Question

James, a health professional employed at a middle school, just finished reading an interesting journal article related to his practice discipline. The article was about recently conducted research on middle school students and using notebook computers. More than 40% of the subjects complained of mus-culoskeletal discomfort while using this technology. He found the results interesting because when working with students in the classroom, he has noticed their posture to be awkward while they are typing on their notebook computers. He overheard students complaining, “My neck, shoulders, and back always hurt when I am on the notebook computer.” James also knows from experience that many of his students gravitate toward learning when it incorporates technology. James requests a meeting with the school technology consultant, Andrea. He asks her, “Can you help me design an interactive online course that is fun and engaging for students to educate them about ergonomic principles?” Andrea eagerly agrees to work with James to build such a course, which also links them to Web sites and videos of ergonomic examples. James realizes that he needs to build an evaluation into the design of the interactive online course. He decides to use process (formative) evaluation so that he can make ongoing adjustments in this educational activity as soon as they are needed.

1.

What primary question should James be asking that is consistent with the purpose of process evaluation?

2.

What type of evaluation should be selected to determine the effects or outcomes of this online teaching effort?

3.

If evaluation is so crucial to healthcare education, why is evaluation often an afterthought or even overlooked entirely by the educator?

Answer 1

Answer of question 1

The primary question that should be consistent that "is the programme is acceptable and accessible to the students?"

In the process evaluation one evaluate that how the programme is being implemented? are the target population (students in this case) accepting or declining the programme? At what extent programme have been implemented?

So by this type of evaluation programme designer may modify the programme during implementation to make it more acceptable. In present case the online course should be understanble to students. So at every steps of online course a consistent query would be made for process evaluation that a particular step/chapter is easily accessible for the student and accepted by the student.

Answer of question 2

Efficacy evaluation should be selected to determine the outcomes of this online teaching course. This evaluation determine the capacity of the online course to improve the knowledge of students about ergomonic principles when the full course is seriously attended by the students. In this type of evaluation students may evaluate before and after the course by some questions and compare the scores. In an another way students of same level who attended and who not attended the course may be evaluated by same method and compare. Randomized controlled trial also can be performed.

Answer of question 3

Evaluation is not generally overlooked entirely but in some situation it may be true. Often when there is no alternative education plan or no tools available to modify the education course , no evaluation methods be developed initially. Defficiencies of evaluators also a reason that course is not evaluated in some compromised setting in developing countries. Cost of evaluation also may be one reason of this. Sometimes evaluation is so complex that could not be performed genuinely.

In health care education outcome evaluationis important and it is performed after completing course thatswhy it is afterthought. Mostly outcome evaluation done by randomised controlled trials those can be perform after multiple time implementation of the educational programmes. those are also done by researchers not by educators. For example education related to sexually transmitted diseases are to be evaluate in the community by assesing incidence rate of the disease . And this evaluation done by health care providers but not by educators at the time of imparting education. So evaluation entirely overlooked by educators.