Assessment of learning

Provide feedback and guidance to learners

Feedback provision and guidance from the in-company tutor is essential to ensure the learner is able to achieve the pre-defined learning outcomes of his/her training.

Feedback refers to the information provided to the learner/apprentice, in response to the implementation of an activity, which can include a positive statement or suggestions on the things to be improved. The in-company tutor must give feedback to the learner regularly through informal and formal channels, including formal follow-up meetings. Feedback is extremely valuable for trainees to show how they can improve and reflect on their practice, providing motivation for development.

It is important that the tutor raises the apprentice’s awareness of the importance of feedback, explaining that s/he needs to listen to it until the end, without interrupting, without justifying himself/herself, accepting the suggestions, corrections and making questions to obtain clarifications. The follow-up meetings should be kept in a place where the tutor and the apprentice can talk quietly, privately, and where the apprentice feels comfortable. They should be held regularly, following the completion of the tasks being assessed.

In order for the feedback to be relevant and useful, the in-company tutor should:

• Be concrete and specific, using facts and evidence, and avoiding words like “always,” “never,” “everything,” or “nothing.”
• Focus on few things and not overwhelm the learner
• Combine positive and negative feedback by using, for example the “sandwich feedback technique”, which involves a praise followed by corrective feedback followed by more praise
• Refer to behaviours that the apprentice can modify and are under his/her control, in order to avoid his/her demotivation, not personality traits or previous mistakes
• Make concrete proposals to the apprentice, that is, offer alternative ways of doing things, realistically
• Talk about and describe specific behaviours, giving examples where possible and do not assume motives
• When giving negative feedback, suggest alternative behaviour and be sensitive to the impact of your message
• Consider the content of the message, the process of giving feedback and encourage self-reflection
• Be clear about what you are giving feedback on and link this to the trainee’s overall professional development and/or intended programme outcomes
• Identify two or three key messages that you summarise at the end
• Ask the apprentice to evaluate their performance
• Give feedback privately wherever possible, especially when it comes to more negative feedback
• Evaluate the meeting in order to identify what has worked and what can be improved[2]

When giving feedback to your apprentice, remember to:

• Describe events as factually as possible
• Evaluate what went well/what needs to be changed next time
• Bring out emotions/beliefs/ assumptions
• Review in light of previous experience (pattern recognition)
• Identify lessons learned
• Establish follow up actions
• Provide Feedback on actions

To summarize:

When you provide feedback to your apprentices:

1) Offer feedback on observed behaviour, not on perceived attitudes

2) Offer a description of what you saw and how you felt, rather than a judgement

3) Focus on behaviour which can be changed

4) Choose which aspects are most important

5) Ask questions rather than make statements

6) Set the ground rules in advance

7) Comment on the things that an individual did well as well as areas for improvement

Scenario exercise

Situation: Jack is carrying out an apprenticeship in a company that produces and exports wooden furniture. His tutor notices that the apprentice is very shy barely speaks to his tutor or to his colleagues. He carries out tasks without talking too much and with very few interactions with his colleagues. The apprentice is able to carry out the tasks he is assigned according to set standards. However, the tutor is afraid that his attitude may impair the learning process and achievement of the pre-defined learning outcomes, and also prevent his integration in the working team.

Imagine you are the tutor and decide to organise a meeting with the apprentice to discuss about this issue. Identify the possible causes of the learner’s attitude. How would you respond? What kind of feedback would you give?

Fill in the table with all the actions that you will take to organize the meeting, the kind of feedback you will provide to the apprentice and how you will provide it.

Discussion topic

Once you have filled the table, discuss with the rest of the group the results you have obtained.

Did everyone come up with the same problems with the apprentice?

Did you all identify the same reasons behind them?

Did you all come up with the same potential solutions?

Understand and evaluate the progress of the learners

The learners’ progress evaluation needs to be based on the indicators and criteria defined in the training project.  The in-company tutor needs to verify the learning acquired: that is, the ability to implement the results expected for the performance.

Evaluation is the verification of the objectives defined in the training project. The tutor will have to evaluate whether the project and the initial expectations have been met. It is obvious that the more structured, precise and clear the initial project is in terms of objectives, timings and expectations, the more the evaluation will be easier and precise. The in-company tutor will thus be able to identify the interventions to improve the training. It is advisable to share the evaluation results with other company staff, in particular with the management and human resources in order to agree jointly on the areas on which additional time and energies should be devoted to improve the training effectiveness.

The training project has to include:

• The learning outcomes of the training path
• The evaluation criteria adopted and guidelines for evaluators to use the evaluation criteria
• The evaluation methods: how will learning outcomes be evaluated by the company? (e.g. practical tests, use of logbooks to record progresses made etc.)
• The evaluation timing: in which phase of the process will the assessment be conducted?
• The evaluator/tutor’s qualifications and professional profile?
• The evaluation context: where will the assessment be carried out?
• Evaluation of quality assurance

The in-company tutor should follow a set of rules during the evaluation phase:

• The evaluation should be RELEVANT to the training objectives set during the design phase, the specific working context, the duration and purpose of the path
• The evaluation procedures have to be SHARED with the company and the training institutions, already in the training project
• The in-company tutor should develop FOR EACH LEARNING OUTCOME A SET OF TASKS/ACTIVITIES that the WBL will have to perform during the evaluation
• The evaluation procedures, criteria and indicators should be TRANSPARENT and based on the PLANNED LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Document the evaluation results; Evaluation Grids, short evaluators’ statements can be used, and trainees’ learning outcomes can be subsequently organized into a portfolio

As an evaluator you should develop a set of tasks / activities for each learning outcome that the apprentice will have to carry out during the evaluation. It is not enough to identify a task. The evaluation also requires the prior identification of the level of autonomy and efficiency that the person must have for completing the task.

The in-company tutor has to refer to three levels of autonomy:

• first level: the trainee completes tasks as described in the working instructions (e.g. s/he completes an assigned task according to the schedule, expectations and test procedures).
• second level: s/he carries out problem-solving tasks (e.g. solving standard problems that may arise at work)
• third level: s/he optimises working methods and procedures (e.g. understanding which procedures are useful and can be adopted under certain working conditions, if teamwork is required, etc.)

It is necessary that every evaluation procedure includes the following information:

• focus (the learning outcome/unit of learning outcome under evaluation)
• methods (tests, observation, portfolio)
• type of evaluation (qualitative, quantitative)
• context and conditions (the kind of tasks requested, the work environment, materials and tools to be used, timeframe and duration)
• assessment of the trainer (qualifications, professional profile, functions – teacher, tutor, in-company tutor)

At the end of the path, the in-company tutor must issue a declaration with which s/he certifies the possession of skills / abilities and knowledge related to one or more units of competences associated with the Professional profile to which the training project refers.

Evaluation templates

The in-company tutor can use the following template to record every month the tasks assigned to the apprentice and the progress made.

1° month			Tutor’s Observations
Unit of learning outcome	Tasks assigned	Tasks performed	Please write here your observations on what the apprentice has learned and is able to carry out at the end of the month, thanks to the apprenticeship. Specify both the professional and transversal competences
		Describe the most significant tasks performed relating to the competences covered by the training project) and the qualitative result of the performance

 In-company tutor’s evaluation report

Apprentice
Name and surname
Tel.
E-mail

 

In-company tutor
Name and surname
Qualification/Professional Profile
Job position within the company
Tel.
E-mail

 

Unit of learning outcome (as defined in the training plan)
Evaluation methods	ð       Technical interview combined with on-the-job observation ð       Performance test/individual simulation ð       Performance test/group simulation ð       project work ð       peer review ð       other (specify)_______________
Evaluation period
Evaluation type	Qualitative/Quantitative
Evaluation outcome
Context	Materials

Imagine that you are the tutor of an apprentice marketing expert and you want to design an evaluation for the unit of learning outcome “market analysis” (based on the units of competence foreseen for the “Marketing expert” training profile by the repertory of the Lazio region available at this link).

Apprentice
Name and surname
Tel.
E-mail

 

In-company tutor
Name and surname
Tel.
E-mail

 

 

Unit of learning outcome (as defined in the training plan)	“Analyse the market”
Evaluation methods	☒Technical interview combined with on-the-job observation ☒Performance test/individual simulation ☐Performance test/group simulation ☐project work ☐peer review ☐other (specify)
Evaluation period	At the end of the preparation period for Unit 1
Evaluation duration	2 hours
Evaluation type	Qualitative/Quantitative
Evaluation criteria	The characteristics of the market have not been identified and the correct documents have not been selected – score 0 The characteristics of the market have not been properly identified and the correct documents have not been selected – score 1 The characteristics of the market have been identified, the correct documents have been identified even if some necessary information has not been selected – Score 2 The characteristic of the market have been identified, the correct documents have been identified – all necessary information has been selected – Score 3
Evaluation outcome	The characteristics of the market under consideration have been identified (competitors, evolution trends, motivational drives, consumers’ behavioural logics)
Context	Materials
The evaluation will take place within the company	Ø  Market research studies, surveys Ø  Relevant legislation Ø  Equipped work station

Scenario exercise

Now it’s your turn! Imagine you are the in-company tutor of an apprentice who is working within the exports department of a food company. You need to evaluate the following unit of learning outcome “Relevant market analysis”. Refer to the catalogue of training qualifications in your country and identify the evaluation indicators, modalities and outcomes. Then use the template provided below to design your evaluation.

Apprentice
Name and surname
Tel.
E-mail

 In-company tutor

Name and surname
Qualification/Professional Profile
Job position within the company
Tel.
E-mail

 

 

 

Unit of learning outcome (as defined in the training plan)
Evaluation methods	☐Technical interview combined with on-the-job observation ☐Performance test/individual simulation ☐Performance test/group simulation ☐project work ☐peer review ☐other (specify):
Evaluation period
Evaluation duration
Evaluation type
Evaluation criteria
Evaluation outcome
Context	Materials

Discussion topic

Can you summarize the steps that an in-company tutor needs to follow to develop an evaluation?

Do you believe that the templates and guidelines provided are useful and applicable in all partner countries?