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Rethinking Formative Assessment: a
model and seven principles of good
feedback practice
Dr David Nicol
Centre for Academic Practice
University of Strathclyde
Debra Macfarlane-Dick
Careers Service & Teaching and
Learning Service
University of Glasgow
Background
SENLEF project funded by LTSM
50 case studies from Scottish HEIs
Literature review: model of formative
assessment and feedback and 7 principles of
good feedback practice + simple strategies
Web site
http://www.ltsn.ac.uk/genericcentre/
>projects>assessment>SENLEF
Definitions (1)
Formative assessment refers to:-
‘….assessment that is specifically
intended to provide feedback on
performance to improve and accelerate
learning’ (Sadler, 1998, p77)
Definitions (2)
Who is involved in formative
assessment and feedback?
Tutor
Peer
External (e.g. placement supervisor)
Computer generated
Self
Why take formative assessment
and feedback seriously?
Black and Wiliam (1998) – 250 studies
Real classroom situations – tutor, peer
and self-feedback
Positive benefits on learning and
achievement across all content areas/
skills and sectors.
Big impact on schools but what about
HE?
Current thinking about learning &
assessment
Teaching/learning paradigm
Transmission
Constructivist.
[student-centred]
Assessment paradigm
Transmission
[teacher-centred]
Problems with transmission view
Lifelong learning depends on self-regulation
(Boud, 2000)
Feedback messages from teachers must be
actively interpreted (Higgins et al, 2001)
Motivational beliefs both regulate and are
regulated by external feedback (Dweck,
1999)
Teacher workload issues
How to conceptualise formative
assessment & feedback?
…process that build up the students own
skills and capacity to self-evaluate and
self-correct. [throughout u/g degree]
Sadler’s argument
For feedback to benefit learning students must
know:
1. What good performance is (goals, criteria)
2. How current performance relates to good
performance (compare)
3. How to act to close the gap
No 2 means that students ‘must already
possess some of the same evaluative skills as
the teacher’ (Sadler, 1983).
Self-regulated learning
Self-regulated learning is an active constructive
process whereby learners set goals for their
learning and monitor, regulate, and control their
cognition, motivation, and behaviour, guided
and constrained by their goals and the
contextual features of the environment. (Pintrich
and Zusho, p64)
Research on self-regulation
The more self-regulated the student the
better the learner – confident, persistent etc
(Zimmerman, 2000; Pintrich & Zusho, 2002).
Students can learn to self-regulate through
making learning explicit and meta-cognitive
training (Boekaerts et al, 2002)
Monitoring and self-assessment are key
components of self-regulation (Schunk and
Zimmerman, 1994).
Formative assessment and self-regulation
traditionally seen as separate paradigms
Processes Internal to Student
C
B
Teacher
set task
(goals/
criteria)
Domain
Knowledge
D
E
Student
goals
Strategy
Knowledge
Tactics &
Strategies
F
Learning
Outcomes
G
Motivational
Beliefs
Paths of internal feedback
A
Self-regulatory processes
(cognition, motivation and behavioural)
H
External Feedback
(teacher/peers/employers)
A Model of self-regulation and feedback
Performance
Key message
Formative assessment and feedback by
others can only have an impact on
learning when it influences a student’s
own self-regulatory processes (adapted
from Boud, 1995).
The Seven Feedback Principles
How can assessment and feedback help
to build a learner’s capacity to selfregulate?
Helps clarify what good performance
is (goals, standards, criteria)
Difficult to use feedback to self-regulate if
students don’t understand goals
Research
Mismatches between tutors and students
conceptions of goals/criteria (Hounsell, 1984;
Norton, 1990; Channock, 2000)
Strategies
Exemplars of performance (Orsmond et al,
2002), students help construct criteria (Gibbs,
1999)
Facilitates development of selfassessment in learning
Key process in self-regulation is selfassessment
Research
Training in self-assessment improves exam
performance (McDonald and Boud, 2003)
SA integrated with external feedback improves
performance. (Taras, 2003)
Strategies
Peer assessment, supporting reflection etc.
Delivers high quality information to
students about their learning
External feedback should help students trouble
shoot and correct their own performance
Research
Shows feedback might be delayed, not relevant,
overwhelming in quantity, focused on low level
goals (Sadler, 1983)
Strategies
Offering corrective advice in terms of criteria
Reader response theory (Lunsford, 1997)
Encourages teacher and peer dialogue
around learning.
Students don’t understand the feedback given
by tutors ( ‘essay is not sufficiently analytical’)
[Channock, 2000; Hyland, 2000]
Research
Ideal feedback = two-way dialogical: teacherstudent (Laurillard, 2003) not enough teachers
Strategies
Classroom technologies (Nicol & Boyle, 2003)
Peer processes (Gibbs, 1999)
Encourages positive motivational
beliefs and self-esteem.
Feedback has positive or negative effects
depending on type, delivery etc.
Research
Feeback as marks versus comments
(Butler, 19871988; Dweck, 2000).
Strategies
More low stakes assessments
Marks only after feedback used
Provides opportunities to close the
gap between current and desired
performance.
How do you ensure that students actually
use the feedback information to improve.
Research
Little opportunity to resubmit (Boud, 2000)
Strategies
Feedback during the task (process)
Action points and resubmissions.
Provides information to teachers that
can be used to shape teaching.
Being sensitive to learner needs
Research
Teacher’s don’t necessarily adapt teaching to
students’ needs (Ramsden, 1997)
Strategies
Angelo & Cross (1990) – one minute paper
Classroom Technology (Boyle & Nicol, 2003.
Student-requested feedback
Processes Internal to Student
C
B
Teacher
set task
(goals/
criteria)
Domain
Knowledge
D
E
Student
goals
Strategy
Knowledge
F
Tactics &
Strategies
Learning
Outcomes
G
Motivational
Beliefs
Paths of internal feedback
A
Performance
Self-regulatory processes
(cognition, motivation and behavioural)
H
External Feedback
(teacher/peers/employers)
1. Clarify task 2. Encourage 3. Provide quality 4. Facilitate
goals
dialogue
feedback
self-assessment
5. Provides
6. Encourage
opportunities
positive
to close the gap motivational beliefs
Supporting and building on student self-regulation
7. Use feedback
to shape teaching
New revised paper:
Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2004).
Title: ‘Formative assessment and self-regulated
learning: A model and seven principles of good
feedback practice.’
To be published in: G. Gibbs (ed), Innovating in
Assessment.
Available soon from: [email protected]
The End