Assessment Tools for Evaluating Instruction and Assessing Student Learning

Evaluation and assessment are crucial aspects of the teaching and learning process. I will begin by distinguishing between evaluation and assessment as defined by Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Russel and Ottenreit-Leftwich (2011) in Educational Technology for Teaching and Learning. Then I will discuss two techniques I have employed to evaluate my instruction, namely student tryouts and talking with students. Lastly, I will discuss a standard and an alternative assessment procedure. In this context, assessment of students is used as part of the process of evaluating materials, instruction, and curricula. I will demonstrate how evaluation aids in the process of ensuring that curricula, instruction, and decisions made in the lesson are sophisticated and well crafted.

Check out the reflection on this assignment.

Instructional Techniques, Media, and Technology

The appropriate use of instructional media can enhance the learning process.
I explore how a presentation and a webquest
can augment a lesson about cultural notions of beauty.

Check out the reflection (TLDR) based on this assignment.

Instructional Methods: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Limitations

In the last few years I have had the opportunity to develop my own lesson material and assessment procedures. I decided to adapt an existing lesson, and make it available as an e-class. The lesson I chose to adapt is about idioms, specifically writing a bucket list.

Check out the lesson outline and reflection related to this assignment.

Comparing Behaviourist and Experiential Learning Theories

An eclectic approach to learning and teaching can provide instructional experts with multiple approaches to enable efficient learning. Different learning theories can be employed depending on the objective of the lesson, the context of learning, and the nature of the learners. I compare behaviourist learning theories with experiential learning theories.

Overview of my INTMAEU ePortfolio

I recently uploaded the ePortfolio I created as part of the Diploma in Tertiary Education (PDTE) to arendsig-akademie.net. This is an incredible project started by Dr Christa van Staden, the lecturer tho designed the Instructional Techniques and Multimedia Module INTMAEU of the PDTE.

Collaborative Discussions

Over the last year, I have been participating in online discussions as part of the Instructional Techniques and Media (INTMEAU) module of the Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Education (PDTE) I am in the process of completing. The discussions assignment has not been successful for a number of reasons. I would like to offer some tentative suggestions about how the discussions could be facilitated, which would result in the discussions being an effective way for students to share their knowledge and experience with each other. I will discuss a few key issues: expectations about how to conduct the discussions, technical difficulties and technologically illiterate students, the facilitation of discussions, and the nature of the discussion questions.

Co-Authoring a Wiki

Recently, I participated in a group assignment in which the Instructional Techniques and Multimedia class co-created a wiki to illustrate what we have learned about technology and instructional activities.

Technologies That Support Distance Education

Five Slides, Five Minutes… 

I made all images and this video using Microsoft PowerPoint

The latest challenge from the Instructional Techniques and Multimedia in Adult Education module of my Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Education course, involves sharing a presentation about technology that supports distance education. The idea behind the project is to prepare a presentation about distance education within a time frame of five minutes using only five slides.

The Role of Assessment in the Education Process

I’m not quite sure if I completely agree with how Newby et al.  (2011) distinguish between assessment and evaluation. They define evaluation as “the process of gathering information from multiple sources in order to judge the merit or worth of a program, project, or entity” with the goal of improving “the instruction’s development and implementation”. Assessment, on the other hand, is defined as “the process of gathering evidence of what learners know and can do” as a means of “gaining a full understanding of the merit of specific instructional materials”. My concern with the definitions outlined by Newby et al. is the idea that evaluation is solely judging the value of curricula, materials, and teaching techniques, and assessment is solely judging learners’ performance as a reflection on the quality of curricula, materials, and teaching techniques.