Nursing Education and Strategies for Evaluating Learning Outcomes with Challenges
Strategies for Evaluating Learning Outcomes In Nursing Education
Just as teaching methods are expanding to ensure that nursing education is integrating clinical and classroom instruction (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010) to achieve desired student learning outcomes as identified by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing essentials and National League for Nursing competencies, faculty must also expand their use of evaluation strategies to determine if these competencies are attained.
Competency in higher order thinking as demonstrated by clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and best nursing practices may need multiple measures to be accurately evaluated. As educators work to develop deep learning and reflective practice, they continue to explore ways that active learning teaching strategies can be transformed to evaluate the desired learning outcomes.
Assessment and Evaluation In Nursing Education
Just what is the difference between assessment and evaluation? In many instances it seems that these two terms are interchangeable, but there are distinct differences. Assessment involves obtaining information about teaching and learning for the purpose of improvement.
Oermann and Gaberson (2014) indicate that “the process of assessment is important to obtain information about student learning, judge performance and determine competence to practice, and arrive at other decisions about students and nurses” (p. 3). The information collected may be quantitative or qualitative depending on how it will be used.
The assessment process requires faculty to make clear the expectations and quality of performance expected and includes the collection, analysis, and interpretation of student work. The information gained from assessment provides evidence about current learning and then is used to promote further learning ( Gikandi , Morrow, & Davis, 2011).
Evaluation, on the other hand, occurs at the end of learning, courses, or programs, and suggests that a judgment or decision has been made. Evaluation can be formative or summative. Formative evaluation occurs while learning is taking place; opportunity for feedback and improvement is implicit.
Summative evaluation is more holistic and takes into account all
the aspects that have led to attaining outcomes. Summative evaluation marks the
end of the teaching learning process and leads to a judgment, often expressed
as a grade. In clinical disciplines, faculty must evaluate student attainment
of course outcomes and defined program competencies to ensure that graduates
are prepared for safe practice.
Selecting Strategies for Evaluation Process In Nursing Education
Several of the strategies discussed may also be familiar as teaching strategies. The idea of adapting a teaching strategy for use in assessment or evaluation allows students to practice the same process by which they will ultimately be evaluated.
Although most strategies can be used for both assessment (formative evaluation) or final evaluation (summative evaluation), some strategies are more appropriate for assessment whereas others are clearly better used to determine final outcomes of learning and assigning grades.
Considerations in Evaluation Strategies In Nursing Education
The major reasons for faculty to consider evaluation strategies are so they can better evaluate:
(1) all the domains of learning (including the affective domain)
(2) higher levels of the cognitive domain (eg, analysis, synthesis)
(3) critical thinking and clinical reasoning
(4) students' preparation for licensing or certification examinations
Challenges In Effective Evaluation In Nursing Education
By providing a more authentic evaluation wherein the student is asked to perform or demonstrate the learning in a way that is as closely related to the ultimate performance required in the real world, the faculty will have richer and deeper evidence of student achievement.
When selecting evaluation strategies, the philosophy of the faculty regarding accountability and responsibility for learning must be considered. Many of the strategies discussed are compatible with active teaching techniques.
Critical reflections, short essays, and guided writing assignments encourage students to interact with the material in a different way than if they were learning the material for a multiple-choice test.
The major challenges of using these strategies include:
(1) the time it takes to use the strategy
(2) difficulty in establishing validity and reliability of data-gathering instruments and methods.
How to Deal with Challenges While Designing Strategies for Evaluation In Nursing Education
To avoid some of the pitfalls
associated with these strategies, faculty should do the following:
1. Clearly define the purpose of
the evaluation.
2. Consider the setting in which
the learning and evaluation will take place
3. Choose the best evaluation
strategy for the purpose.
4. Determine the procedure for the
strategy selected.
5. Establish validity and
reliability of the strategy.
6. Assess the overall effectiveness
of the process.
Give your opinion if have any.