Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
formative evaluation, from which a feedback loop allows
further analysis, design, and development. At some point,
determined by management, the training program is judged
to be ready for the other path. As Gagné and Briggs
3
have
pointed out:
There is no standard number of formative evaluations
that small components or segments or the entire system
undergo. The number depends on the budgets and time
available, the degree of excellence set as the system
design objective, and the total circumstances
surrounding the project.
The program then moves to fi nal implementation, followed
by summative evaluation (Figure 5.2).
There are several ways to conceptualize the program
improvement model at this point. One is to include pilot
implementation and formative evaluation within the
development phase. When the pilot and the formative
evaluation are completed, the program moves into the (fi nal)
implementation phase, followed by the (summative)
evaluation phase. Another conceptualization is to include
two types of implementation, pilot and fi nal, within the
implementation phase, and two types of evaluation,
formative and summative, within the evaluation phase.
These different conceptualizations bear on the logic of the
program improvement model, but not on the process of
program development.
As a fi nal introductory point, it is clear that management
has one very signifi cant role in a formative evaluation; that is
specifying the overall goal, and level of effort, for the
evaluation. What might be management's response to
evaluative fi ndings gathered during the formative evaluation
of a program? The response of the program designers and
