Effectiveness, Matching Strategy to the Domain Learning, for Evaluation Strategies In Nursing Education

Nursing Education and Effectiveness, Matching Strategy to the Domain Learning, for Evaluation Strategies

Effectiveness of Evaluation Strategies In Nursing Education, Matching the Evaluation Strategy to the Domain of Learning In Nursing Education, Communicating Grading Expectations for Evaluation Strategies.

Effectiveness of Evaluation Strategies In Nursing Education 

    After the evaluation strategy is implemented, it is essential to determine its overall effectiveness as well as the potential issues that can arise related to the implementation of the strategy. Some questions faculty should ask include: Was the strategy an effective use of resources (eg, student and faculty time and financial resources)? 

    Was there adequate data to determine if the learning outcome was met? Are there any problems with the implementation of the technique? What revisions are necessary? Would the faculty consider this strategy to be a good choice for future use?

Matching the Evaluation Strategy to the Domain of Learning In Nursing Education

    Evaluation in the affective domain is particularly important in nursing and is discussed further here. The taxonomy of the affective domain as applied to nursing has five behavioral categories: 

(1) receiving

(2) responding

(3) valuing

(4) organization of values

(5) characterization by a value or value complex (Krathwohl , Bloom, & Mases, 1964). 

   Development of the affective domain is progressive and can be linked to clinical reasoning. Because of the progressive nature of development, formative evaluation (assessment) across the curriculum may be most appropriate, with a summative evaluation at the time of graduation. 

    For example, using the concept of cultural competence, formative and summative evaluation can be planned throughout the curriculum. At the beginning level, students may be expected to become self-aware using exploration of their own cultural and health care practices as well as values. 

    A mid program outcome could focus on student awareness of the cultural orientation of the patients under their care. At graduation, the expected outcomes (including knowledge, skills, and attitudes) would be to act in a culturally competent manner when providing care to all patients and demonstrate the ability to advocate for an individual patient' s unique needs. 

    Ondrejka (2014) and Olantunji (2014) each discuss the importance of incorporating affective teaching and evaluating affective learning. Olantunji (2014) suggests that colleges and universities tend to overemphasize the cognitive domain with a resultant neglect of the affective domain and proposes that regaining a balance between the cognitive and affective domain during the educational experience would increase the quality of the graduates. 

    Multiple strategies can be used to evaluate the affective domain. By again considering the example of acquiring cultural competence, faculty might consider using written papers with the purpose of having students identifying their own cultural background or perhaps develop a critical analysis of an interaction in care giving with a patient of another culture. 

    The use of media (eg, video recording, webpage development, or even a collage) to demonstrate key concepts and values held by a given culture is another method that can be used. These learning activities encourage self-awareness and recognition of the values and value conflicts in areas in which judgments must be made, and can help students appreciate the implications of how respect and caring are communicated in various cultures. 

    The evaluation criteria for these activities must emphasize the desired outcome. For example, if the selected strategy is a written assignment, overemphasis on process (such as writing style) may negate the importance of students' insights and self-awareness. 

    Other areas within the nursing profession that lend themselves well to evaluation in the affective domain include, but are not limited to, socialization to the roles of the nurse, developing a professional identity, caring for patients who are dying, meeting spirituality needs, and working with sexuality concerns. 

    The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies specifically focus on attitudes as well as knowledge and skills needed by nurses (Cronenwett et al., 2007). QSEN examples take a defined concept and list outcomes for the knowledge, skills, and attitudes. For example, an attitudinal competency identified in the category of patient centered care is “Value seeing health care situations ‘through patients’ eyes”.

Communicating Grading Expectations for Evaluation Strategies 

   When evaluation strategies are used to collect data for grading purposes, it is imperative that the grading requirements are communicated to the students. Information about grading criteria is typically provided to students in the course syllabus. Other methods such as checklists, guidelines, or grading scales can also be used.

    Rubrics are rating scales used to determine performance (Stevens & Levi, 2012). Rubrics not only provide exquisite clarity of the grading criteria; They also provide a mechanism to inform students about grading expectations. The two basic types of rubrics are holistic and analytic. 

    The holistic approach is based on global scoring, often with descriptive information for each area based on a numerical scoring system, whereas analytic scoring involves examining each significant characteristic of the written work or portfolio. 

    For example, in evaluation of writing, the organization, ideas, and style may be judged individually according to analytic scoring (Miller et al., 2012). The global method seems more suitable for summative evaluation, whereas the analytic method is useful in providing specific feedback to students for the purpose of performance improvement. Regardless of the type, rubrics are composed of four parts: 

(1) a task description (the assignment)

(2) a scale

(3) the dimensions of the assignment

(4) descriptions of each performance level (Stevens & Levi, 2012)

    The first portion of a rubric contains a clear description of the assignment and should be matched to the learning outcomes of the course. The next part of the rubric is a scale to describe levels of performance. Such a scale may include levels such as “excellent,” “competent,” and “needs work.” The dimensions of the assignment appear in the third part of rubric development where the task is broken down into components. 

    Finally, differentiated descriptions of each performance level are explicitly identified. Rubrics thus provide clarity of expectations to assist students in the successful completion of assignments as well as making grading of these assignments more objective for the faculty.

    The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has developed the Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) initiative, a set of standardized rubrics to evaluate multiple skills such as reasoning, critical thinking, and written work across a university or college ( 2014). 

    The 16 rubrics are viewed as both an alternative to standardized testing for the evaluation of student learning outcomes and as a way of communicating criteria associated with achievement and student success. 

    These rubrics are not designed for individual grading, but rather for use at the program and university level. The AAC&U is currently building a database in which student work can be deposited and scored using the VALUE rubrics (Sullivan, 2014).