Formative assessments mimic internal quality control within organizations, and in this case refer to the initial assessments and testing of newlt developed eLearning programs. Formative assessment criteria largely falls into two main categories: instructional design and interface design. The goal of conducting formative assessments is to gauge learning effectiveness. Lockee, Moore, and Burton (2003) outline 6 formative evaluation needs as follows:
Design Review - Fellow designers evaluate Instructional/Visual Design
Expert Review - Industry experts evaluate relevancy of Content/Subject Matter
One-on-One Review - Member of target audience review
Small group Review - Audience component/module testing
Field Trials - Small groups testing program in distance setting
Ongoing Reviews - Reanalysis, Redesign, Redevelop as necessary
Formative assessments should evaluate the program's ability to meet learning objectives and accessibility standards while also providing for the special needs of learners. Assessments during the development stage are proactive not reactive. As quoted by Dr. Robert (Bob) Stakes, "When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s summative." We will talk about summative evaluation in a later post :)
Reference:
Lockee, B., Moore, M., and Burton, J. (2002) Measuring Success: Evaluation Strategies for Distance Education. EDUCAUSE Quarterly.
