Introduction
Today e-learning is extremely popular, as it provides an opportunity for the students to receive the education that was not accessible before. For a long time, such kind of learning was maintained only with the help of asynchronous learning methods. In other words, the students dealt with the tasks independently and did not cooperate with the instructor or peers at the same time. Still, technological development provided the learners with the opportunity to enter synchronous learning environments. As a result, collaborative activities became possible and students got an opportunity to ask questions during the lecture. These methods had their own advantages and disadvantages, so professionals created a hybrid course that combined the benefits of both approaches.
The course I am going to conduct will be hybrid. One part of the orientation will start when all learners are logged. It will happen at the same time so that all members can participate in the process. The rest of the time the students will work independently.
My class consists of five students who have diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. They have different health care experience and are working at various health care establishments. Except for that, their knowledge of the English language is not the same. Even though such diversity is likely to cause challenges, I am expected to teach all participants how to define work related harassment and its effects, and how to maintain confidentiality of both patient and organizational information.
Assessment Method
In order to make sure that my students received required knowledge at the end of the course, I will assess them. It is critical to select the most appropriate assessment method, in this perspective, as it will define the success of the whole course. Many scientists argue on what kind of evaluation can bring the most advantage in the framework of hybrid learning, but the majority of them come to the conclusion that formative assessment is the best one. This method is the most effective because it provides an opportunity to collect evidence of learning and can be used in distance learning environments and classroom settings. Moreover, it allows to check the understanding during the learning process and adjust teaching to the needs of the students so that their learning improves. Such advantages are critical in my situation, as I have to work with diverse students who perceive information in different ways. Various activities provide an opportunity to ask questions and receive both oral and written answers, make students assess each other, work in teams and individually. In this perspective, a clinical interview can also be used to gather students’ attitudes towards their achievements and the information they receive during the course (Coffey, 2007).
Personally I would prefer to start with face-to-face pre-assessment that will be a starting point that reveals student’s current knowledge. Then I would pass to online assessment. In a synchronous environment, discussions will be held as well as student conferences, quizzes and exit cards. In an asynchronous environment, students will be encouraged to write summaries, prepare presentations and projects as well as maintain learning/response logs. At the end of the course, I will pass to face-to-face post-assessment that will give me an opportunity to evaluate the overall progress.
Of course it is better to prepare an alternate evaluation method also. Malcolm Brown believes that learning analytics will be advantageous in my situation as it also is aimed at giving an educator the opportunity to implement appropriate interventions in the teaching process so that its drawbacks can be improved and expected learning outcomes can be achieved (Backward course design and assessment, 2010). This method is based on the visualization and discussion.
Student Evaluation
Depending on the selected criteria, students can be evaluated differently:
On an individual level
Students’ personal achievements should be considered independently. It is critical to look for improvement in one’s knowledge in comparison with the pre-assessment instead of comparing students’ achievements. It would be right not only to consider if a learner reached the goal of the course but also how much affords one put in this process. For example, Olga Bartold, who is not fluent in English and does not have any experience in the field, need to work harder than Martha Scott or Maria Sanchez, who have no language issues and are experienced.
In a group activity
All students in a team should be treated as one person. It is critical not to differentiate them from one another but to emphasize their ability to work as one mechanism. Learners’ cooperation should be taken into consideration, as it is the root of success. If students had particular roles, it would be beneficial to evaluate how they coped with them.
In health care
It is critical to define if students can use their knowledge in practice. In health care, it is not enough to know the types of work related harassment and the consequences. One is expected to identify them when working with people. Except for that, the attention should be paid to the ways students use to maintain confidentiality.
In a classroom setting
Being in a classroom, I should evaluate students taking into consideration the way they behave during the classes. It should be considered if they are active, answer and ask questions, and cooperate with classmates. Moreover, it would be advantageous to check how they understood the information received during the class and what they remembered.
Distance learning environment
Considering the distance learning environment, it is critical to evaluate a student’s involvement in the learning process. One’s actions during the classes should be evaluated as well as received knowledge. Mainly, I should pay attention to the activities during online learning as well as results of the projects and other tasks done in asynchronous environment.
Indirect Methods of Assessments
Considering indirect methods of assessment, I would prefer to do the interview. My class is rather small that is why it would not take me a long to communicate with them. Still, during the interview, I will find out what the students think about the course and their achievements. Interviews do not limit the answers of the learners, providing an opportunity to base evaluation on one’s personal experiences even though they are rather diverse. The questions in the interview can be designed so that various learning styles are reflected. The learners will be free to express their thinking skills and use the vocabulary they know the best so that possible misunderstandings will be avoided (Assessment Handbook, 2006).
Conclusion
Various assessment methods can be used during a hybrid course of education because professionals have an opportunity to combine different techniques they believe to be the most advantageous. Having a class that consists of diverse students, it is critical to make sure that the methods selected for assessment will be appropriate for each of them. The combination of formative assessment and interview will provide an opportunity to evaluate students’ knowledge and their reflection on learning.
References
Assessment Handbook. (2006). Web.
Backward course design and assessment. (2010). Web.
Coffey, H. (2007). Formative assessment. Web.