accreditation/certification framework
Has anyone worked on developing an accreditation or certification framework? We are exploring ways of setting something up and need a Goframework as a structure for the organisation which hasn't done this before. We do have assessments built in our training courses but nothing formal. Any advice would be appreciated.
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I face this dilemma of who is best placed to develop the e-assessment question items. I see this situation very similar to the days of developing an expert systems in the late seventies and early eighties. The knowledge engineer(ID) sits with the domain expert (SME), and through several iterations develop the system. This means much stronger engagement with the SMEs and identify early on what is the bottom line knowledge they will accept from any one claiming certain level of expertise in the chosen field. Then map the items that guarantee that level of expertise that minimises the risk of 'lucky guesses'. I am not too hung up about the MCQs per se - it is the quality of items and the nature of the feedback that define the success or failure.
Potentially you could ask the learners to volunteer to retake the test at a later date without the repercussion of being bumped from the Platform should they fail.
However, on your second point Stephanie, what about having tiered or questions for example:Spot the hazard in the scene (picture), then choose (MC) what type of hazard it is, and then how would you remedy the situtation/hazard (MC). By employing this tactic you would be investigating their understanding at a deeper level and be less prone to "Multiple Guessing" paradigm and hopefully encourage longer retention of the information due to the thought that has to go into answering each question. The downside is that it takes a lot longer to create the questions form ID and Developer perspective.
This is a topic that interests me as I'm finding that many of the people I work with are realising that perhaps an end of training multiple choice assessment isn't the most effective approach - but they aren't yet comfortable with making the leap to anything else. Which is I guess where I come in - how can I work with them to ensure they get the measures they need and that mean something?
What do people think about asking users to work through the training on one occasion, perhaps setting a period in which this must be done, and then having a second assessment period at a later date? Whatever the format this would go some way to avoiding the problem of simply testing short term memory. In terms of format, I think multiple choice assessments can be made more valuable by creating questions which put the user in a situation similar to those they'll experience in their day to day work - so we're asking them to select behaviours and actions rather than simple facts. This perhaps moves towards testing the right thing? Or perhaps the questions all relate to a case study - again, we're then testing them in relation to actual performance.