Bachelor-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2005.

Evaluation is an integral part of instructional design. Formative evaluation, specifically, is a phase identified in many instructional design models and is recognized as an important step for program improvement and acceptance. Although evaluation has many models and approaches, very few deal specifically with formative evaluation. Further, no one set of guidelines has been found that provides a comprehensive set of procedures for planning and implementing a formative evaluation. Encapsulating such guidelines into a “tool” that automates the process was the author’s initial idea. The author’s intent in Chapter 2 was to find a model or checklist as a stepping off point for future formative evaluation tool development. In lieu of finding such a model, one was created (Chapter 3), pulling from several formative evaluation models and the author’s own experience. Chapter 3 also discusses the purpose behind developing a formative evaluation tool - to create an accessible, efficient, intuitive, and expedient way for instructional designers and developers to formatively evaluate their instruction or instructional materials. Chapter 4 focuses on the methodology selected to evaluate the tool, presented in prototype. Chapter 5 presents the results of the evaluation; comments received from the expert reviewers are presented and ideas for tool improvement are generated. Finally, the Appendices include the formative evaluation tool prototype as well as the documentation that accompanied the tool during its evaluation. The initial idea behind this developmental dissertation was the creation of a formative evaluation tool. The focus of the dissertation itself, however, was on the justification for such a tool, and the literature behind the making of the model and consequently the tool. The result of this developmental dissertation was the prototype of an evaluation tool that with improvements and modifications is deemed promising by the experts who reviewed it. Although designed with formative evaluation in mind, it was generally agreed that this tool could be utilized for both formative and summative evaluation. The expert review was successful not because the tool was without fault, but because the review truly achieved its purpose – to identify areas of strength, weakness, and to suggest improvements. / Ph. D.

In order to enhance students' understanding of the interrelationships between business administration, business mathematics and accounting, the recently developed curriculum of Austrian commercial schools comprises one global subject in which the contents of these three subjects have been combined. A second subject called "business practice" has been introduced to provide sufficient time to apply the acquired business knowledge to practice-oriented tasks. The results of a formative evaluation study show that several teachers have considerable difficulties to put the main ideas of these two subjects into practice and that many students find it hard to understand the identity of these two subjects. (authors' abstract)

The theoretical framework for this empirical study extends a trail of thinking from a social constructivist view of learning to the areas of assessment, evaluation and leadership. The relationship between social constructivist learning principles, formative approaches to assessment and evaluation, and collaborative leadership styles is explored and discussed. Learning and teaching developments in secondary schools have often fragmented the intrinsic elements of learning, teaching, assessment, evaluation and leadership. As Palmer (2007) so aptly puts it: ‘…we think the world apart.’ (p. 64). This study seeks to ‘think education together’ by taking a more integrated perspective. The aims of this study were to add to the body of knowledge in the area of assessment and evaluation through the adoption of the aforementioned integrated perspective, develop formative assessment and evaluation policies and practices in a secondary school to the extent that they are embedded in the school’s working culture and paradigm, and finally to chart the means by which change has been achieved. The research is argued to be located in the critical paradigm, adopts an action research methodology in which the researcher assumes a participatory, practitioner researcher role in conducting an ethnographic case study of a secondary school. A social constructivist theme was retained throughout the research design and although both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, the study was conducted within an interpretative framework informed by symbolic interactionism. Data were gathered via a multi-method approach that included focus groups and semi-structured interviews, observation and accompanying field notes, document and classroom artefact analysis, and non-inferential statistics. Focus groups were used to check data sources, confirm interpretations, develop and disseminate new ideas and approaches, and refine developments based on feedback received. This process was informed by Gladwell’s (2000) notion of ideas taking on the qualities of viruses which in turn develop into epidemics. Participants’ early reluctance to accept a need to change was overcome through an initial ‘internal’ audit of current policy and practice relating to learning, teaching, assessment and evaluation, the results of which confirmed the ‘external’ judgements made by OfSTED and the Local Authority (LA) in terms of the need for the school to develop formative approaches to assessment and evaluation. A purposively selected assessment and evaluation focus group showed a commitment to formative ways of working, and was instrumental in defining and refining new policies for assessment and evaluation in collaboration with other focus groups, non-focus group colleagues, pupils and parents. Additional focus groups for pupil behavioural aspects and mentoring were embraced by the research rather than discouraged in order to retain an integrated ‘real world’ perspective. The aims of the study are shown to have been met in that new formative ways of working are now embedded in assessment policy and practice and the researcher has developed a new approach to whole school leadership. This study proposes a new way of thinking that embraces paradox rather than preserving divisions. Moreover, it argues a case for transformative education being reliant on taking this stance. The study also presents a picture of leadership and research based on co-existence and proposes a new ‘Stenhousian’ philosophy where research becomes the basis for leadership.

Konstanz, Univ., Diplomarb., 2003.

Saarbrücken, Univ., Diplomarb., 1997.

Bachelor-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2004.

A avaliação formativa, apesar de ter sido inicialmente pensada por Scriven há mais de 30 anos, e ser discutida por diversos autores nas últimas décadas, ainda é pouco utilizada, tanto nos cursos presenciais como a distância. Somente nos últimos anos, com a adoção de ciclos de aprendizagem, a preocupação maior com o processo de ensino-aprendizagem e com o crescimento dos cursos a distância, essa abordagem de avaliação começou a ganhar mais importância. Na Educação a Distância, a avaliação formativa tem se mostrado uma excelente alternativa, por propiciar aos professores um acompanhamento mais próximo e mais individualizado de seus alunos e por permitir que professores e alunos regulem o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Independente do processo avaliativo, o desenvolvimento de conteúdos digitais educacionais na forma de objetos de aprendizagem tem sido uma solução crescente na EAD. Para tanto, modelos de portabilidade e interoperabilidade, como o SCORM, proporcionaram uma grande evolução em termos de reusabilidade, portabilidade e interoperabilidade e, aliados à utilização de licenças que permitam a livre utilização, distribuição e modificação, possibilitam ao ambiente acadêmico facilmente intercambiar objetos de aprendizagem, independente de plataforma de hardware e software. Dessa forma, o desenvolvimento de objetos de aprendizagem, largamente utilizados na EAD, deveria levar em consideração o processo de avaliação formativa. Com base nessas constatações, a presente pesquisa buscou identificar quais critérios deveriam ser levados em consideração para o encapsulamento e a utilização de Objetos de Aprendizagem Abertos SCORM em Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem, a fim de apoiar o processo de avaliação formativa. / Formative evaluation is still little employed in both face-to-face and distance learning courses, although it has been first studied by Scriven over thirty years ago and has been discussed by various authors in the last few decades. Only recently has this evaluation approach started to gain importance, with the adoption of learning cycles, a mounting concern over the teaching-learning process, and an increase in distance learning courses. In distance learning, formative evaluation has proved to be an excellent alternative, since it provides teachers a closer and more individualized observation of their students and for allowing both the former and the latter to adjust the teaching-learning process. Regardless of the evaluation process, the development of educational digital contents in the form of learning objects has increasingly presented itself as a solution in distance learning. For this purpose, portability and interoperability models such as SCORM have provided a great advancement in terms of reusability, portability and interoperability, which, combined with licenses that enable free use, distribution and modification, allow the Academia to easily interchange learning objects irrespective of hardware and software platforms. Therefore, the development of learning objects, largely used in distance learning, should take into account the formative evaluation process. Based on such findings, the present research aims to identify which criteria should be considered in the information hiding of SCORM Open Learning Objects in Virtual Learning Environments, in order to support the formative evaluation process.

A avaliação formativa, apesar de ter sido inicialmente pensada por Scriven há mais de 30 anos, e ser discutida por diversos autores nas últimas décadas, ainda é pouco utilizada, tanto nos cursos presenciais como a distância. Somente nos últimos anos, com a adoção de ciclos de aprendizagem, a preocupação maior com o processo de ensino-aprendizagem e com o crescimento dos cursos a distância, essa abordagem de avaliação começou a ganhar mais importância. Na Educação a Distância, a avaliação formativa tem se mostrado uma excelente alternativa, por propiciar aos professores um acompanhamento mais próximo e mais individualizado de seus alunos e por permitir que professores e alunos regulem o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Independente do processo avaliativo, o desenvolvimento de conteúdos digitais educacionais na forma de objetos de aprendizagem tem sido uma solução crescente na EAD. Para tanto, modelos de portabilidade e interoperabilidade, como o SCORM, proporcionaram uma grande evolução em termos de reusabilidade, portabilidade e interoperabilidade e, aliados à utilização de licenças que permitam a livre utilização, distribuição e modificação, possibilitam ao ambiente acadêmico facilmente intercambiar objetos de aprendizagem, independente de plataforma de hardware e software. Dessa forma, o desenvolvimento de objetos de aprendizagem, largamente utilizados na EAD, deveria levar em consideração o processo de avaliação formativa. Com base nessas constatações, a presente pesquisa buscou identificar quais critérios deveriam ser levados em consideração para o encapsulamento e a utilização de Objetos de Aprendizagem Abertos SCORM em Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem, a fim de apoiar o processo de avaliação formativa. / Formative evaluation is still little employed in both face-to-face and distance learning courses, although it has been first studied by Scriven over thirty years ago and has been discussed by various authors in the last few decades. Only recently has this evaluation approach started to gain importance, with the adoption of learning cycles, a mounting concern over the teaching-learning process, and an increase in distance learning courses. In distance learning, formative evaluation has proved to be an excellent alternative, since it provides teachers a closer and more individualized observation of their students and for allowing both the former and the latter to adjust the teaching-learning process. Regardless of the evaluation process, the development of educational digital contents in the form of learning objects has increasingly presented itself as a solution in distance learning. For this purpose, portability and interoperability models such as SCORM have provided a great advancement in terms of reusability, portability and interoperability, which, combined with licenses that enable free use, distribution and modification, allow the Academia to easily interchange learning objects irrespective of hardware and software platforms. Therefore, the development of learning objects, largely used in distance learning, should take into account the formative evaluation process. Based on such findings, the present research aims to identify which criteria should be considered in the information hiding of SCORM Open Learning Objects in Virtual Learning Environments, in order to support the formative evaluation process.

A avaliação formativa, apesar de ter sido inicialmente pensada por Scriven há mais de 30 anos, e ser discutida por diversos autores nas últimas décadas, ainda é pouco utilizada, tanto nos cursos presenciais como a distância. Somente nos últimos anos, com a adoção de ciclos de aprendizagem, a preocupação maior com o processo de ensino-aprendizagem e com o crescimento dos cursos a distância, essa abordagem de avaliação começou a ganhar mais importância. Na Educação a Distância, a avaliação formativa tem se mostrado uma excelente alternativa, por propiciar aos professores um acompanhamento mais próximo e mais individualizado de seus alunos e por permitir que professores e alunos regulem o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Independente do processo avaliativo, o desenvolvimento de conteúdos digitais educacionais na forma de objetos de aprendizagem tem sido uma solução crescente na EAD. Para tanto, modelos de portabilidade e interoperabilidade, como o SCORM, proporcionaram uma grande evolução em termos de reusabilidade, portabilidade e interoperabilidade e, aliados à utilização de licenças que permitam a livre utilização, distribuição e modificação, possibilitam ao ambiente acadêmico facilmente intercambiar objetos de aprendizagem, independente de plataforma de hardware e software. Dessa forma, o desenvolvimento de objetos de aprendizagem, largamente utilizados na EAD, deveria levar em consideração o processo de avaliação formativa. Com base nessas constatações, a presente pesquisa buscou identificar quais critérios deveriam ser levados em consideração para o encapsulamento e a utilização de Objetos de Aprendizagem Abertos SCORM em Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem, a fim de apoiar o processo de avaliação formativa. / Formative evaluation is still little employed in both face-to-face and distance learning courses, although it has been first studied by Scriven over thirty years ago and has been discussed by various authors in the last few decades. Only recently has this evaluation approach started to gain importance, with the adoption of learning cycles, a mounting concern over the teaching-learning process, and an increase in distance learning courses. In distance learning, formative evaluation has proved to be an excellent alternative, since it provides teachers a closer and more individualized observation of their students and for allowing both the former and the latter to adjust the teaching-learning process. Regardless of the evaluation process, the development of educational digital contents in the form of learning objects has increasingly presented itself as a solution in distance learning. For this purpose, portability and interoperability models such as SCORM have provided a great advancement in terms of reusability, portability and interoperability, which, combined with licenses that enable free use, distribution and modification, allow the Academia to easily interchange learning objects irrespective of hardware and software platforms. Therefore, the development of learning objects, largely used in distance learning, should take into account the formative evaluation process. Based on such findings, the present research aims to identify which criteria should be considered in the information hiding of SCORM Open Learning Objects in Virtual Learning Environments, in order to support the formative evaluation process.