Premium
Linking summative assessments? Electronic feedback and feedforward in module design
Author(s) -
Tong Vincent C. H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
british journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.79
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-8535
pISSN - 0007-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01226.x
Subject(s) - summative assessment , library science , citation , computer science , formative assessment , mathematics education , mathematics
Summative assessments and feedback Providing effective feedback to students on their work is an important part of teaching, and its significance is widely recognized in education (eg, Ramsden, 2003). Despite the lack of a single definition of the term in the research literature, feedback on students’ work can be understood as “information about the gap between the actual level and reference level of a system parameter which is used to alter the gap in some way” (Ramaprasad, 1983). The effectiveness of feedback can be judged by the extent to which students can use the information to alter the gap (Walker, 2009). As a type of “advice” delivered in an educational context, feedback is closely associated with assessments. Formative assessments are designed with the intention of providing feedback on students’ work, whereas summative assessments are principally used for certifying achievements or for “feedout” purposes (Knight, 2002). The distinction between the two types of assessments lies in their purposes and not in their timing within a module or curriculum (Sadler, 1989). As a result of this distinction, feedback is not necessarily a priority in the design of summative assessments in spite of the intrinsic value of feedback on student learning.