Feedback in formative e-assessment: closing the loop in distance learning

Stylianos HatzipanagosKing's College London

Project team

♣ Paul Black (King’s)♣ Stylianos Hatzipanagos (King’s)♣ Ana Lucena (King’s)♣ Bob McCormick (OU)♣ Steven Warburton (King’s)

Closing the loop: identifying effective formative assessment

practices and feedback processes in open and distance learning A project funded by the Centre for Distance Education of the University of London:

• explored policy, teaching practices and tutor views in three Open and Distance Learning environments.

• investigated relationship between formative assessment and learning technologies

Dimensions of Formative Assessment

• Power (autonomy and ownership)• Dialogue• Peer/self assessment• Feedback (attributes)• Visibility• Reflection• Action

Black et al. (2003), Gibbs & Simpson (2004), Giroux (1992), McConnell (2006).

e-assessmentSignificant number of tutors engaged in formative assessment but not extensively in what we consider FA. Notion of formative varied e.g. often was equated to ‘continuous assessment’. Evidence that tutors are augmenting their methods of assessment according to the learning environment they use.

Formats of assessment have changed because of the possibilities new technologies can afford.

e-assessment: range of technologies

Non-formative

• Objective tests (they ‘disagree’ with certain disciplines)• Model answers received or revealed after students submit an answer,

as non-personalised feedback• Electronic submission of coursework

Formative

• Communication tools in VLEs• Online tutorials• Games that allow monitoring and intervention • Audio to canvas opinions/understanding of concepts/issues. Audio

more meaningful conceptually than video• Tools such as certainty based marking• Videoconferencing• Social software: Blogs• e-portfolios

Conclusions :

♣ FA practices can be problematic in courses with emphasis on end of year assessments as the ‘closing the loop’ component of the assessment process very rarely takes place.

♣ FA can enrich e-learning approaches by making the feedback central to all e-assessment activities.

♣ e-assessment tools promote a dialogue in relation to feedback, peer and self assessment activities which by their nature place the student at the centre of the educational process.