Why Are We Evaluating Learners?

In their book The Art of Evaluation, Fenwick and Parsons provide guidance and insights into the evaluation process in various contexts (Fenwick & Parsons, 2005). The evaluation process has been an area of interest to me since I started working as an instructor. I started exploring an instructor's perspective in selecting and organizing the evaluation methods, which triggered various questions regarding the roles and responsibilities of the related process. Therefore, the book The Art of Evaluation caught my attention, and I decided to focus on the purpose of evaluation.

Before I started working as an instructor, I had 35 years of business experience. I was accountable for organizing and clarifying the expected value of educational programs for my team, and I could select the methods to measure it.

As my role changed from business manager to instructor, I started giving courses for organizations that lasted two to five days, and I lost my legitimate power in designing the evaluation process. In most cases, they were carried out by managers demanding the course or by the human resources departments. Unfortunately, they were limited to the learner satisfaction surveys. They were not evaluating the overall performance of the educational activities, and they were not measuring the value created in the long run. As an instructor, I had limited influence on those evaluation activities. Those experiences motivated me to look for a strategy, an approach to overcome this challenge. I then came across the survey results shared by Fenwick and Parsons, stating that in more than 75 percent of the training, the evaluations were limited to learner satisfaction surveys or "smile sheets" (p. 2). The survey results and the authors' comments resonated deeply with my experiences. They motivated me to continue reading with growing excitement for pursuing a strategy and approach to handling this evaluation concept.

 Simon Sinek is an author and inspirational speaker on business leadership. In his famous book Start with Why, Sinek argues that great leaders and organizations focus on why they do what they do instead of what they do and how they do it (Sinek, 2009). He states that creating an emotional connection is crucial, and some of the most successful leaders have used this strategy to influence the people. One of the most famous quotes he shared in his TED talk was, "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it" (Sinek, 2009). Fenwick and Parsons ask the same question at the beginning of their book: "We must ask what we are doing and why we are doing it." (p. 3)

I believe that, before what I do, answering the question "Why?" significantly impacts the overall success of an activity for several reasons. For example, answering this question when organizing a course guides me in articulating the purpose and importance of the training. It helps me to explore and define the value of the course and the related roles and responsibilities of the evaluation process. Finally, by sharing the expected value, purpose, and associated roles and responsibilities with the stakeholders, they are more likely to embrace their role in the learning process and actively contribute to its effectiveness and success.

Fenwick and Parsons ask, "Why are we evaluating learners?" They answer this question by giving nine good reasons, which I have grouped into four categories.

A. Value-focused purpose:

The first purpose highlights the importance of defining the learning goals:

(1) To compare actual learner performance to the goals of the instruction.: This purpose builds a strong connection between the evaluation process and the expected value from the instruction. Understanding the value behind learning creates a sense of purpose and relevance, which can inspire greater engagement and commitment to success. However, Brookfield (2015) notes that "As teachers, we see clearly the value of learning, and we all too easily assume students can see this too" (p. 234). The students can not see the value of learning as clearly as we see it as teachers; therefore, articulating the expected value, defining the related goals, sharing them with the learners, and comparing the performance against these goals impact the overall teaching success positively.

B. Learner-focused purposes:

Five purposes are directly focused on learners.

The second and third purposes relate to the progress along the student's learning journey during and after a course:

(2) To help learners make decisions about their next action.

(3) To monitor students' ongoing process.

The following three purposes help the instructor learn the students' prior knowledge, skill, or experience, discover their level of satisfaction with the instruction they have given, and help learners evaluate themselves:

(7) To assess a learner's background knowledge.

(8) To determine learner satisfaction,

(9) To develop self-assessment in learners.

C. Methods and programs related purposes:

The fourth and fifth purposes inspire and motivate the instructors to improve their teaching methods and the program plans:

(4) To assess the teaching methods,

(5) To revise the program,

 D. Stakeholders related purpose:

The sixth purpose focuses on the stakeholders of training:

(6) To provide information for other stakeholders.

This purpose motivates the instructor to explore the training stakeholders from a broader perspective, categorize them, and provide relevant information aligned with their expectations. The related functional or Human Resources department managers of private or non-profit organizations may be given as examples for other stakeholders. Each stakeholder may have specific expectations, and understanding their needs and providing the relevant information is essential for the overall success of training.

The nine purposes shared by Fenwick and Parsons in their book have positively impacted my understanding of the evaluation process. This understanding will help me overcome evaluation-related challenges and contribute to my overall teaching performance. I now have a much broader understanding of the concept, and it inspired me to develop new techniques to overcome the challenges of the evaluation process in my courses.

References

Brookfield, S.D., (2015). The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (Third Edition) Jossey-Bass

Henwick, T., Parsons, J. (2009). The art of evaluation: A resource for educators and trainers (2nd ed.) Thompson Educational Publishing.

Sinek S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Sinek. S. (2009) TED Talk: Start with why [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA