Telling Ain't Training

An interesting article from Adobe brings up the question "How do you know that they know?".

Typically at the end of a course where the learner is given a wealth of information, the method for assessing any knowledge gained is by going through a multiple choice test. But just because they can answer questions correctly, does that really mean that they can perform correctly?

Frank Nguyen provides 5 steps to developing an eLearning assessment process:

1. Identify instructional objectives
2. Categorize objectives
3. Select appropriate assessment
4. Draft assessment items
5. Develop assessment items

Categorize Instructional Objectives

Instructional objectives can be put into 5 categories: fact, concept, process, procedure and principles.

Select Appropriate Assessment

Based on the five different instructional objectives categories, you can use several assessment methods. The table below lists recommended and possible assessment methods.

Granted, the selling point for this article was to use Adobe Captivate, but the information is valid and very valuable.