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Learning‐oriented assessment increases performance and written skills in a second year metabolic biochemistry course
Author(s) -
Vanderlelie Jessica J.,
Alexander Heather. G.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
biochemistry and molecular biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1539-3429
pISSN - 1470-8175
DOI - 10.1002/bmb.20962
Subject(s) - formative assessment , summative assessment , attendance , medical education , student engagement , relevance (law) , higher education , psychology , educational measurement , mathematics education , pedagogy , medicine , curriculum , political science , law
Assessment plays a critical role in learning and teaching and its power to enhance engagement and student outcomes is still underestimated in tertiary education. The current project considers the impact of a staged redesign of an assessment strategy that emphasized relevance of learning, formative assessment, student engagement, and feedback on student performance, failure rates and overall engagement in the course. Significant improvements in final grades ( p < 0.0001) and written performance ( p < 0.0001) in the final examination were noted that coincided with increased lecture attendance and overall engagement in the course. This study reinforces the importance of an integrated approach to assessment that includes well developed formative tasks and a continuous summative assessment strategy. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(4):412–420, 2016.