NR523 Full Course Latest 2020 MAY

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 Assessment, Evaluation, and Grading

Welcome to the Chamberlain College of Nursing Curriculum Committee. You are a new faculty member, and, along with Dr. John Becker, you have just been assigned to start a 2-year term on the Curriculum Committee. The committee chair is Dr. Janet Stewart. Dr. Nancy Smith and Dr. Patricia Huber are in their second year of serving. Your school is facing a reaccreditation next year, and the dean has charged the committee with writing the school’s self-study. This will involve summarizing the state of your school based on an assessment of student learning, an evaluation of the school’s strengths and challenges, and a plan for continuing improvement.

The committee meets in the president’s conference room in the Nightingale building, an indication of how important the work of this committee is. Being new, John asks an interesting question: “Why can’t we just look at the grades we give students to see what they have learned? They tell us whether the student passes or fails. Why does the faculty have to waste time on all of this paperwork?” What would you tell him?

DQ2 Levels of Outcomes

Dr. Susan Peterson has been on the Curriculum Committee for a year. In preparation for the accreditation visit, she has been charged with making sure that the outcomes for the BSN courses are aligned with the Program Outcomes as well as the lesson objectives, test blueprints, and assignments. She also wants to make sure the levels of outcomes reflect the levels of your curriculum, from simple to complex. How will you approach this task?

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 Reliability and Validity of Grading

The dean visits the Curriculum Committee and has a concern because students have been complaining that the grading in the Level 2 medical-surgical course is unfair. They say a student’s grade on a paper is dependent on which faculty member does the grading. What would you recommend to the faculty to improve the reliability and validity of their grading? In what way is this problem an ethical and legal issue?

DQ2 Competency-Based Assessment

The university has identified several general education competencies for the college graduate, such as critical thinking, information literacy, communication ability, and mathematical ability. The Curriculum Committee decides to review its outcome statements for the nursing curriculum and provide comparable competency statements for nursing graduates. Dr. Stewart asks the committee members to meet and each bring a definition of competency, comparing competency statements with outcome statements. Then she asks each member to identify and defend at least two priority competencies for graduates of the BSN. What will you bring to the meeting? Include your reasoning for this decision.

 

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 Legal and Ethical Issues

The dean points out to the Curriculum Committee that developing curriculum is rife with legal and ethical issues, particularly when examined from the point of view of the school’s stakeholders. Who are these stakeholders, and what do you think would be important legal and ethical issues?

DQ2 Assessing Program Outcomes

As a committee, your dean has challenged you to demonstrate the extent to which your students are meeting the following Program Outcomes.

Provide holistic care based on knowledge from the arts and sciences.

Collaborate with other healthcare members to provide evidence-based nursing care.

Communicate effectively in all modalities.

Use critical thinking in clinical situations.

Consider legal and ethical aspects of nursing care.

Select one outcome, and recommend at least two ways faculty could assess whether students have met those outcomes. Discuss an advantage and a disadvantage of each of these assessment methods.

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 Multiple Choice vs. Other Forms of Testing

Faculty members at Chamberlain favor multiple choice questions in their courses. Why do you think this is true? What should the Curriculum Committee say and do to encourage the faculty to use other forms of testing?

DQ2 Test Blueprints

Based on student complaints about examinations at all levels, the Curriculum Committee decides that it is time to adopt the use of test blueprints. Convince the faculty that all this work will be advantageous for students and faculty alike. What are some advantages and disadvantages of using test blueprints? Can you think of any other uses for these assessment planning tools?

 

 

 

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 Test Banks

One of the Curriculum Committee members proposed using only the test banks that come with the program’s textbooks. How should the Curriculum Committee respond? How do you plan to develop your own test banks for your courses?

DQ2 Item Analysis

Students are protesting several questions on a unit examination. To address their concerns ethically, how should the faculty analyze their exams? What are important components of item analysis, and what is your philosophy on handling questionable test items?

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 Letter Grades Versus Pass-Fail in Clinical Grading

In reviewing the curriculum, the Curriculum Committee faces one of the most difficult issues for undergraduate nursing faculty: how to grade clinical performance. As a committee member, do you favor giving letter grades for clinical experiences, or are you in favor of using pass or fail grades only? How are formative and summative assessment related to this issue?

DQ2 Regulation and Accreditation

Since you and Dr. Becker are new to the Curriculum Committee, you need to become familiar with the regulation and accreditation of nursing programs. What are the differences between educational regulation and accreditation, and what are each looking for? Who is responsible for each function? Finally, what is the role of the U.S. Department of Education in overseeing higher education?

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 Preparation for the NCLEX® Exam

The Curriculum Committee is struggling with another issue in nursing education. The dean is very concerned about achieving a high NCLEX® pass rate; though, so far your school is above 90%.

Think outside the box. Recognizing that part of your plan will be to offer students standardized exams, what are additional methods you can use to prepare students for the NCLEX® exam? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using these methods in comparison to using standardized examinations? Please read this document before tackling this discussion question.National League for Nursing (2010). High stakes testing. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/advocacy-public-policy/issues/high-stakes-testing

DQ2 Systematic Evaluation Plans

Your school is getting closer to the reaccreditation visit, and you are hearing a lot about the BSN systematic evaluation plan. What are the components of the systematic evaluation plan, how is it used to assure that the needs of the school’s stakeholders are met, and why should faculty be involved in its development?

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 8 Discussion

The Faculty Role in Assessment and Evaluation

Now that you have served on a Curriculum Committee, describe your future roles in learning assessment, overall program evaluation, and communicating with important stakeholders.

How will you use the concepts you have learned in this course to identify, guide and evaluate your final MSN practicum project?

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 3 Assignment

Application Exercise 1

Purpose: In this assignment, the student assumes the role of an educator in the academic or staff development practice setting. In this assignment, the student is given the opportunity to identify a content area; develop a written assignment related to the content area; and design a grading rubric consistent with the assignment.

Course Outcomes:

This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

CO 1: Employ evidence-based assessment and evaluation strategies that are appropriate for culturally diverse learners. (POs 1, 3, 5)

CO 3: Apply measurement theory to the research process, construction and use of evidence-based educational evaluation instruments. (POs 4, 5)

Students are given the opportunity to request an extension on assignments for emergent situations. Supporting documentation must be submitted to the assigned faculty. If the student’s request is not approved, the assignment is graded and a late penalty is applied as follows:

Monday = 10% of total possible point reduction

Tuesday = 20% of total possible point reduction

Wednesday = 30% of total possible point reduction

If the student’s request is approved, the student will be informed of the revised due date. Should the student fail to meet the revised due date, the assignment is graded and a late penalty is applied as follows:

Monday = 10% of total possible point reduction

Tuesday = 20% of total possible point reduction

Wednesday = 30% of total possible point reduction

Total Points Possible: 175 Points

Requirements

Description of the Assignment:

This assignment provides the student with the opportunity to acquire skills related to the creation of a written assignment for a selected content area. The written assignment guidelines include learning objectives as well as required content. After designing the written assignment, the student will design a grading rubric consistent with the developed assignment guidelines. It is important to recall that the MSN student assumes the role of a nurse educator and is developing the assignment along with the grading rubric for learners who are either in the academic or staff development practice setting. When the following NR 523 guidelines mentions “learner”, it refers to the learner who is the focus of the MSN student-identified assignment and rubric.

Criteria for Content

Identification of content area: In this section the MSN student identifies the content area to be the focus of the proposed written assignment. It includes the following required elements:

Identify the selected content area for the assignment

Identify the learner that the assignment is designed for

Explain the importance of the selected content area to the learner

Development of assignment outcomes: This section identifies the learner outcomes for the MSN student-developed assignment. It includes the following required elements:

Identify 4 assignment outcomes/objectives appropriate to the learner and content area

Identify the level of knowledge stated in each outcome by using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

Develop two of assignment outcomes/objectives at the evaluating or creating level of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

Present an action verb that is consistent with the selected Bloom’s Taxonomy level

Include within each outcome an observable learner behavior that can be measured

Development of assignment guidelines: This section identifies specific guidelines or instructions for the learner. It includes the following required elements:

Purpose of the assignment

Points for the assignment

Specific instructions to the learner regarding the required content for the assignment

Specific instructions to the learn regarding the required formatting requirements for the assignment

Development of grading rubric: The section identifies the grading rubric to be used in order to evaluate the learner’s assignment. It includes the following required elements:

Identify an grading scale than includes percentages for A, B, C, D, and F

Development of a grading rubric that identifies learner expectations for each grade level

Preparing the Assignment

Criteria for Format and Special Instructions

Cover page is required

Section headings are required and should be consisting with this assignment requirements

The required level of knowledge using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy is noted after each assignment outcome/objective in parenthesis.

A reference list is not needed unless a citation is provided, which is not expected.

The required grading rubric should consist of the following columns and rows.

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 5 Assignment

Application Exercise 2

Purpose:

This assignment is designed to provide the MSN student the opportunity to apply Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to the development of a test blueprint as well as the construction of test items. Using the provided information about a course, the MSN student will developed a test blueprint that reflects Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy at a minimum of 4 different cognitive levels including the higher level. From this test blueprint, the MSN student will then develop multiple choice and alternative formatted test items.

Course Outcomes:

This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

CO1: Employ evidence-based assessment and evaluation strategies that are appropriate for culturally diverse learners. (POs 1, 3, 5)

CO2: Demonstrate care, professional and ethical values with application of assessment and evaluation processed to enhance scholarship, teaching, and learning outcomes. (POs 2, 4)

CO3: Apply measurement theory to the research process, construction and use of evidence-based educational evaluation instruments. (POs 4, 5)

Due Date: Sunday 11:59 PM MT at the end of Week Five

Students are given the opportunity to request an extension on assignments for emergent situations. Supporting documentation must be submitted to the assigned faculty. If the student’s request is not approved, the assignment is graded and a late penalty is applied as follows:

Monday = 10% of total possible point reduction

Tuesday = 20% of total possible point reduction

Wednesday = 30% of total possible point reduction

If the student’s request is approved, the student will be informed of the revised due date. Should the student fail to meet the revised due date, the assignment is graded and a late penalty is applied as follows:

Monday = 10% of total possible point reduction

Tuesday = 20% of total possible point reduction

Wednesday = 30% of total possible point reduction

Total Points Possible: 225 points

Requirements

Description of the Assignment

For this assignment, the MSN student will used the following course titled “Comfort Care of Adults” and the identified course outcomes.

Course Description: Comfort Care of Adults

Emphasis is on delivery of comfort care to adult clients experiencing acute alterations in health. Students will assess client needs, plan appropriate interventions based on evidence, implement interventions according to accepted standards of nursing care and evaluate effectiveness of care though an evidenced based nursing framework.

Course Objectives:

Incorporates knowledge from the biological and behavioral sciences, and the liberal arts to plan for care of clients.

Applies knowledge of lifespan development, culture, and economic status to provide holistic care to clients with specific alterations in health.

Utilizes the nursing process as a framework for decision making in caring for adult clients in acute care settings.

Demonstrates competence in calculating medication dosages.

Prioritize evidence based practices for incorporation in the plan of care of clients with alterations in health.

Based on the above information, develop a test blueprint for one possible module in the above course. Modules could be on a specific disease or process (i.e. respiratory diseases, post-op patients, etc.) or on medication administration. You could also focus on an age group (i.e. commonly occurring health alterations of elderly).

Criteria for Content

Development of test blueprint: In this section, the MSN student will develop a test blueprint for one module in the “Comfort Care of Adults” course. Please use the Test Blueprint Template. The required sections are noted to be:

Identification of 5 content areas to be placed in the Test Blueprint Template

Allot points for each content area for the appropriate verb (i.e. column heading)

Total points for each row and column

Development of multiple choice items: In this section, the MSN student will develop multiple choice test items consistent with the cognitive levels of the developed test blueprint. The require sections are noted to be:

Ten multiple choice items are consistent with the test blueprint cognitive level

Identify the cognitive level of the multiple choice item using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

Identify the Course Outcome and content area that the test item refers to

Wording of the STEM is consistent with the identified cognitive level and item writing best practices

Wording of options/distractors are consistent with item writing best practices

Development of alternative items: In this section, the MSN student will develop alternative test items consistent with the cognitive levels of the developed test blueprint. The required elements for this section are noted to be:

Five (5) alternative test items are constructed

At least two different types of alternative test items are presented

Each alternative item is identified as to its item type

Each alternative item is identified for its cognitive level using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

Identify the Course Outcome and content area that the test item refers to

Wording of the alternative item is consistent with best practices for item writing

Preparing the Assignment

Criteria for Format and Special Instructions

When allotting points for each content area to the verb (i.e. column heading), decide which course outcome verb is most important for the content area and then assignment more points. For example if you think that Course Outcome verb #2 is more important than Course Outcome verb #1, you would allot more points to Course Outcome verb #2. Please note: you do NOT have to allot points to each cell.

The examination that the MSN student is preparing is a 75 point test. You will be writing 15 test items so each item it worth 5 points.

The assignment requires the use of the Test Blueprint Template.

Fifteen test items must be developed by the MSN student. The items must consistent with the cognitive level noted in the test blueprint.

Of the fifteen items, 10 (ten) must be multiple choice questions each with a stem and 4 (four) options/distractors. The remaining 5 (five) items must be alternative test items (i.e. true/false, fill-in-blank, etc.). Within the 5 (five) alternative test items, 2 (two) different types of alternative items must be demonstrated.

A reference list is not needed unless a citation is provided, which is not expected.

Title page, running head, body of paper, and reference page (if needed) must follow APA guidelines as found in the 6th edition of the manual. This includes the use of headings for each section of the paper except for the introduction where no heading is used.

Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are followed and consistent with formal, scientific writing.

This assignment must be submitted to TurnItIn™, as required by the TurnItIn™ policy. A Similarity Index of 24% or less must be obtained; this is the benchmark for CCN graduate nursing students.  Any other level of similarity index requires the student to revise the assignment before the due date and time.  To allow sufficient time for revision, early submission of the assignment to TurnItIn™ is highly encouraged.  The final submission will be graded by faculty.  If a TurnItin™ report indicates that plagiarism has occurred, the Academic Integrity policy will be followed.

 

NR523 Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in Education

Week 7 Assignment

Application Exercise 3

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to help students apply information regarding item analysis.  Students are provided an item analysis as well as test questions.  Upon considering the item analysis information, each students makes a decision to either retain the item or revise it.  Students revise the item while demonstrating best practices regarding test item construction.

Students are given the opportunity to request an extension on assignments for emergent situations. Supporting documentation must be submitted to the assigned faculty. If the student’s request is not approved, the assignment is graded and a late penalty is applied as follows:

Monday = 10% of total possible point reduction

Tuesday = 20% of total possible point reduction

Wednesday = 30% of total possible point reduction

If the student’s request is approved, the student will be informed of the revised due date. Should the student fail to meet the revised due date, the assignment is graded and a late penalty is applied as follows:

Monday = 10% of total possible point reduction

Tuesday = 20% of total possible point reduction

Wednesday = 30% of total possible point reduction

Total Points Possible: 175

Requirements:

Description of the assignment:

A printout of an item analysis for a 45-item test on HIV/AIDs, along with the corresponding test questions is found in Course Resources. This assignment has two elements.  First the overall reliability of the examination is considered and then the item analysis of specific questions.  Within the item analysis document, there are nine highlighted test questions (Questions 1 – 8 and 45).  These highlighted test questions are the items to be individually analyze.  The analysis of selected test questions consists of two major elements:

Using item analysis numerical results

Appling best practices regarding item construction

Using the Item Analysis Template (found in Course Resources), the student, first, examines the overall reliability of the test and make suggestions for improvement. Following the required review of overall test reliability, the student will examine the required test items (Questions 1 – 8 and 45); individually.  The analysis includes consideration of numerical item analysis results AND if the selected test question demonstrated best practices regarding item construction.  The student will then provide a decision whether he/she would retain or revise the item.  If the student’s decision is that the item should be revised, the student identifies suggestion (s) to improve the item as well as re-writing the test question to be consistent with base practices of item construction.  For this assignment the desired difficulty index is .70 – .80 for most questions.  The desired discrimination index value is .30 or greater.  There are no mastery items on this examination.  A cover page and running head are required.  If a reference is used, you must provide a reference list.

Criteria for content:

Review of the reliability of the entire examination:  In this section the MSN student reviews the reliability results of the entire examination.  It includes the following required elements:

Explain what is meant by test reliability

Identify the name of the statistical test used in the item analysis to determine overall test reliability

Identify the overall test reliability

Provide a discussion if the overall test reliability is sufficient or if improvement is necessary

Identify 2 (two) ways/methods to improve the overall test reliability

Analysis for Individual Test Questions: For each of the nine identified test questions (items 1 – 8 and 45), the student will identify and  discuss:

If the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

If the question has a poor difficulty index

If the question has a poor discrimination index

If the question should be retained as written or revised

If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use

Preparing the paper

Criteria for Format and Special Instructions:

The use of the Item Analysis Template is required. It is found within Course Resources.

A reference page is required if a reference is cited. APA current edition is required.

Category

Remarks

Review of the reliability of the entire examination

Required content for this section includes:

·         Explain what is meant by test reliability

·         Identify the name of the statistical test used in the item analysis to determine overall test reliability

·         Identify the overall test reliability

·         Provide a discussion if the overall test reliability is sufficient or if improvement is necessary

·         Identify 2 (two) ways/methods to improve the overall test reliability

Question One

Required content for this section includes:

·         Identifies if the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

·         Identifies if the question has a poor difficulty index

·         Identifies if the question has a poor discrimination index

·         Identifies if the question should be retained as written or revised

·         If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

·         If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use

Question Two

Required content for this section includes:

·         Identifies if the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

·         Identifies if the question has a poor difficulty index

·         Identifies if the question has a poor discrimination index

·         Identifies if the question should be retained as written or revised

·         If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

·         If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use

Required content for this section includes:

·         Identifies if the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

·         Identifies if the question has a poor difficulty index

·         Identifies if the question has a poor discrimination index

·         Identifies if the question should be retained as written or revised

·         If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

·         If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use

Question Four

Required content for this section includes:

·         Identifies if the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

·         Identifies if the question has a poor difficulty index

·         Identifies if the question has a poor discrimination index

·         Identifies if the question should be retained as written or revised

·         If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

·         If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use

Question Five

Required content for this section includes:

·         Identifies if the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

·         Identifies if the question has a poor difficulty index

·         Identifies if the question has a poor discrimination index

·         Identifies if the question should be retained as written or revised

·         If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

·         If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use

Question Six

Required content for this section includes:

·         Identifies if the question violates any principle of item writing (i.e. does it ask a question, are there any tips to the correct answer, etc.)

·         Identifies if the question has a poor difficulty index

·         Identifies if the question has a poor discrimination index

·         Identifies if the question should be retained as written If you selected “revision”, describe ALL of the revisions that are needed

·         If you selected “remain”, state why the question is good to use