Exploring formative assessment as a tool for learning: students' experiences of different methods of formative assessment

• Published in: Assessment and evaluation in higher education Vol. 37; no. 6; pp. 747 - 760
• Main Authors: Weurlander, Maria, Söderberg, Magnus, Scheja, Max, Hult, Håkan, Wernerson, Annika
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.01.2012; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: College Students; Disorders; Educational evaluation; Evaluation Methods; Foreign Countries; Formative assessment; Formative Evaluation; Group Activities; higher education; Interviews; Learning; Learning Processes; Medical schools; Medical Students; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Motivation; Oral Language; Pathology; Problem Solving; Student Attitudes; Student Experience; student learning; Student Motivation; students' experiences; Study Habits; Sweden; Teaching methods; Written Language; Sweden
• ISSN: 0260-2938; 1469-297X; 1469-297X
• DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2011.572153

This study aims to provide a greater insight into how formative assessments are experienced and understood by students. Two different formative assessment methods, an individual, written assessment and an oral group assessment, were components of a pathology course within a medical curriculum. In a cohort of 70 students, written accounts were collected from 17 students and group interviews were carried out to explore the students' experiences of these two forms of assessment. All students were engaged in both assessment methods, which were conducted a few weeks apart, and data were collected soon after each assessment. Our findings suggest that formative assessments motivate students to study, make them aware of what they have learned and where they need to study more. Thus, formative assessment can act as a tool for learning, contributing to the process and outcomes of learning. A closer look at students' experiences of each form of assessment reveals interesting differences.