Because online assessment is predominantly used to supplement other (more traditional) assessments in most courses, it is mostly used in formative assessment activities. Feedback plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of an assessment, especially in formative assessment (i.e. assessment for learning). Nicol and Milligan (2006) suggest the following 7 guidelines and practical solutions for effective feedback in technology-supported assessment:
1. Good feedback practice helps clarify what good performance is
Students must understand what the criteria and goals for good performance are.
2. Good feedback practice facilitates the development of reflection and self-assessment in learning
Students should be equipped to evaluate and measure their own performance in relation to the required criteria or standards of an assessment. They should develop skills, through self- and peer assessment, to learn not only to produce work of appropriate quality, but also to evaluate it.
3. Good feedback practice delivers high quality information to students about their learning
Instructors should help students to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses through good quality feedback. They should provide students with information that helps them to align their internal understanding with the required goals and criteria. Good quality feedback is descriptive rather than evaluative. It is important to include comments about how students can improve their assignment and not only what the strengths and weaknesses of the assignment are.
4. Good feedback practice encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning
While external feedback from the instructor plays a crucial role in assessment, students do not always understand feedback provided by an instructor. One way to increase the effectiveness of feedback is to conceptualise feedback as a dialogue rather than the one-way transmission of information from an instructor to a student. A challenge in the South African higher education context, which is often characterised by large classes, is to provide quality, individualised feedback to many students. Technology provides some solutions for this challenge.
5. Good feedback practice encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem
Student performance and commitment to their goals relies heavily on student motivation. Poor performance in an assessment activity, especially a high-stakes assessment, can be demoralising. More regular, low-stakes, assessment opportunities throughout a course can keep students motivated.
6. Good feedback practice provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance
Ideally, feedback should lead to changes in student behaviour that ultimately leads to improved performance. Effective feedback helps students to close the gap between actual and desired performance. This can be achieved by providing students with feedback while they are engaged in the assessment activity and by allowing them to repeat the activity by, for instance, allowing resubmission.
7. Good feedback practice provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape teaching.
Before instructors can provide effective feedback to students, they themselves need to have a good understanding of how students are progressing and which gaps need to be addressed on a student- and class level.
Nicol, D. J. & Milligan, C. (2006). Rethinking technology-supported assessment in terms of the seven principles of good feedback practice. In C. Bryan and K. Clegg (Eds), Innovative Assessment in Higher Education, Taylor and Francis Group Ltd, London
Wojcikowski, K., & Kirk, L. (2013). Immediate detailed feedback to test-enhanced learning: An effective online educational tool, Medical Teacher, 35:11, 915-919, DOI:10.3109/0142159X.2013.826793
Except where otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.