Improvement of Distance Learning Experiences and Materials Through Formative Evaluation

Abstract

Distance education requires a continuous evaluation of distance teaching materials. The consideration for evaluation is essential to continuously improve the quality of distance learning experiences. In addition, the evaluation contributes to promote effective and constructive distance learning. The research objective was to examine learning effectiveness for distance students' understanding of the objectives intended through formative evaluation. This chapter first outlines the issues and challenges faced to understand distance teaching materials effectively and discusses the main variation of learning patterns and diverse understanding to the distance teaching materials. The findings suggest that formative evaluation is considered an integral part of conducting effective learning experiences and students' learning progress. It highlights key contributions of good instructional design to promote effective and constructive distance learning that enable students to learn independently and achieve the required competences from the learning experience. This research conducted a formative evaluation that collected data from a survey, interviews, and academia literature. The assessment had three stages that are one-on-one review, small group reviews, and field trials.