Staying on Track: Using Just-In-Time Assessment to Avoid Being Derailed

With the rise in popularity of online learning in corporate learning and developments programs, companies are faced with overcoming the same challenges that academic online learning and independent MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course), namely high early failure rates and low course completion rates. In a customer service-oriented industry, failure to engage employees through best online learning practices runs the risk of creating critical skill gaps, inconsistent customer service, and inadequate industry and regulatory compliance.

So what can we do to create vigorous learn programs where employees don’t get lost in the crowd? I believe in using a three-pronged approach employing:

• Predictive analytics to measure learner engagement and activity in online courses,

• Blended formative assessment to obtain qualitative feedback on learner comprehension and retention, and

• Scaled-down summative assessments to benchmark learning progress

Frequently used in marketing to forecast consumer behavior based on past behavior, predictive analytics also has the power to measure and predict learner success based on the quality and frequency of their interaction with online learning materials and courses. Each time a learner logs into a learning management system (LMS), the system records what links in the course they click on, how often they contribute to online discussions, and how much time they spend with course materials. This allows course facilitators to see how their employees are interacting with an online course. Learners who the system shows demonstrate lower engagement rates can be targeted for individual follow-ups to ensure learning effectiveness.

In business, formative assessment is a best practice to get qualitative on-the-job feedback from employees. Extending qualitative formative feedback to the online learning environment will allow employees to connect their learning activities to their working experiences and determine applications their new knowledge. Combining their online activities with on-the-job simulations, skill demonstrations and teach-backs will reinforce their online learning and create a continuous line of learning from their online courses into the real-world.

In online learning, students primarily use summative assessments and the end of a course to regurgitate facts and information in one sitting. By scaling down summative assessments and increasing their frequency, learning becomes bite-sized and much easier for learners to digest. Frequent small assessments also have the advantage of creating benchmarks for overall learning progress within a course or curriculum. Learners who show signs of struggling with early assessments can be quickly identified and supplied with additional assistance or alternative assessments tailored to their individual needs.

As learning and development becomes an increasingly valuable tangential benefit to potential employees, companies need to learn from the failures of current online learning offering to create robust, actively facilitated, individualized learning. As the capabilities of LMS software increases, L&D managers and providers will have the ability to look at and measure learner engagement to intervene with employees who fail to engage with their assigned online learning. By blending formative assessments into real-world application and scaling-down summative assessment, employees will have more frequent skills-transfer and comprehension checks which will provide a clear and well-paced learning track for them to follow to success.