Medical schools are required to assess and evaluate their curricula and to develop exam questions with strong reliability and validity evidence, often based on data derived from statistically small samples of medical students. Achieving a large enough sample to reliably and validly evaluate courses, assessments, and exam questions would require…

Accuracy and precision are measures of experimental error and are fundamental to most chemical analysis laboratory classes. Assessment of accuracy and precision is often based on the comprehension of the results generated by students rather than on the quality of the data generated. This activity focused on developing a chemical analysis…

This chapter proposes approaches for assessing learners and evaluating courses and curriculum that could be used by directors of health professions education (HPE) programs to determine the effectiveness and impact of their programs.

The evaluation of students' expected performance and course effectiveness play a vital role in determining the course contribution toward meeting the program's learning objectives or outcomes. The success of any course not only requires a well-designed syllabus with clearly defined course learning outcomes and the use of appropriate outcome-based…

"The First-Year Seminar: Designing, Implementing, and Assessing Courses to Support Student Learning and Success," a five-volume series, is designed to assist educators who are interested in launching a first-year seminar or revamping an existing program. Each volume examines a different aspect of first-year seminar design or…

Technology is increasingly used to aid the teaching of statistics. Personal Response Systems (PRS) involve equipping students with a handset allowing them to send responses to questions put to them by a lecturer. PRS allows lectures to be more interactive and can help reinforce material. It can also allow the lecturer to monitor students'…

At the University of Vermont, an interdisciplinary faculty team developed an introductory watershed science field course. This course honed field skills and catalyzed communication across water-related disciplines without requiring specific prerequisites. Five faculty (geology, engineering, geography, natural resources) taught the four-credit…

Discusses the return-on-investment (ROI) process for determining the effectiveness of a training initiative in light of the organization's strategic plan for performance improvement. Describes data collection barriers and uses hypothetical deductive reasoning to overcome barriers and evaluate the effectiveness of an organization's training…

Describes the Adjusted Agreement Index, a strategy for analyzing collected data from questionnaires utilizing Likert-type scales. Steps involved in using this index and its strengths and weaknesses are outlined, and a case study illustrating how it was used to summarize data on a distance education course package is presented. (MBR)

The Delphi technique permits the collection of rich evaluation data. Benefits of using the Delphi include the collection of data that is generated by participants with minimal leading by researchers, an iterative process that demonstrates to participants how their ideas and opinions are being utilized in the research process, and a planned…

Discusses current theme in education, finding methodology for inservice courses through which skills and attitudes of teachers can be appropriately developed. Attempts to help teachers develop awareness of process by which learning takes place on an INSET course, to make process explicit to themselves and, in doing so, make this awareness…

Possible reasons for conducting evaluations of college and university courses are outlined, and the evaluation system developed at the Australian National University is described. Sources of information for teachers to use in making course improvements are suggested. (MSE)

Utilizing three different techniques, a follow-up survey of participants in a vocational education course was conducted to determine which technique collects the most useful information efficiently. The course participants were divided into thirds and, using the same questionnaire, data was collected from each third via one of the following three…

This publication is designed to facilitate program assessment involving women's studies courses by setting feminist principles of assessment in the context of the larger assessment movement. It features innovative assessment designs, a variety of methodological approaches, and practical advice about how to conduct a productive assessment project…

Examines current trends in educational telematics and presents frameworks, models, and guidelines for the design and evaluation of courses for remote learning delivery. Topics include technology-supported learning; the design of communication systems; student-centered learning; distributed methodologies; technology in curriculum development;…