Assessment and Learning Theories in the Online Human Services Field Placement Orientation

Assessment and Learning Theories in the Online Human Services Field Placement Orientation

Assessment allows both the instructor and the student to monitor progress towards achieving learning objectives and can be approached in a variety of ways. Formative assessment refers to tools that identify misconceptions, struggles, and learning gaps along the way and assess how to close those gaps. It includes effective tools for helping to shape learning, and can even bolster students’ abilities to take ownership of their learning when they understand that the goal is to improve learning, not determining grades in a class (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). Formative assessments can include students assessing themselves, peers, or even the instructor, through writing, quizzes, conversation, and more. These types of assessment occur throughout a class or course and seeks to improve student achievement of learning objectives through approaches that can support specific student needs (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). Formative assessments make the most sense in the design of my learning environment for students taking part in the Human Services Field Placement Online Orientation.  These assessments will take the form of short quizzes, discussion boards, as well as the submission of short answers to questions regarding course content.

The Human Services Field Placement Online Orientation will be offered and presented to eligible Human Services students via the learning management system, BlackBoard (Bb).  Every student at SUNY Orange has access to Bb, so this is an accessible and convenient choice. The use of Bb will also allow me to deliver content, present learning, and reinforce the learning theories I connected with at the beginning of the semester. For example, the objectivist theory.  In this view, it is believed that a learning course “must present a body of knowledge to be learned. This may consist of facts, formulas, terminology, principles, theories and the like” (Bates, 2015, p.53). Bates (2015) states that “the effective transmission of this body of knowledge becomes of central importance. It is of utmost importance that the information, policies, and procedures for Field Placement be effectively and clearly conveyed to the students who are eligible and attending the Field Orientation. Bb will allow me to deliver this content to the students.

Another learning theory that I feel connected and committed to is behaviorism.  This theory, rooted in the field of psychology, emphasizes rewards and punishment as drivers of learning.  I believe that students need to be positively reinforced for their learning, and via Bb, I will be able to incorporate positive feedback and the use of badges to motivate student learning.  Another aspect of this learning theory that I connect with is the idea of pre-defined and measurable outcomes (Bates, 2015).  I believe that it is important the learners understand what they are expected to learn, and that assessment techniques are implemented that can measure these objectives.  The above-mentioned formative assessments will be embedded in the Bb course shell for this learning environment.

References

Bates, A.W. (2015). Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning

for a  digital age.  Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Hendo/Downloads/Teaching-in-a-Digital- Age.pdf

Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), p.2-19.