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Assessment As A Key Component to the Learning Process.

  • Writer: Tamara Gayle-Turner
    Tamara Gayle-Turner
  • Feb 13, 2024
  • 3 min read



In this blog, I will give a brief overview on the value of assessments and take a look at formative feedback instrument that assist learners with metacognition to be become active participants in their learning. I will also share my own feedback instrument as an example of what can be developed to lead students on a path to be actively engaged in their learning. The example incorporates the use of technology to assist with the analysis of the results students provide.


It has been known for decades that the the model of assessment tasks remarkably influence what study behaviour students adapt and determine their approach to learning task we set out for them (Biggs, 1999). This reality alert us to the fact that there is an integral relationship between the kind of assessments used and having a successful learning outcome since it influences the process of learning and motivation (Biggs, 1999). It is this concept of learning to pass a test as oppose to learning to develop critical thinking skills to secure relevance in the real world of work life that is highlighted in the video.


A formative feedback instrument offers several advantages for both the instructor and the learners. On the instructor side, formative feedback gives visibility to learning barriers that the learners may be facing; it provides evidence of learning at the time the instrument is taken which allows the instructor to modify instruction to address the learning needs detected in the level of learning.



The file above is a compilation of research done that speaks in part to the value of formative assessment. Nicol and McFarlane (2006) purport several benefits of formative instrument for the learner. These include providing learners with the tools to take control of their own learning, engendering metacognition to become auto-regulated learners. Additionally, formative instrument allows learners to engage in the monitoring and evaluation of their performance whereby they can practice skills and test their knowledge without the pressure associated with grades.


Other benefits of a formative feedback instrument include a decrease in the uncertainty about their performance given the fact that they become active participants in their learning with this instrument. This approach enables the learners to correct misconceptions or inappropriate strategies to assign tasks which create high motivation and more effective strategies (Nicol and McFarlane, 2006).

This attached file is an example of a formative designed to steer learners metacognition and help the instructor to gain insights on how their actions in the classroom is being perceived. The instrument would be used on a weekly basis at the end of weekly lectures i.e. at the end of the last lecture of the week. It is meant to be used as an assessment tool throughout the tenure of course for the academic year.


The use of technology with Mentimeter in the collection of the feedback is a way to encourage learner’s participation but also allow the instructor to do a detailed analysis of the collected data in a soft copy version. This data detect trends and emerging themes within individual cohorts and across different cohorts of learners. Feedback from the instrument can be used to make informed decision on enacted practices to secure successful learning and instruction since it allows for flexibility to pivot if learning is not progressing as expected.


References

1. Biggs, J. (1999). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. Bristol, PA: Open University Press.

2. Nicol, D.J., & MacFarlane-Dick, D.(2006). Rethinking formative assessment in HE: A Theoretical model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Higher Education Academy: UK Retrieved from



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