Checklist: What It Is And How To Use This Evaluation Tool
One of the most used evaluation tools in pedagogy is the checklist Broadly speaking, it allows a comparison to be made between the objectives set and the learning or tasks obtained. It is a very simple and useful technique to analyze, at different levels, the scope of a specific skill or procedure.
Next we will see what a checklist is, how it is done and what are some related evaluation techniques.
In pedagogy, an evaluation instrument is a material or a set of actions that allow obtain relevant information about the teaching and learning process Thus, a checklist is a material that makes it possible to record the achieved and not achieved objectives of a given process.
It generally has the format of a table with three or four columns in which both the indicators (the skills, behaviors or elements that are expected to be found both in the person and in a specific task) and specific information about the task are explained. the presence or absence of these indicators.
In other words, the indicators are organized as a list within a first column. Two or three more columns are placed on one side, where it is possible to indicate whether the indicator is “achieved”, “not achieved”, or in “process”. The above terms may vary depending on what is being evaluated For example, in the case of procedures or elements expected to be found in a written or visual work, “yes” and “no” columns can simply be included to indicate whether they are present or absent.
Like all assessment tools, the checklist It has some characteristics that make it different from other techniques These characteristics can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, an issue that depends on what is being evaluated. We can identify 4 main characteristics of the checklist: it is prestructured, it is generally dichotomous, it allows sequences to be established and it is based on observation.
1. Pre-structured
This is a pre-structured evaluation technique, since the evaluation criteria are established before carrying out the observation. First, the goals that are intended to be achieved are listed and then record which of these goals have actually been achieved and which have not.
The fact that it is a pre-structured tool can represent an advantage, since it allows an objective evaluation to be carried out. However, it can also be a disadvantage because it hardly allows adding other elements or learning achieved once the evaluation begins.
2. Dichotomous
Related to the above, the checklist is usually a dichotomous evaluation technique, that is, it generally only accepts the options of “acquired”, “non-acquired”, “present”, “absent”, “yes”, “no”. . In some cases the checklist includes a third option, “in process.” In this sense, the checklist can be a very easy-to-access and quite practical tool. But, on the other hand, can limit the evaluation criteria to very specific learning
3. Sequenced
The checklist allows you to sequentially record the tasks that are expected to be achieved or performed, as well as the order in which they should appear. In the specific context of pedagogy, the checklist is made by listing behaviors, skills, attitudes or tasks that are expected to be observed in students. In this way you can establish a graphic sequence on progress and pending
It is a tool based mainly on observation. This means that it depends on what the person evaluating has seen with respect to the person evaluating the task. Depending on how the indicators to be evaluated are structured the checklist allows for a qualitative-quantitative evaluation.
Related educational tools
Before deciding which evaluation technique is most operational for analyzing the achievements of a particular task, it is necessary to define that task. In other words, it is important to start by asking yourself what you want to evaluate, and then ask how.
In this sense, some tools that are similar to the checklist, although they have some differences from it, are rubrics and appreciation scales In the first case, these are tables of contents where the learning or the expected task can be explained in detail. They serve to measure both the level and quality of said indicators. Above all, it facilitates the communication of evaluation criteria between those who evaluate and those who are evaluated.
The appreciation scale, for its part, allows identifying the frequency of an indicator. This is also a list but establishes in more detail whether the expected skill, behavior or task has been achieved. It can be descriptive (it details what has been observed in the person evaluated), or it can be numerical (achievements are rated on scales, for example from 1 to 10).
