3 Key Reasons Why You Must Measure Students Learning

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3 Key Reasons Why You Must Measure Students Learning

Are you happy with your student learning experience so far but still want them to improve more?

That’s lovely if you do. See why measuring students’ learning can help them improve even more.

3 Key Reasons Why You Must Measure Students Learning

What Is Learning?

The word learning in education is sometimes used when teaching. Through learning, one can develop the ability to remember information and re-apply it to a new concept.

Depending on the learning process adopted, one can retain information much longer. However, one can improve retention by relating new understanding to already familiar ideas, engaging self in independent and critical thinking, and improving the ability to apply lessons to new and different contexts.

Learning is a process of making a change that results from newly acquired insights, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and experiences that can increase the capacity for enhanced performance and further learning.

The resulting change may be improved knowledge of a concept, adjustment in attitude or way of conducting oneself in certain situations or environments which compel the learner to see ideas, concepts, and things from a better perspective.

However, no two different students can learn the same way or learns for another, everyone makes an independent effort to learn, and that is when the outcome of learning can be most valuable to the learner.

 Reasons To Measure Students’ Learning 

Measuring learning is an essential key element in students learning process in higher education. An assessment provides a guide for determining what the students might have achieved in their learning and any observable change in attitude and understanding.

The result from the assessment provides the teacher with some important additional information that assists in measuring students learning, revealing the breadth and depth of such learning.

 However, other reasons for measuring student learning include that:

It Helps To Demonstrate What The Student Has Achieved, Learning

The outcome of this is a graded assessment that reveals how well the students are performing and their achievement so far and helps the students understand the progress so far in their learning pathway.

It Helps To Offer Feedback.

Feedback follows the outcome of the graded assessment, assisting the teacher in noticing whether his way of teaching has been effective or may need to be enhanced.

The teacher can now also engage students with similar feedback that guides them to improve their chance of enhancing their future learning performance.

It Equips Students To Self-regulate Their Learning And Critically Assess Their Performance

 The Role of Assessment in Measuring Students Learning

 Assessment is a tool by which the teacher can produce evidence to show how the student has done in the learning pathway.

 Assessment is, therefore, a way of soucing information that can better describe the strengths and weaknesses of students in learning.

Some of the assessment tools at the disposal of the teacher can include:

  • Essays
  • Exams
  • Self-Assessment
  • Peer Assessment

Understanding Students Learning

Students’ learning is simply the observable results of their academic endeavors acquired through knowledge sharing, skills, and developing attitudes through study and experience.

The term is used interchangeably as a process and result of the academic experiences that improve student skills and content knowledge.

Observable changes in student knowledge, attitudes, and skills guide the teacher to understand how well the student has adapted to learning and provide insight into what to do towards improving any method or approach by which learning takes place.

Student learning can mean the quantifiable skills, attitudes, and knowledge the learner acquires through actively participating in an educational activity.

Student learning includes activities like reading, studying, viewing art, or witnessing an event.

Although challenges may occur when a student engages in learning activities with others, such as with peers or mentors, more challenges may have to be contended with within the event of learning alone than with a peer group.

Learning in a group may also help clarify complex concepts faced by the student when learning alone.

 Improving Learning Through Skills

Regardless of what a student’s field of study may be, it is essential to take advantage of any available learning opportunity while still in college to improve on existing knowledge. 

Skills provide ample opportunities for learning that one may not get elsewhere. Some of the skills that can prepare and enrich students with knowledge of how to overcome most of the challenges they may face after graduation include:

  • Problem-solving skill
  • Research skill
  • Driving skill
  • Negotiation skill
  • Interpersonal and social skills (often referred to as soft skills  
  • Teamwork skill 
  • Communication skill
  • Listening skill
  • Conflict resolution skill
  • Critical thinking skill (this involves carefully analyzing something to understand it better)
Conclusion

No doubt you have learned so much already as either a teacher or student. You can apply the lessons learned to measure students learning using assessment and use the result to assist your students to achieve more in their learning.

Frequently Asked Questions
  1.  How can I improve retention?

Depending on the learning process adopted, you can retain information much longer. However, you can improve retention by relating new understanding to already familiar ideas, engaging yourself in independent and critical thinking, and improving your ability to apply lessons learned to new and different contexts.

2. What skills can I learn while in college?

  • Problem-solving skill
  • Research skill
  • Driving skill
  • Negotiation skill
  • Interpersonal and social skills (often referred to as soft skills  
  • Teamwork skill 
  • Communication skill
  • Listening skill
  • Conflict resolution skill
  • Critical thinking skill (this involves carefully analyzing something to understand it)

3. Why do I need to measure learning?

  • To demonstrate in time what the student and teacher have achieved through learning.
  • To equips students to self-regulate their learning and critically assess their performance

.4. What can I understand learning as?

Learning is a process of making a change that results from newly acquired insights, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and experiences that can increase the capacity for enhanced performance and further learning.