Implementation and Results

PLAR includes a variety of assessment methods; this study employs a combination of resume assessment, task testing and interview. On the basis of this pluralistic assessment method, the implementation and results of the PLAR process are presented as follows.

A. Setting up a working group

In order to ensure uniformity of assessment, a PLAR joint working group is formed. This group is composed of experts in PLAR (responsible for formulating training material for PLAR, training the whole group in PLAR and supervising the quality of the whole assessment), experts in educational technology (responsible for establishing the practical teaching targets for the programme of educational technology and cooperating with PLAR experts to transform the targets into assessable criteria), school administrative staff (responsible for the conversion mechanism between PLAR credits and traditional credits and supervising the implementation of the whole assessment) and front-line teaching staff (teachers from Baodi Radio and TV University, mainly responsible for offering consulting to students taking part in PLAR, conducting student interviews and executing the assessment of the verbal description of teaching plan).

TABLE1.     Descriptions of generic outcomes

B. Conducting training

Training for this study is conducted for members of the PLAR working group and students, tailored to the needs of each group. The content of the training mainly includes interpretation of the assessment indices, the PLAR work flow and important guidelines. The training process includes internal and external training. For the external training, experts from Thompson Rivers University and Beijing Normal University give instruction on how to carry out PLAR and how to appraise the verbal description of teaching plan. The internal training mainly deals with what PLAR is and is provided for members of the PLAR working group and students in the educational technology programme.

C. Sifting student resumes

An initial sifting of student resumes is performed to determine the students that can participate in the process. The principles of sifting are as follows: The knowledge and abilities to be assessed are acquired from informal learning; work experience is related to educational technology, e.g., applicant has received award in technological teaching, etc.; the description of work experience can reflect the ability of the applicant.

With the guidance of the above principles, 18 students are selected to participate in the PLAR process. They are asked to prepare their teaching plan along with an interview and verbal description of their teaching plan.

D. Carrying out the first review of students’ teaching plans

The first review of the teaching plan is a preparation for the interview and verbal description of teaching plan. The PLAR working group conducts a group review in order to have a full understanding of the evaluation table and to ensure that the assessment of interview and verbal description is uniform and effective. Specifically, all the members of the group are gathered to give a point-by-point assessment of students' teaching plans in line with the index system of the evaluation table. Based on the extensive discussion, they also list questions that will be raised during the interview and verbal description of teaching plan so as to make an adequate preparation for the assessment.

E. Interview and verbal description of teaching plan

Interview and verbal description of teaching plan are conducted in Baodi district, Tianjin. This portion mainly consists of the following contents:

• The student gives a brief introduction to himself/herself.
• The student gives a verbal description of his/her teaching plan and lays emphasis on how to improve teaching strategy and teaching efficiency through information technology.
• The student makes a concise evaluation of his/her performance.
• The student presents supporting materials or key points related to his/her resume.
• Based on the performance of the student, members of the PLAR working group ask some pertinent questions and give marks according to the evaluation table.

F. PLAR result

The working group collects the marks after the interview and verbal description of teaching plan. The result of this empirical study, based on submitted materials, interview, and performance in the verbal description of teaching plan, is that 15 students ultimately pass the assessment and are eligible to receive academic credits for the corresponding applied teaching course.