ANECDOTAL RECORD FORM

Instructions For Use

• Within the context of any instructional product evaluation, you and others will observe incidents or listen to reports of incidents which relate to the evaluation of the product. It is important that this kind of anecdotal information be systematically recorded so that the rich stories about the product when it is being developed or used can be captured for the evaluation. You should complete an Anecdotal Record Form whenever you witness or hear of a significant incident relating to the progress and implementation of product. You should also get others involved with the product, such as instructional designers or teachers, to complete these forms whenever they witness a critical incident.
• An anecdotal record is a verbal account which exhibits these characteristics:
  1. Each anecdote should be limited to a single incident.
  2. It should contain a factual, non-inferential description of the observed or reported incident. (For example, "The trainees said 'I've never enjoyed using a computer before.' " instead of "The trainee expressed satisfaction with the multimedia system.")
  3. It should include a description of the situation in which the incident occurs so that the meaning of the behavior can be understood.
  4. It should be written as soon as possible after witnessing or hearing about the incident so that all important details can be included.
  5. It should include a separate section describing your interpretation of or feelings about the anecdote. Your personal evaluation is important because your judgments about the project are valued highly.

Sample Anecdotal Record Form

DATE: July 23, 1998

PLACE: Beta Site 2

NAME OF OBSERVER: Lucy Schweitzer

Description of the incident: About two hours into the course, one of the trainees suddenly got up and left the class. I followed him out into the hall and asked if anything was wrong. He replied: "I can't waste my time sitting in the class because I don't intend to use the new system." I asked him why and he answered: "Computers don't work for me. As soon as I touch one, the program blows up. You'll be glad I won't use your system because it would just fall apart if I did. It's nothing against you or your course, I just know it won't work."

I tried to talk to him more, but he indicated that he had to make some phone calls and left.

Interpretation: The "HYPERLEARN" multimedia course training is innovative and user-friendly in the eyes of its designers, but in the eyes of a person with high anxiety about technology, it is just another threatening computer program. I suspect that this person strongly fears computers and that he has an unusually strong degree of "learned helplessness" with respect to them. It may be worthwhile to conduct some sort of a pre-assessment with respect to "techno-phobia" and makes special efforts to help those who express high anxiety. Also, this person indicated before the beginning of the course that he was only there because his boss insisted that he attend. We may need to clarify the enrollment procedures for this and other participants.