For corporate trainers who deliver instruction in a group setting, it has always been a challenge to gauge learning mastery in real time and generate relevant learner feedback. Instructors traditionally have gauged learning mastery by asking questions and relying on a show of hands to determine consensus or calling on individuals to discuss concepts. It’s a hit-or-miss process, but instructors use this information to make critical decisions about whether students have sufficiently mastered key concepts so that the class can move on to the next topic. To get feedback about class material and teaching methods, most instructors rely on post-learning session surveys. Technology can provide a better alternative.
There are major drawbacks to the “show of hands” approach or to calling on individuals to gauge learning mastery. When instructors ask students to voluntarily respond to questions about the material, responses are typically drawn from a handful of extroverts who aren’t necessarily representative of the class, meaning that the feedback the instructor receives can be skewed. This can lead the teacher to move on to the next topic when the majority of learners still need additional help with the current subject.
Another pitfall involved in the traditional approach to gauging class knowledge levels is that it fails to engage the whole group. Even if the instructor randomly calls on learners to avoid relying on a handful of volunteers, most students will not be asked to provide their feedback. That can not only lead to false assumptions about class knowledge retention levels, it can result in bored students who lose focus on the discussion and classroom material.
Instructors across multiple industries and learning settings have successfully used technology to improve learning mastery assessment and learner feedback processes. Response technology can be an ideal solution, allowing instructors to embed questions directly into PowerPoint slides and enable students to respond using clickers or smartphones. With response technology, instructors can display aggregate responses by students onscreen in chart form.
This approach solves the problem of student engagement since every learner gets to contribute an answer instead of the few who typically engage with the instructor during the learning session. Knowing that they’ll be called upon to contribute by submitting their answers gives students a greater stake in the session, keeping their focus on the training material.
It’s also a huge advantage for instructors, who can finally get an accurate reading of class knowledge levels. Instead of relying on a small subset of students who respond to in-class questions and gauging session effectiveness by test scores after the fact, instructors can get real-time data to make decisions on the fly. For example, if the aggregate data shows that a significant portion of the class answered a question incorrectly, the instructor can spend more time on the material. If the data shows that the class understands the material, the instructor can move on.
Instructors can also use response technology to gather real-time feedback on the learning session rather than relying on post-training surveys. Once the class is over, it can be a challenge for teachers to get students to fill out surveys, but using response technology, instructors can ask students their opinions while the session is still in process and make adjustments to the lesson plan if necessary to accommodate student preferences.
Technology solutions of all types have changed the way companies do business and the way training and development professionals impart knowledge. Now it can significantly improve the methods instructors use to assess learning mastery and generate learner feedback – and it can do so in real-time, during the training session so that instructors can immediately take action on the data they receive. That’s a win-win situation for both instructors and learners.
