“Strategies for Effective Clinical Teaching and Evaluation”

Assessment & Evaluation – (Part 2)

Patricia A. Mahoney, MSN, RN, CNE

This presentation is a portion of one presented at ASUCONHI May 2, 2007Used with permission of P. A. Mahoney – All rights reserved

Assessment & Evaluation• Assessment & Evaluation in nursing education

is a complicated issue!

• There is a large debate about the tools that we use to measure learning

• Traditionally nursing education has focused on evaluation via multiple-choice items -

• There is a current trend of spending money to utilize standardized testing

There are other ways to assess learners' progress and learning!

Let’s make some puzzle pieces fit!

Essential Considerations

AssessmentProvides a way to measure learners'

demonstration of learning

It helps us answer the questions: – "How much did they learn?" – "How well did they learn it?" – "How well did we teach it?"

Performance, not placing value - reporting learners’ achievement

• Learners benefit most when assessment is provided on a regular, ongoing basis.

• Assessment should be seen as an opportunity to promote learning rather than as a judgment, it shows learners their strengths and suggests how they can develop further.

• Learners can use this information to redirect efforts, make plans, and establish future learning goals.

Essential Considerations (cont)

• Assessment should be carried out in a variety of ways in various environments

• Learners particularly benefit when they participate in developing the assessment criteria.

• Consistent feedback is particularly important

Learner Assessment Should:

• Improve Performance

• Be a Feedback Tool

• Be Consistent with Course Goals

Evaluation

Both a process and a product; the word ‘evaluation’ refers to the process of systematically and objectively determining the merit, worth and value of things, and it also denotes the products of that process

Evaluation (cont)

• It is a process that includes data collection, the subsequent interpretation of the data, and the formation of judgments and conclusions about the meaning of data.

• The process through which educators judge the quality of work – grading - to indicate its strengths and its weaknesses

(Scriven 1991)

Considerations for Evaluation

Select instrument(s)Collect & interpret

dataReport findingsUtilize findings

Determine purpose of the evaluationTime frameWhen to evaluateWho are evaluators Determine design or framework

Billings (2005), pp. 445-446

Evaluation

• Learner performance is evaluated from the information collected through assessment activities.

• Educators use their insight, knowledge about learning, and experience with learners, along with the specific criteria they establish, to make judgments about learners performance in relation to learning outcomes.

Evaluation

• Identify learning outcomes for every activity to make clear what the learner is expected to know and be able to do

• It is helpful for learners to be involved in establishing criteria in this way they understand what is expected of them.

Evaluation• Evaluate learners' levels of

performance in relation to established criteria.

• Evaluation of each learner's performance is based on the assessment data collected and is compared to the established criteria.

Assessment & Evaluation

• Teaching, assessing and evaluating are intertwined

• Assessment is used to promote and diagnose learning

• Emphasis is learning from errors • Desired learning is evaluated directly through

observations, papers, projects, performances, portfolios, etc.

• Professor and learners - learn together

Types of Assessment & Evaluation

Formative assessment

– Takes place during the program or learning activity

– Identifies progress & how to improve

Types of Assessment & Evaluation

Summative evaluation– Data collected at end of

program or learning activity– What extent outcomes were

met– Assign grade – Pass/Fail or

specific grade– Nothing can be done to alter

Assessment Grades

Formative Summative

Diagnostic Final

Non-Judgmental Evaluative

Private Administrative

Often Anonymous Identified

Partial Integrative

Specific Holistic

Mainly Subtext Mostly Text

Suggestive Rigorous

Usually Goal-Directed Usually Content-Driven

http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/gradesv.html

SummativeFormative

• How does the learner know what is expected of them during a given clinical experience?

Clinical Objectives/Learning Activities• Clinical Objective – need to design learning

activities to meet objective• Learning activities –

– Instructional strategies– Learner center– Designed to facilitate acquisition of

• Knowledge• Competencies• Behaviors• Values

Learning Activities

• Purposeful• Planed – related to desired outcome• Organized• Articulate with previous learning• Provide a base for subsequent learning• Occur before, during and after clinical

experience• In writing for learners and staff

CLINICAL FOCUS SHEET: Clinical Objective: Administer influenza vaccine to selected clients

Prior to the Experience:1. Review injection techniques.2. Complete a medication card on the influenza vaccine.3. Practice utilizing carpujet.

During the Clinical Experience:1. Attend pre-clinical conference.2. Determine if assigned client has a medical prescription for flu vaccine.3. Determine if assigned clients have consented to flu vaccine administration.4. Assess assigned clients for risk factors for flu vaccine.5. Administer flu vaccine with faculty assistance.6. Chart vaccine administered according to agency protocol.7. Attend post conference.

Following Clinical Experience:1. Review injection techniques.2. Submit a journal entry noting caring behaviors you utilized and teaching principles incorporated