According to research and reputable studies, blended learning courses and techniques offer companies a more cost-effective and efficient way to deliver engaging and successful learning content to their employees.1 But how should learners taking blended learning courses be evaluated so you know that real learning is actually taking place both inside and outside of the physical classroom?
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First, it should go without saying that you should always invest in online learning tools that are on par with your learning and development programs’ goals and organizational requirements. And it should be mentioned that learners should be evaluated both online and in person during a blended course and that evaluation methods should be alternated so that they aren’t either all online or all in person.
Below are three ways to evaluate learners online and three ways to evaluate them in person as they’re taking blended learning courses.
In-Person Assessments
- Group Assignments
To evaluate your blended learners in person, have them work on assignments together in groups. For example, a group of leadership candidates can take turns implementing leadership techniques they encountered via their online course materials and modules when they meet in the classroom. Doing this will give you an opportunity to see and evaluate how they practice and implement the learning materials about leadership that they’re accessing outside of the physical classroom.
- Presentations
Have your learners present what they’ve learned online in the classroom. For instance, you could assign each learner a chapter of an e-book to cover and then have him or her present the contents of that chapter when he or she is in class. Or you could ask each learner to present his or her own research or understanding of a subject as it relates to other course material that’s being covered across mediums.
- Mock Projects
One of the best ways to evaluate your blended learners is to give them mock projects that need to be completed both online and in person. For instance, if you’re teaching learners to code, have them work together to build a software program where you encourage them to work together inside the classroom and outside the classroom.
Online Assessments
- Pop Quizzes and Online Tests
To evaluate your learners’ understanding of a topic that you covered in the classroom, have them complete pop quizzes and tests online once they’re outside of the classroom. Or vice versa—give pop quizzes in class for material that was to be covered in online modules.
- Simulated Environments
Once you cover a topic in the classroom, you can have learners engage in simulated environments and games online where they must practice in real time the information your covered in person.
- Social Platforms and Feedback
Check the comments your learners leave in online forums and discussions to gauge their level of understanding of a subject. Are they able to help others with the material they’ve learned throughout their blended course with relative ease? Do they ask sharp and relevant questions? You could also see what type of feedback their peers provide them online, as well as their managers and other instructors.
Be sure to use one or more of the assessments above to effectively evaluate your learners taking blended learning courses.
- Verb. Blended Learning is the Future of Corporate Training. Accessed 3/12/2018.