The defining characteristic of the self study delivery method is the absence or assistance of a real-time instructor. For this reason, self study programs must use instructional methods that clearly define learning objectives, guide the participant through a program of learning, and provide evidence of a participant’s satisfactory completion of the program (Standard No. 9). The emphasis of this article will be on guiding the participant through a program of learning using review questions. 

What does it mean to guide a participant through a program of learning?

CPE programs must elicit participant responses to test for understanding of the course material. Review questions are to be placed at the end of each learning activity and in sufficient intervals to allow the participant the opportunity to evaluate the material that needs to be re-studied. If objective type questions are used, sponsors must include three review questions per CPE credit.

The Standards define evaluative feedback as a “specific response to incorrect answers to questions in self-study programs.” Reinforcement feedback is defined as “specific responses to correct answers to questions in self study programs.” When a learner incorrectly answers a review question, it is likely that the learner has a lack of understanding of course material that has been presented.

What are the most common mistakes in the area of review question feedback? 

NASBA reviewers identified the most common feedback deficiencies:

• Restatement of the review question stem
• Restatement of the correct answer choice
• Simple statement of correct/incorrect to the answer choice
• Providing only reinforcement feedback when both reinforcement and evaluation feedback are required

The type of feedback offered by sponsors can vary depending on the type of question provided to the learner. For instance, a multiple-choice question requires sponsors to offer evaluative feedback for each incorrect response. The feedback must explain specifically why each response is wrong.

Multiple Choice Compliant Feedback Example

The address of a website is technically known as what?

A. URL

B. HTTP

C. HTML

D. WEB

 

Feedback:

A.  Correct, because URL stands for universal resource location, which is the technical term for a website address.

B. Incorrect, HTTP is a communication protocol.

C. Incorrect, HTML is the markup language for the creation of web page.

D.  Incorrect, WEB is a misnomer for the Internet as a whole.

What makes this example of feedback compliant? The student is informed as to why that specific response is wrong and the feedback does not provide clues or the answer to the question. Additionally, the sponsor did not simply restate the review question.

My organization uses rank order or matching questions. How can I ensure my feedback is compliant with NASBA standards?

When rank order or matching questions is used, it is permissible to provide single feedback to explain the correct answer choice. Simulations and other innovative tools that guide participants through structured decisions could provide feedback at irregular intervals or at the end of the learning experience. In those situations, single feedback would be permissible.