IELTS preparation courses have gained significant popularity in Iran in the past decade. Although teachers in such an exam-oriented context have started to use formative assessment to improve their writing instruction, their knowledge and beliefs about assessment for learning are still a myth. This mixed-methods study investigated Iranian IELTS teachers’ beliefs and knowledge about the four mai...

BACKGROUND Though formative assessments are popular in medical education, but data to establish their educational benefits are lacking. This study was conducted to determine whether participation and performance of MBBS students in regular formative assessments are associated with positive outcomes and has measurable effects on learning. METHODS One hundred and fifty MBBS students of semester...

INTRODUCTION Recent changes in postgraduate medical training curricula usually encompass a shift towards more formative assessment, or assessment for learning. However, though theoretically well suited to postgraduate training, evidence is emerging that engaging in formative assessment in daily clinical practice is complex. AIM We aimed to explore trainees' and supervisors' perceptions of wha...

BACKGROUND Online formative assessment continues to be an important area of research and methods which actively engage the learner and provide useful learning outcomes are of particular interest. This study reports on the outcomes of a two year study of medical students using formative assessment tools. METHOD The study was conducted over two consecutive years using two different strategies f...

As online and blended learning has become common place educational strategy in higher education, educators need to reconceptualise fundamental issues of teaching, learning and assessment in non traditional spaces. These issues include concepts such as validity and reliability of assessment in online environments in relation to serving the intended purposes, as well as understanding how formativ...

The educational literature shows that formative assessment is highly conducive to learning. The tasks given to students in formative assessment generally require open-ended responses that can be given, for example, in essay-type format and that are assessed by a human marker. An essential component is the formative feedback provided by the marker that needs to assist the student in recognising ...

Within the educational community, there is an increasing recognition of the need for formative assessment tools. Effective formative assessment must meet four criteria: it must assess higher order knowledge, identify students’ strengths and weaknesses, provide effective feedback, and be easy to use. Although concept maps and other structural knowledge representation techniques have been used su...

− A new system of curriculum evaluation of formative assessment has been established in secondary education system in China for seven years. Attention has been given to teaching and learning as a meaning making interactive process rather than summative result of assessment. In the English teaching area, instead of using solely summative assessment, teachers are asked to give students formative ...

Much work has been done in recent years on formative assessment and the importance of using feedback loops to close the gap between actual and desired student performance. In this paper, I suggest that as the formative assessment movement expands beyond its Western base, the experience of the English language teaching profession has some useful insights to offer. The profession has had long exp...

Much of the focus on learning technologies has been on structuring innovative learning experiences and on managing distance and hybrid learning environments. This article focuses on the use of technology as an important formative assessment and feedback tool. The rationale for this focus is based on prior research findings that suggest that timely and informative feedback promotes learning. The...