tutoring) and the sanctioning of studies all occur in a decentralized fashion via some 40 odd school boards within the province. Hence, learners use SOFAD material, but SOFAD has no role in the delivery of these learning materials. Therefore models for formative evaluation for online learning from other educational organizations are not transferable to SOFAD’s context. Therefore as SOFAD makes the transition to online learning, the form and functioning of the formative evaluation will need to be established.
1.2 Who can benefit from the proposal?
Students, teachers and tutors throughout Quebec will eventually use the formative evaluation model proposed in this project; hence they stand to benefit from a well thought out formative evaluation system. The model proposed for this project will be used to guide the development of the formative evaluation for SOFAD’s first academic online course, Social Studies (Quebec in the 20thCentury). Ideally though the model will be generic enough for use with other SOFAD online courses to come. In so doing, SOFAD’s production process will be more efficient and its products more effective. Finally, other producers of online learning environments, particularly at the secondary level, and particularly those who have a separation between course production and course delivery could benefit from our process and our proposition.
1.3 How will the proposal be developed?
The first step in developing the proposal is to do the groundwork: clarifying the multifaceted context and challenges that surround the shift to online learning. This involves an overview of changes in society, education and technology and SOFAD’s position within that context of change. Also, it involves a clear understanding of what online learning is and what it isn’t and the challenges related to the development of online learning environments, specifically in relation to formative evaluation. This constitutes the first part of this paper.
The groundwork will serve to guide the actual development of the formative evaluation proposal. The process occurs via a working committee of educators: given that SOFAD does not actually take care of course support and delivery it is essential that it works in concert with its school board partners to define this key element of online learning.
The working committee will generate ideas for the form and functioning of the formative evaluation of the SOFAD Social Studies online course. These ideas will need to fit into the Social Studies course structure, and benefit from a critical look at other models of online formative evaluation. The different ideas will be analyzed to arrival at a final proposition. The tasks of the working committee make up the second part of this paper.
The third and final section is the presentation of the proposition. This includes an explanation of the form and functioning of the formative evaluation section and an overview quick of how the proposal fits into the context and the challenges presented in the first section.
2. Understanding the Context
Society, Education, and Technology
The shift to online learning is occurring within a context of many other changes, from socio-cultural changes, to new educational paradigms and the ever-evolving possibilities of the ICT (Information and Communication technologies) world. Hence, new needs, new approaches and new ways to meet these needs. This larger framework will serve to ground and guide the development of the proposal for online formative evaluation.
Table 1: Summary of the Changes
From
/To
Society:Learner Expectations / passive learning / active learning
textbook type learning / dynamic learning materials
delayed support and feedback / immediate feedback and support
time and space significant / accessibility and flexibility
single focused tasks / complex multi-tasking
Educational Paradigms / objectivism / constructivism
individual learning / social learning
evaluation simple tasks at end of learning / evaluation via complex tasks integrated into learning process
Technological Potential / Learning as an individual process / dialogue and collaboration
linear learning / non-linear learning
fixed tasks / open tasks
packaged learning / modular learning
2.1 Society: Learner Expectations
A typical adult learner in 2002 will have different expectations than the typical adult learner in 1952, 1982, and even 1992. The term the "Information mind set" (Educause, 2000) has been coined to describe what distinguishes learners of the new millennium.
1) Today’s learners want to learn by doing. They are more comfortable with active trial and error learning of a new Nintendo game, rather than reading about how it works or listening to a teacher explain how it works.
2) Today’s learners are accustomed to video clips, arcades and the Internet. Fast paced multimedia action is normal. Maintaining learner interest can require a dynamic and catchy learning approach.
3) When disappointed or bored, this generation, lacking patience, changes the channel or clicks another hyperlink. Expectations for immediacy abound. In learning, this translates to demands for rapid feedback and follow-up.
4) Cell phones, voice mail, pagers and email have been integrated into our daily lives, redefining our relationship with time and space. Today’ learners take connectivity for granted and assume and expect accessibility to learning and learning support, any place, any time.
5) Finally, today’s learners multitask: driving and talking on the phone have become the usual. Focused concentration on a single issue is becoming more and more of a challenge.
This doesn’t mean we need to turn education into entertainment, but we certainly should be preoccupied at making it relevant and motivating, keeping in mind the information mindset.
2.2 Education: New Paradigms
1) Recent neurological research findings have led the way to a new educational paradigm that redefines our understanding of how learning occurs, and consequently how to best facilitate and encourage the learning process (Jonassen, 1991). This shift is from an objectivist to a constructivist approach in which learning is not so much the assimilation of knowledge, but the active negotiation and application of knowledge via authentic, meaningful, complex tasks personalized to learners. Within constructivism, learners are given more responsibility for their learning and teachers are not so much imparters of knowledge as guides or facilitators. (MEQ, 2001)
2) Researchers place new importance on learning as a social process more than an individual one. Discussion and collaboration serve to clarify and enrich the learning process and peer-to-peer exchanges provide multiple perspectives and group knowledge that enhances the learning process. Indeed, the new educational reform in Quebec is referred to as socio-constructivist (Quebec, 2000).
3) The new approach to evaluation calls for complex, authentic activities integrated into the learning process itself, rather than a separate add on at the end. In fact, the province of Quebec is at the beginning of an evaluation reform that can be summarized as follows:
Table 2: Integrated EvaluationLESS emphasis on / MORE emphasis on
Evaluation separate from learning process / Integral part of learning
Objective questions (such as multiple choice) / Open ended questions involving argumentation, practical activities, portfolios and so on
Final product / Process and outcomes
School-oriented evaluation activities / Evaluation activities that interest students
Lower-order thinking skills / Complex higher-order cognitive skills
Teacher-controlled evaluation / Student responsibility: self-reflection, co-evaluation, collaborative evaluation
Theoretical knowledge / Opportunity to apply and demonstrate knowledge
Short, easy to correct evaluations / Long term evaluation tasks corrected according to criteria
Teacher-designed evaluations / Student-designed evaluations
Test and exam formats / Journals, projects, portfolios, etc.
(Quebec, Virage Express, 2000)
2.3 Technology: Opening New Doors
ICT can serve to enhance the learning process via its potential in communication, multimedia, and information access and software support. (Ryan, 2001). In today’s connected world, walls separating educational worlds can come down, allowing different models of education to converge. Distance learners and in-class learners can share and even collaborate. Classrooms can open to the world; learners from different countries can join in the student exchanges. In fact new technologies offer an ideal means to create constructivist learning environment with authentic, open tasks, and socially mediated learning for in-class learners, distance education and self-learners. (Tam, 2000, p. 56)
The potential of ICT is vast, as presented in the following table.
Table 3: Educational Potential of ICTSoftware - computer tools / Educational potential
Non-linear learning environment / Student control for construction of learning
Automation / Automatic corrections, feedback, redirection, motivation
Internet / Real life authentic problems
Process structuring software / Scaffolding for production of complex tasks
Project planning software / To support the design, management of projects (timelines, tasks, connection to competencies)
Construction software / Creation and exploration of own learning models
Immersive environments / Simulation type environment for exploration
Database software / Access to standards-process-models according to quality
Curriculum software / Keeps track of what students have accomplished
Collaboration software / Discussion, peer-evaluation (forums, email)
Annotation software / Support and critique
Publishing software / Communicating to a real audience
Learning log software and electronic portfolios / Structures learner self reflection with questions and prompts
(Dede, 1998)
Given such a changing context, there are many reasons an organization such as SOFAD should be rethinking the design and delivery of learning and assessment materials.
3. SOFAD and the New Context
The new ICT means to support the learning process have led to an online learning gold rush: from virtual schools, e-learning, cyberprofs, online classes, whatever the name, both public and private organizations are heading in the same direction. But is this gold rush concerned about the new learner expectations and educational paradigms? And just what is online learning and how does it relate to distance education?
3.1 Successful Online Learning: The CASE Approach
SOFAD is committed to designing and developing online learning environments coherent with the transitions in the educational world and the student culture of learning using innovative ICT possibilities. For SOFAD online learning environments integrate Content and Activities, with learner Support services and learner Evaluation, the CASE approach. For SOFAD a recipe on a computer screen, is not online learning, but rather a recipe that needs to be accessed away from ones kitchen, via expensive computer equipment and an Internet access. This is in fact the opposite of online learning; it is text on a computer screen making cooking complicated.