Amanda Aguirri

NURS 5328
The KWL Chart (Know/Want to know/Learn)
An important part of addressing new content is to determine what students
already know. Obviously, you wouldnt want to spend time telling them things they
already knew! So a self-assessment is a great way to do that (as opposed to asking
each person!)
Here is an example how the Know, Want to know, and Learned Tables are
used: of course I found these by googling..
http://rayray-personalgrowth.blogspot.com/2010/10/kwl-chart.html
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/kwl-chart-example-graphicorganizer-and-classroom-applications.html#lesson
So for this evaluation course, fill in the table below. Save the file and you will
add it to your portfolio and complete the last column at the end of the course. We
will also give feedback after your initial responses.
Evaluation in Nursing Education
What I know about
evaluation/testing

What I want to know.

What I learned.

(This checks background

knowledge)

(This determines the

direction students want
to go with the lesson)

(This checks for

understanding)

1. Knowledge can be
assessed with written
exams.

1. What is/are the most

effective evaluation
method(s)?

2. Knowledge can be
assessed with an evaluation
of the students
performance in the clinical
environment.

2. How should course

objectives be developed?

3. Exam questions should be

designed in a way that
requires students to apply
what they have learned.
(Example: Question
describes a scenario and
asks, what would you do?
Not, what is a
pneumothorax?).
4. Students must past a
licensure exam (NCLEX) to
obtain an RN license after

3. How should course

outcomes be developed
and measured?

4. Are essay and/or fill-inthe-blank questions

better assessments of

1. Assessment is a
continuous process;
results of assessments
help students learn and
teachers teach
(McDonald, 2015).
2. Objectives should be
developed first; they
should be general
statements.
3. Learning outcomes
specify actions that are
needed to meet course
objectives; learning
outcomes should specify
what actions/behaviors
must occur in order to
meet the objectives.

completion of all required

course work.

knowledge than multiplechoice questions?

5. Multiple choice questions

are the most popular form of
evaluation.

6. Without a grading scale, a

given grade means nothing.
(Example: Student receives
a grade of 20:
20/20 (100%) is a lot
different than 20/100
(20%)).

5. What methods can be

used to measure student
performance in the
clinical environment?

6. What are the most

effective methods to
prepare students for the
NCLEX?

4. Essay and/or fill-inthe-blank questions are

not better or worse.
According to McDonald
(2015), choosing the
question format that
measures the course
objectives most
effectively and directly is
the best format.
5. Clinical performance
can be measured with a
clinical evaluation tool
such as Caputis
alternative approach to
clinical evalution.
6. According to
McDonald (2015), a nurse
educator can best
prepare her students by
identifying objectives and
learning outcomes,
providing teaching and
learning strategies to
help students meet those
objectives and learning
outcomes, and assessing
students with tools that
require higher-order
thinking.
-Learning objectives and
outcomes should be
based on the NCLEX test
plan that is published by
the NCSBN.
-Exam questions should
be modeled after NCLEX
questions; should follow
Blooms taxonomy and
be at application or
higher levels of cognitive
ability (McDonald, 2015).
7. The basic style guide

in McDonald (2015) is a
great reference tool for
developing exam
questions.

References
McDonald, M. E. (2014). The nurse educators guide to assessing learning outcomes
(3rd ed.). Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett.