We have seen an enormous shift from an individualistic-focused participation that regurgitates information through rote memorization to a group-centered participatory model that focuses upon the collective construction of knowledge (Siemens, 2008). Siemens emphasizes that our society has focused for so long on the accomplishments of individuals that the new paradigm of collaborative work seen in distance learning today is particularly difficult for many learners. How can we assess learners in this type of collaborative environment?
I think that it is important to note that assessment can be used for different reasons. Summative assessments are used to quantify student learning into scores and grades for evaluation purposes. Formative assessments are what Siemens (2008) described as “a teaching-based opportunity to give feedback” which is used to guide the instructor’s next instructional steps
Siemens suggests using several options that provide a balanced approach to assessment in a fair and equitable way. Using peer-to-peer assessment gives learners the opportunity to extend and reinforce their own learning by analyzing and responding to the work of others. Student participation in open communities such as discussion boards allows the instructor to observe how the learner interprets the information and constructs knowledge based upon the instructional activities and feedback from the community. The instructor may also analyze the data that is available through web analytics; tracking hours in class, the number of posts, and number of interactions with peers to detect any patterns or deficiencies in participation. It is important to note that the level of and quality of student engagement in an online discussion board is positively correlated with student learning, especially when students know it is part of the assessment (Swan, 2004, p. 2).
The role of the instructor in an online class is to facilitate discussions, interactions with course content and between classmates, and guide the learners toward constructing knowledge together. However, even more critical is the instructor’s need to “stay abreast of developments in the group and to act decisively and quickly when necessary” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 65). It is the responsibility of the instructor to facilitate activities that make participants “feel comfortable with, and trusting of, the online environment early in the process” (Hurst & Thomas, 2008). If this environment is not present for learners, they will disengage. When learners experience a lack of trust or a lack of connectedness they tend to withdraw from participation in the class. It is up to the learning community to attempt to build connections to encourage the disenfranchised learner to become part of the group through private messages or questions posted on the discussion board.
References
Hurst, D., & Thomas, J. (2008). Developing team skills and accomplishing team projects online. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed., pp. 441–472). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Swan, K. (2004). Relationships between interactions and learning in online environments. The Sloan Consortium.
