Assessment-feedback in teaching process of foreign languages

Assessment is a crucial part of student learning and this article provides ideas and guidance on designing effective assessment. Much of the research on assessment points to the importance of feedback to students as a part of the learning process. Feedback is comments on students’ work which identify the gap between the desired standards and the student’s achievement then offer guidance on how to close the gap in future. Feedback is integral to the learning process and is one of the main benefits that students get from assessment. It helps students to develop their understanding and improve their performance in relation to the standards.For most students a discussion about their work is the most productive form of feedback they can receive. At the start of each academic year, it is crucial that students are given an opportunity to discuss their work with a teacher to enable them to set goals for the coming year.

For what kind of tasks and at what stage in learning process is feedback more effective?

Feedback can be given to all kind of practical work and, in fact it is very essential for written essays. However, students need feedback on all forms of assessment they come across in order to consolidate their learning.

Generally, feedback has to be given as soon as possible after the completion of the learning task. Students also need to see that feed forward comments can be incorporated into subsequent performance. Furthermore, they have an influence on the quality of their learning in positive ways. At the same time, in some instances, temporarily withholding feedback is needed to allow the students to internalize and process the demand of the task [Hattie & Timperley, 2007]. Feedback should be an ongoing process and to be effective students need to be receiving feedback in time to make use of it. How quickly students need feedback will often depend on when the next piece of work is due, for example, if students are completing weekly tasks then guidance on improving performance will need to be received quickly.

Is any particular formats, style and language that should be used when giving feedback?

Feedback can be in a variety of formats, including verbal, written and electronic. To be useful to students’ feedback has to be accessible, making sure that handwritten comments are legible, using language that students understand and perhaps trying alternative formats. For example, in the study by Duncan [2007] he refers to “use a more academic style”, a comment teacher obviously understood, but which students in the study reported as difficult to interpret [p.273].Other common phrases that the students in this study found difficult to interpret and act on included:

-        Deepen analysis of key issues

-        Sharpen critique

-        Identify and develop implications

-        Link theory and practice [Duncan, 2007, p.274].

Much of the studies on feedback has focused on the written comments on students assignment although some (Nicol 2007) has addressed wider feedback practices that can help students build self-assessment and self-regulation abilities in relation to their thinking,motivation and behavior during learning. This perspective moves the feedback process away from being an after assessment event transmission of information from teacher to students and towards an ongoing dialogue to help to build students’ knowledge, skills, confidence and perception about themselves as learners.

Who provides feedback?

Not all feedback has to come from teacher students can gain very useful from each other and through reflecting on their own learning. By providing opportunities peer-assessment and self- assessment you can ensure that feedback is not just something that happens at the end of a course but is an ongoing of the learning process. Furthermore, Nicol (2008) suggests that there may also be some class time for discussion of feedback comments after assignment. He also points that to put students into small groups in tutorials and invite them to share and discuss feedback comments. This will be the additional advantage of heightening students’ understanding of course learning goals.

Analyses of the impact of feedback on students learning achievement signify that feedback has the potential to have an important effect on student learning achievement (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).However, this potential is strongly related to the quality to the feedback and, unsurprisingly, Hattie and Timperley (2007) point that the most improvement in student learning takes place when students got “information about a task and how to do it more effectively” and is clearly related to the learning goals (p.84). By contrast, the impact of feedback on learning achievement is low when feedback focused on “praise, rewards and punishment” [Hattie &Timperley, 2007, p.84]. Hattie and Timperley (2007) also point that feedback is more effective when it addresses achievable goals and when it does not carry “high threats to self –esteem [p.8]).

Make sure that feedback is connected to the learning goals. The claim is that the “main purpose of feedback is to reduce the gap between current understanding and performance and a goal” [Hattie & Timperlay, 2007, p.86]. Therefore, effective feedback must be addressed to three major questions:

-        Where am I going? (What are the goals?)

-        How am I going? (What progress is being made towards the goal?)

-        Where to next? (What activities need to be taken to make better progress?) ” [Hattie & Timperlay, 2007, p.8].

Hattie and Timperlay’s exemplary indicates that how explanations are related to these questions on four different levels, task, process, self-regulation and self-feedback on the task in relation to all three questions usually works best when it is accompanied by an explanation of an appropriate process and learning can be deepened if the feedback additionally prompts some degree of self-reflection and management. That is, at its best, feedback will demonstrate appropriate ways of enhancing the performance on the task and offer strategies that invite more learner responsibility to improve. By contrast, feedback “about the self as a person” often has no impact on the learning, because it is not linked to the goals of the task for future learning management or behaviours. According to Hattie and Timperley [2007], “praise addressed to students is unlikely to be effective because it provides little information that provides the answer to any of the three questions and too often deflects attention from the task” [p.96]. It should be noted that this kind of praise should be distinguished from praise directed to the performance of the task which can benefit learning.

Good assessment and feedback practice should:

1.      Help clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, standards).

To what extent do students in your course have opportunities to engage actively with goals, criteria and standards, before, during and after an assessment task?

2.      Encourage 'time and effort' on challenging learning tasks.

To what extent do your assessment tasks encourage regular study in and out of class and deep rather than surface learning?

3.      Deliver high quality feedback information that helps learners self-correct.

What kind of teacher feedback do you provide—in what ways does it help students self-assess and self-correct?

4.      Provide opportunities to act on feedback (to close any gap between current and desired performance).

To what extent is feedback attended to and acted upon by students in your course, and if so, in what ways?

5.      Ensure that summative assessment has a positive impact on learning.

To what extent are your summative and formative assessments aligned to and supportive of the development of valued qualities, skills and understanding?

6.      Encourage interaction and dialogue around learning (peer and teacher-student).

What opportunities are there for feedback dialogues (peer and/or tutor-student) around assessment tasks in your course?

7.      Facilitate the development of self-assessment and reflection in learning.

To what extent are there formal opportunities for reflection, self-assessment or peer assessment in your course?

8.      Give choice in the topic, method, criteria, weighting or timing of assessments.

To what extent do students have choice in the topics, methods, criteria, weighting and/or timing of learning and assessment tasks in your course?

9.      Involve students in decision-making about assessment policy and practice.

To what extent are students in your course kept informed or engaged in consultations regarding assessment policy decisions?

10.  Support the development of learning groups and communities.

To what extend do your assessment and feedback processes help encourage social bonding and development of learning communities?

11.  Encourage positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem

To what extent do your assessment and feedback processes enhance your students' motivation to learn and be successful?

12.  Provide information to teachers that can be used to help shape their teaching.

To what extent do your assessment and feedback processes inform and shape your teaching?

From Dorothy Spiller Teaching development February 2009 Assessment: Feedback to promote student learning, 14

“Be mindful of the quieter student, who nods and cleverly presents a veneer of competence and coping… Often we find out too late that huge gaps in knowledge exist… This can be avoided by following the ‘Golden rule’- get inside their heads and make them talk. This will bring to light any limitations.” J.Copley

References:

1.      Duncan, N. [2007] ‘Feed- forward’: improving students’ use of tutor comments, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.271–283.

2.      Hattie, J. and Timperley. H [2007]. The Power of feedback. Review of educational Research, 84–96.

3.      Nicol, D. & Draper,S. [200]. Redesigning written feedback to students when class sizes are large. Paper presented at the Improving University Teachers Conference, July, Glasgow.

4.      Dorothy Spiller Teaching development Assessment: Feedback to promote student learning February 2009