Enhancing Learning: Formative Assessment and Technology

What are the learning features and information sources needed to enhance learning in your field? 

Student learning can be enhanced in many ways, including with and without the utilization of technology. This can also vary from teacher to teacher and across different environments. Within the field of education enhancing student learning is a goal that each of us strives for.

The use of formative feedback has been proven to enhance student learning. In the article, Research summary – assessment for learning, research carried out by Paul Black and Dylan William is reviewed. One of the main findings of Black and William’s research was that where formative assessment was implemented effectively, it raised the standards of achievement across the board, but particularly for low achievers. It reduced the spread of attainment while raising the bar for everyone. Where pupil are given better quality support and feedback, and are encouraged and empowered to take more responsibility, they learn more effectively (Education Scotland).

 Juwah et al (2004) identified seven principles of effective feedback. They are:

1. Facilitates the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning.
2. Encourages teachers and peer dialogue around learning.
3. Helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standard).
4. Provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance.
5. Delivers high quality information to students about their learning.
6. Encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem.
7. Provides information to teacher that can be used to help shape the teaching.

Several new educational technologies designed to support formative assessment may help to address barriers to formative assessment use and effectiveness. These new technologies enhance learning and assessment, for example, by enabling more frequent feedback, creating immersive learning environments that highlight problem-solving processes and make student thinking visible, and by providing opportunities for independent and collaborative learning. Teachers, students and parents are able to track learning over time, to identify patterns in learning, and highlight progress (Looney, 2010).

As of yet, many teachers do not take advantage of the potential of new technologies to enhance classroom assessment. They may not be aware of how to integrate technologies into classroom assessment, or may not know how to respond to student needs identified in the assessment process. Or they may be using new technologies, but to reinforce more traditional approaches to assessment – losing out on the potential to deep classroom interactions and strengthen inquiry-based learning (Looney, 2010).

Looney, points out that there are several new technologies that incorporate different ways to assess student performance. These technologies are designed to support:

• Rapid assessment of student understanding
• Timely and targeted feedback, scaffolding of learning
• Interactive learning and assessment of higher-order skills
• Tracking of student learning in different contexts and over time.

Some of these technologies – such as simulations with real-time feedback – blend instruction and assessment in new ways. Others are intended to facilitate student collaboration and to encourage peer- and self-assessment (Looney).

Polling tools, sometimes referred to as learner response systems (LRSs), are becoming more common in the classroom for rapid assessment of student understanding. These tools allow teachers to conduct on-the-spot surveys. The LRS consists of handheld “clickers”, or input devices, which communicate with software on the teacher’s computer. Students use of LRS devices to respond to questions posed by the teacher, and responses are aggregated and displayed on the teachers’ computer in the form of bar charts or graphs. The devices allow students to respond to yes/no or multiple-choice questions. Some devices also accept free text or numeric answers. Using these polling devices, teachers are able to engage all students, including those who are less likely to speak up during class, in active classroom discussions (Looney). The evidence regarding the impact of polling technologies on formative assessment practice is still limited; however recent studies illustrate an enhancement of learning through their use.

Increasingly, ICT-based learning programmes are able to provide timely and targeted feedback for students working independently. Some online learning programmes use tutors to provide real-time support for learners. Other programmes provide automated feedback. Although in some cases this feedback may be fairly generic, some programmes search for patterns in student work to better target feedback and to then adjust the level of difficulty in subsequent exercises according to needs. In other words, the programmes scaffold learning. These programmes have been evaluated as having positive impacts on learning (Looney).

Several new technologies allow teachers to blend instruction and assessment, increasing interactive learning and assessment of higher-order skills. The technologies reviewed by Looney include interactive white boards (IWBs), simulations, video games, and social networking tools. Different technologies enable teachers to follow students’ reasoning and problem solving approaches, thus providing a window on student thinking (Looney).

The little research that has been done on IWBs does show that students’ attainment levels increase in classrooms with IWBs, however the focus of these studies did not specifically focus on how IWBs were used to support formative assessment. ICT-based simulations also encourage interactivity and help to make students’ thinking processes visible. Unfortunately, ICT-based assessments that take advantage of simulations are still in the early stages of development. Gaming that draw on more advanced cognitive capabilities may also serve valuable pedagogical purposes. Learning through play is highly effective for improving motivation, engagement, and many teachers see adventure games and simulations as useful ways to develop students’ strategic skills. Potentially, teachers will able to examine process data from game play for formative assessment (e.g. time spent on each level, strategies used). Social networking tools (Web 2.0) are already sufficiently developed for widespread use in schools. Social networking and Web 2.0 tools give students opportunities to assess their own and their peers’ work and to adapt and improve products over time. In this way, they may take ownership of the assessment process (Looney).

ICT-based assessments have the potential to improve the integration of formative and summative approaches by more effectively tracking student learning over time. ICT-based assessments could also provide means to aggregate data at different levels – for individual students, specific classes, grade levels, schools, and so on. Teachers would be able to create complex streams of data about student learning, enhancing their ability to analyse patterns in their approaches to learning, possible misconception, and how they have progressed over time (Looney).

According to Looney, assessment touches all aspects of the learning process and the role of technology is central. There can be little doubt that a leap in educational productivity will not happen without significant strides in the development of assessment methods and tools. Equally there is a growing awareness on the part of policy makers and researchers that we now have the capacity to dramatically improve assessment systems. To do so will require a wide range of initiatives, aimed at:

• Developing coherent strategies for strengthening ICT in education.
• Investing in research and evaluation.
• Disseminating new knowledge.
• Developing guidelines and exemplars.
• Considering formative assessment and technologies to support assessment within broader frameworks for assessment and evaluation.
• Encouraging partnerships between and among ICT product developers, educators and policy makers.
• Involving parents.

Taken together, these measures could lead to pronounced improvements in enhancing student learning by effective combining formative assessment with technological advancements.

References

Education Scotland, Research summary – assessment for learning, retrieved from http://www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk/resourcesandcpd/research/summaries/rsassessment.asp October 20^th, 2012.

Juwah, C., Macfarlane-Dick, D., Matthew, B., Nicol, D., Ross, D., Smith, B. (2004), Enhancing student learning through effective formative feedback, The Higher Education Academy, retrieved from  http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/resources/database/id353_senlef_guide.pdf on October 20th, 2012.

Looney, J. (2010), Making it happen: Formative assessment and educational technologies, Curriculum & Assessment Assets, retrieve from http://www.innovationunit.org/sites/default/files/Promethean%20-%20Thinking%20Deeper%20Research%20Paper%20part%203.pdf on October 20^th, 2013.