Domain Testing: Divide and Conquer - Testing Education

provided. It is very important for learners to know what they are doing correctly
and incorrectly.
3.03.06.08 Assessing Performance
According to Gagne et al. (1988), there are two decisions that need to be made by
the instructor when assessing the learners’ performance. “The first is, does the
performance in fact accurately reflect the objective? … The second judgment,
which is no easier to make, is whether the performance has occurred under
conditions that make the observation free of distortion” (pp. 189-190).
3.03.06.09 Enhancing Retention and Transfer
Gagne et al. (1988) have asserted, “Provisions made for the recall of intellectual
skills often include arrangements for ‘practicing’ their retrieval” (p. 190). Transfer
of learning can be effectively achieved by giving the learners a set of new tasks that
are very different from the tasks (for example, practice exercises) that they were
exposed to during the actual instruction. The goal of doing this is to see whether or
not a learner can apply the concepts and skills learned through the instruction to a
situation that is very different, but still in the applicable domain (Gagne et al.,
1988).
3.03.07 Develop Instructional Materials
What training material will be provided to the learners? “The word materials here
refers to printed or other media intended to convey events of instruction” (Gagne et
al., 1988, p. 29). Depending on how original the instructional goals are,
instructional materials might or might not already be available in the market. If
applicable instructional material does not exist, instructors may develop their own
instructional material, although it is an expensive affair. Even if the exact required
materials are not available in the market, teachers could use the ones that are
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