January, 2000
Volume 39 / Number 1
Executive Summaries
page 12
How to Grade Essay Examinations
by Chih-yen Wang
The chief advantage of the essay examination is that learners are allowed to select and organize answers freely in responding to questions. Its major defect is that the learners’ thinking and feeling on the subject may only represent their personal preferences, even though they have evidence to back them. This makes the essay examination a subjective test.
To improve this situation, graders must first establish criteria for scoring, clarify the lesson objectives, divide each question into components as criteria for scoring, provide sample questions to the student, and determine rating standards. Second, they should grade one answer at a time, ask more graders to make judgments, apply a consistent scoring technique, write comments on each test paper, clarify misunderstanding of test questions, and resolve illegibility problems. Finally, they should help students who fail by discussing the answers’ deficiencies, assisting participants in reviewing necessary materials, and arranging for retesting.
page 16
Moving
from Training to Behavioral Change in the Workplace: 12 Steps
by Anthony C. Griffin and William D. Engs
This article introduces a 12-step process for skills development. The process is a logical sequence of activities that actively involves representatives from all organizational levels. The key elements of this process are skills development committees and peer feedback, both of which are discussed in some detail. A flow- chart describes the process.
The expected outcomes from applying this process are: (1) "partnering" between organizational units to effect desired improvements; (2) assurance that newly acquired skills are applied on the job; and (3) reduction of such inefficiencies as turnover, absenteeism, and tardiness, which often are resistant to training efforts.
page 23
HPT: The Power to Change
by Roger Chevalier
As ISPI members are drawn into the realm of human performance technology, their traditional roles as trainers and facilitators are being expanded so they become true change agents, who must use a broader array of interventions to improve individual and organizational performance.
Change agents must be able to use both position and personal power. Most ISPI members are adept in using personal power (based on how their personality, competence, and integrity are perceived) in participative change strategies, such as providing training and facilitating group decisionmaking. Now they must become skilled in using position power (based on authority to use rewards and sanctions) in directive strategies, such as developing new measurement and reward systems.
This article will give readers greater insight into the concepts of personal and position power, participative and directive change strategies, and an accepted model for change.
page 26
How to Create
Lousy CBT Lessons—And How Not To
by William A. Deterline
The microcomputer, with all its power and capabilities, does not replace the need for the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation requirements for the production of effective training—especially computer-based training (CBT) materials. Humans learn by interacting with the elements of their environments. The individualized tutoring provided by CBT lessons provides those interactions—guiding information processing by the learners. The interactions must be based on the tasks and skills of the job performance requirements. The payoff—the learning produced by CBT lessons—depends not on multimedia glitz and cosmetic overlays, but on the design that incorporates actions, conditions, standards, accomplishments, interactivity, practice and review, and relevant simulation of job-related tasks. In addition, CBT lessons need to be debugged through student testing. Multimedia extravaganzas in CBT cannot overcome inadequate interactive design. Only student test data provide accurate information about CBT lesson effectiveness.
page 33
Research
Review: Report of 1999 ISPI Symposium—Appropriate Inquiry in Human Performance
Technology
by Brenda Sugrue and Harold Stolovitch
This article summarizes a symposium on Appropriate Inquiry in HPT which was held at the 1999 ISPI Conference in Long Beach, California. The goal of the symposium was to highlight the need, and suggest ways to improve the research and theory base for practice in the field of HPT. This article summarizes the presentations made by five leaders in the field and the ideas that were generated by small group discussions. Instructions for subscribing to a new listserv on the topic are provided at the end of the article.
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