How to measure learning

I had a discussion with a PhD student, in which he intends to examine the level of knowledge acquisition among players through a gaming competition. He plans to use questionnaire to conduct the examination but the questions asked are limited to learners' satisfaction. This incident reminds me of Kirkpatrick's book I bought (published by ASTD) on E-learning Evaluation. He introduced four levels of evaluation on training.

Herewith some tips on how we can integrate Kirkpatrick's methods with research methods:

1. Level of learner satisfaction
- use questionnaire survey to check whether learners are happy with the learning events or not

2. Level of knowledge / skill acquisition
- use quiz or test to check whether learners have achieved the intended learning outcomes or not

3. Level of application of new knowledge / skills
- use observation checklist to check whether learners have applied what they have acquired in other contexts

4. Level of ROI
- use balance sheet to measure total cost spent on the competition plus research expenses and compare it with the return on investment to see whether it is economical to teach the subject matter through competition or not.