Example of good practice of a learning environment with a classroom response system in a mechanical engineering bachelor course

Results of a successful pilot study are presented, in which quizzes are introduced in a second year bachelor course for mechanical engineering students. The pilot study course entailed the basic concepts of mechanical vibrations in complex, realistic structures. The quiz is held weekly using a SharePoint application. The purpose of the quizzes is to repeat important course material, give instantaneous feedback (i.e. formative assessment), stimulate peer instruction and, as a consequence, increase the students’ comprehension of the basic concepts taught in the course so that their deeper understanding of the subject matter improves. Students can earn half a point bonus, on a scale from 0 to 10, on top of their exam mark if they correctly answer 55% of all the quiz questions. The efficacy of the pilot study is determined by investigating the percentage of students that pass the course on their first attempt, i.e. the first time pass rate, and asking students for feedback through questionnaires. The first time pass rate of the students in the pilot study groups has, on average, increased significantly in comparison to groups in which the quizzes are not performed. Students indicated that the feedback from the quizzes helps them to identify gaps in their knowledge. Therefore, the pilot study is considered effective.     

Impacts of professional development in classroom assessment on teacher and student outcomes

The authors describe an impact study of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning (CASL), a widely used professional development program in classroom and formative assessment. Researchers randomly assigned 67 elementary schools to receive CASL materials or continue with regularly scheduled professional development. Teachers in CASL schools formed learning teams, trained with CASL materials, and implemented CASL in their classrooms under real-world conditions and without any involvement of, or requirements from, the researchers. Analysis of all schools and 9,596 students failed to yield statistically significant impacts of CASL on student mathematics achievement as measured by the statewide test. Impact analyses with 231 teachers yielded statistically significant positive impacts of CASL on teacher knowledge of assessment and the frequency of student involvement in classroom assessment. No statistically significant impacts were found on teachers' assessment practice. CASL implementation fidelity was below the CASL developer recommendations. Findings suggest potential of CASL for improving teacher outcomes.     

Developing classroom formative assessment in dutch primary mathematics education

In the last two decades Dutch primary school students scored below expectation in international mathematics tests. An explanation for this may be that teachers fail to adequately assess their students’ understanding of learning goals and provide timely feedback. To improve the teachers’ formative assessment practice, researchers, curriculum experts and teachers worked together to develop a model for classroom formative assessment (CFA). In three pilot studies, six teachers from three different schools implemented the CFA-model and evaluated its feasibility together with the researchers by means of checklists. The CFA-model was primarily changed with regard to the assessment techniques. Teachers indicated that classroom management and preparation time were preconditions for an optimal implementation. Analysis of covariance was used to explore students’ learning outcomes. The results showed that a correct implementation of the CFA-model might result in the enhancement of students’ mathematical performance. The implications of the three pilots for the implementation of the CFA-model on a larger scale are discussed.     

Pupil mortification: digital photography and identity construction in classroom assessment

Cultural theorists have illuminated how photographic images contribute to autobiographical remembering and identity formation. This has new significance given that digital photography now allows personal images to circulate rapidly amongst peer groups. Taking these insights into classroom contexts, this paper draws on recent case-study data to explore a teacher’s use of digital photography to provide ‘feedback’ to pupils. Critiquing dominant psychological understandings of classroom assessment for their lack of recognition of power relations, it takes up post-structuralist theories of discourse, embodiment and affect to consider how these digital photographs became ‘sticky’ with memories of peer derision, ‘mortifying’ pupils and marking them as ‘other’ in ways that were intensified through later display to the class. Thus, rather than providing benign support for learning, the circulation of these images as part of feedback processes in this classroom context seems to have functioned as a powerful technology of individualization and normalization.     

网络课程教学环节反馈系统的设计与实现

现今很多网络课程缺少教学环节信息的反馈设计,教师在师生交互中仍处于“被动”地位,这样很不利于进行形成性评价。本文把网络课程与数据挖掘技术相结合,提出了一个对网络课程的教学环节进行反馈的系统研究的解决方案,为教师提供学生学习效果的反馈信息。     

Student perceptions of classroom feedback

Feedback to students has been identified as a key strategy in learning and teaching, but we know less about how feedback is understood by students. The purpose of this study is to gain more insight into lower secondary students’ perceptions of when and how they find classroom feedback useful. This article draws on data generated through individual interviews with 11 students representing four lower secondary schools (grades 8–10, aged 13–15) in Norway. Feedback types are identified from students’ perceptions, coded and indexed. A feedback typology is designed to provide a framework which can be used to reflect on useful classroom feedback based on lower secondary school students’ perceptions.     

Assessment for Learning in the writing classroom: an incomplete realisation

An Observation Guide, designed to help New Zealand teachers identify areas of teaching strength and aspects for development, was developed as part of a wider project. In the second phase of this project, 18 middle school teachers used the Guide to gather and record evidence as they participated in seven rounds of reciprocal peer observation and feedback during writing lessons with Grades 6–8 students. We report here on data from round 6 observations about the assessment for learning (AfL) strategies reported as evident in teachers’ practices, how these strategies were implemented and potential gaps in practice. AfL has at its heart a core of interdependent strategies that collectively contribute to the development of autonomous, self-regulating learners and quality learning. While the middle school teachers shared goals for learning and communicated what counted as successful achievement to students, they appeared to struggle when articulating goals in terms of literacy learning and conveying the substantive aspects and quality expected in students’ writing. In addition, despite AfL's promotion of learner autonomy, few teachers openly afforded students focused opportunities to take a meaningful role in their learning through the appraisal of their own and peers’ writing and the joint construction of feedback. As such, teachers’ AfL practice in the writing classroom failed to realise its full potential. It is argued that the promise of AfL can only be reached when strategies are enacted in ways that reflect its unitary nature, promote quality outcomes and give students a central role in their learning.     

形成性评价视域下反馈在中小学教学管理中的运用

反馈作为形成性评价的核心部分,在中小学教学管理中发挥着越来越重要的作用。在中小学教学管理中,教师为学生提供形式多样的反馈,可以帮助学生更好地利用反馈信息,提高学习效果;教师为学生提供具体和有针对性的反馈,可以让学生认识到自己应该改进的地方,提升学习成绩;教师为学生提供多方位、多层次的反馈信息,可以最大化地促进学生进步;教师为学生提供个性化的反馈,使学生更好地根据自身的特点提升学习能力。     

Feedback codes and action plans: building the capacity of first-year students to apply feedback to a scientific report

Effective feedback can build self-assessment skills in students so that they become more competent and confident to identify and self-correct weaknesses in their work. In this study, we trialled a feedback code as part of an integrated programme of formative and summative assessment tasks, which provided feedback to first-year students on their initial attempt at a scientific biology report. We investigated the students’ perceptions of the feedback code and associated action plan exercise, and found that the code provided the majority of students with clear feedback, whilst the action plan provided a tool for decoding and interpreting the feedback and ensuring errors were not repeated in a subsequent report. We argue that a feedback code can be a valuable inclusion in a wider programme of feedback provision particularly when it is supported by activities that require students to engage with the codes and feed that learning forward to subsequent tasks.     

Feeding forward from summative assessment: the Essay Feedback Checklist as a learning tool

Owing to the increasing diversity of assessments in higher education, feedback should be provided to students in a format that can assist future and alternative work. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Essay Feedback Checklist on future alternative assessments. Participants were assigned to one of two groups, one of which completed the checklist prior to assessment 1 (essay) and received feedback using this method. Attainment on assessment 1 and assessment 2 (examination) were taken as pre- and post-test scores. Results revealed increased assessment scores for the checklist group, compared to those who received conventional feedback. Focus group data indicated that students particularly liked elements of the checklist as a feedback method, but potential drawbacks were also highlighted. Implications and future use of the checklist is then discussed.     

Transforming Feedback: An Application Framework for Group Feedback Videos in Design

This article presents the development and application of group feedback videos (GFVs) in design education. A case study shows how visually‐rich GFVs were developed in a practice‐based design studio subject where learners were required to work in teams and independently calibrate an ability to form judgements on the qualities of their own work. Breaking away from traditional models of individual written feedback, students were instead provided with holistic reviews of project outcomes in a GFV format. Assessment examples were presented from across the cohort with the goal of encouraging open discussion and self‐reflection on studio practice. GFVs supported learning processes through three key characteristics: information richness, group learning and sharing, and formative engagement. What differentiated this approach from previous studies was the focus on audio‐visual group delivery to enhance feedback's richness. By replicating an in‐class group critique session, GFVs allowed commonly summative assessment stages to be seen as formative. This study contributes to existing literature through an application framework that may be used by design educators who are seeking to implement GFV methods within their own studio teaching practice.     

The promise and reality of formative assessment practice in a continuous assessment scheme: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Continuous Assessment (CA) systems are externally directed, curriculum-based assessment schemes used for both summative and formative purposes within classrooms. CA has been implemented as national policy in several postcolonial developing countries and is believed to hold great promise for improving education outcomes. This theory-driven evaluation (TDE) used a mixed methods research design to interrogate the nature of CA practice. The focus was on stakeholders’ understanding and practice of formative assessment in the CA Programme (CAP) of Trinidad and Tobago. The integrated findings suggest that the programme planners’ formative intent was often not fulfilled. Instead, teachers routinely recorded assessment marks without using the data. There is evidence that formative assessment practice was not congruent with teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices. Although the design of CA schemes suggests the possibility of synergy between formative and summative purposes, in reality this ideal is rarely achieved in these particular contexts.     

理解课堂中的形成性评价

形成性评价是一种能促进学生学习的有效策略,本文的核心问题正是如何理解课堂中的形成性评价。为此,本文将首先介绍目前美国教育系统中存在的一些问题,并就此问题提出一个可能的解决方案——形成性评价。在简要的背景回顾和文献综述之后,文章将提出我们建构的形成性评价工作模型。接着,本文将从我们围绕形成性评价设计的教师专业发展项目,以及我们自身的探索出发,讨论形成性评价面临的一些新问题。最后便是根据这些新问题,分析如何进一步理解形成性评价。     

Changing approaches to classroom assessment: An empirical study across teacher career stages

Research indicates that there is considerable variability in teachers' approaches to assessment resulting in different learning cultures for students. The primary purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between teachers' approaches to assessment across a set of dimensions (including their conceptions of assessment purposes, processes, fairness, and measurement theory) and career stage. The results of this paper illustrate nuanced impacts of career stage on teachers' approaches to multiple dimensions of assessment and enable the generation of assessment profiles that provide empirical support for differences in teachers’ approaches to assessment both within and between career stages.     

Formative assessment: translating high-level curriculum principles into classroom practice

The curriculum is the totality of experiences which are planned for young learners through their education, wherever they are being educated. It determines the ethos of the school as a learning community, curriculum subjects and areas, interdisciplinary learning, and opportunities to attain personal and learning goals. An effective curriculum, which meets the needs of the twenty-first century learner improves numeracy and literacy, promotes health and well-being, and supports the social and technical skills required for learning, life and work (lifelong learning). Relatively recent developments in the policy frameworks of numerous nations have seen the implementation of an interactive style of teaching and learning called formative assessment. Formative classroom assessment is a potentially powerful instructional process because the practice of sharing assessment information that supports learning is embedded into the instructional process by design. This article uses a range of sources, including policy and framework documentation relating to the development and implementation of a curriculum which drives interactive assessment practices designed to make evidence of learning visible as assessment data with potentially lifelong effects. The purpose of this article is to delineate a ‘formative curriculum’ designed to drive classroom practices that create responsible citizens, confident individuals, effective contributors, and successful learners.     

Teacher learning through participation in a negotiated assessment procedure

This article focuses on the impact of a specific formative assessment procedure, negotiated assessment, on teacher professional learning. Negotiations between the assessor and the teacher as assessee seem to be especially promising for this teacher learning. However, there is no empirical evidence yet that has confirmed this. We explored teachers’ opinions about the usefulness of the different elements in a negotiated assessment procedure for their professional learning and the learning benefits they reported as a result of being engaged in this procedure. Our findings show that teachers found the negotiated assessment procedure useful for their learning and reported different types of learning benefits in terms of change: change in their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, change in their teaching practice and change in their students’ learning outcomes.     

Student perspectives on formative feedback as part of writing portfolios

Despite the crucial role that students play in formative assessment practices, student perspectives on such practices are relatively under-researched. Through a qualitative analysis of 128 reflection notes written by student teachers of English, this article investigates the students’ perceptions of formative feedback as part of portfolio assessment at two teacher education institutions in Norway. As such, it contributes to bridging the gap between research and practice. Students received peer and teacher feedback on assignments and wrote reflection notes during the semester. Findings show that students are positive towards teacher feedback and highlight the significance of teacher praise. Main objections raised against peer feedback concern the lack of constructive criticism. However, positive attitudes towards peer discussion groups suggest that they may be a more effective way of implementing peer assessment than formalised written peer commentary. Student reflections suggest that a failure to understand the task and the feedback is a possible hindrance to successfully revising assignments. Overall, students’ positive attitudes towards the portfolio process, which includes multiple drafting, suggest that students in higher education would benefit from more opportunities to revise and resubmit their work, yet they need adequate practice in providing peer feedback, and interpreting and implementing feedback in general.     

Feedback as dialogue: exploring the links between formative assessment and social software in distance learning

The paper explores the relationship between formative assessment and social software. Formative assessment practices though beneficial for student learning become marginalised and constrained in open and distance learning environments in higher education. Feedback is a key factor in formative assessment and learners can benefit from the deployment of emerging technologies and the opportunities for participation and dialogue afforded by social software. This paper explores and proposes a conceptual framework for this relationship. The claim is that the social dimensions of emerging technologies – specifically, blogs and wikis – allow for formative assessment practices to be re‐invented or at the very least facilitated by essentially participative and student‐focussed interventions. A comparison of these technologies against formative assessment mechanisms identifies the types of processes that these new tools might best support to encourage effective feedback approaches that both empower the learner and enhance their learning experience.