High School Teachers’ Views on Formative Assessment in the Online Learning Environment
Keywords:
Formative Assessment; Virtual Learning; Online Learning; E-learning; Distance Learning
Abstract
Formative assessment in the virtual learning environment is a beneficial complement to teacher pedagogy and student learning. But there is little research on high school teachers’ perspectives on the use of formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to address the research gap. The conceptual framework was Black and Wiliam’s theory of formative assessment. Two research questions guided the study. The first addressed high school teachers’ perspectives on formative assessments in the virtual learning environment. The second addressed how teachers used formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 participants who taught a content area course at the high school level for more than 1 year and used formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. The findings that emerged from the study were that formative assessment has mutual benefit to teachers and students. Specifically, formative assessment is an effective monitoring tool, helps teachers adjust consequent instructional strategies, and promoted students’ agency through teacher support and feedback.
References
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Barana, A., Conte, A., Fissore, C., Marchisio, M., & Rabellino, S. (2019). Learning analytics to improve formative assessment strategies. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 15(3), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1135057
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https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807
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Bonner, S. M., Chen, P. P., & Torres Rivera, C. (2018). Standards and assessment: coherence from the teacher’s perspective. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 30(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-017-9272-2
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Chen, C. M., Chen, L. C., & Horng, W. J. (2019). A collaborative reading annotation system with formative assessment and feedback mechanisms to promote digital reading performance. Interactive Learning Environments, 29(5), 848–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1636091
Cisterna, D., & Gotwals, A. W. (2018). Enactment of ongoing formative assessment: challenges and opportunities for professional development and practice. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(3), 200–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2018.1432227
Correia, C. F., & Harrison, C. (2020). Teachers’ beliefs about inquiry-based learning and its impact on formative assessment practice. Research in Science & Technological Education, 38(3), 355–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2019.1634040
Cotton, D. (2017). Teachers’ use of formative assessment. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 83(3), 39–51.
Darling-Aduana, J. (2021). Authenticity, engagement, and performance in online high school courses: Insights from micro-interactional data. Computers & Education, 167, 1–https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104175
DeLuca, C., Valiquette, A., Coombs, A., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2018). Teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment: a large-scale survey. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(4), 355–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2016.1244514
Émon, A., Greene, J., & Timonen, V. (2021). Generation COVID: Experiences of the coronavirus pandemic among secondary school graduates of 2020 in Ireland. Cogent Education, 8(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1947014
Enders, N., Gaschler, R., & Kubik, V. (2021). Online quizzes with closed questions in formal assessment: How elaborate feedback can promote learning. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 20(1), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725720971205
Gray, L. M., Wong-Wylie, G., Rempel, G. R., & Cook, K. (2020). Expanding qualitative research interviewing strategies: Zoom video communications. The Qualitative Report, 25(5), 1292-1301. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol25/iss5/9
Holmes, N. (2018). Engaging with assessment: Increasing student engagement through continuous assessment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 19(1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417723230
Houston, D., & Thompson, J. N. (2017). Blending formative and summative assessment in a capstone subject: It’s not your tools, it’s how you use them. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 14(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.14.3.2
Jensen, L. X., Bearman, M., & Boud, D. (2021). Understanding feedback in online learning: A critical review and metaphor analysis. Computers & Education, 173, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104271
Kahlke, R. M. (2014). Generic qualitative approaches: Pitfalls and benefits of methodological mixology. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 37–52.
https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691401300119
Kostere, S., & Kostere, K. (2021). The generic qualitative approach to a dissertation in the Social Sciences: A step by step guide. Routledge.
Krishnan, J., Black, R. W., & Olson, C. B. (2021). The power of context: Exploring teachers’ formative assessment for online collaborative writing. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 37(3), 201–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2020.1764888
Lamberg, T., Gillette-Koyen, L., & Moss, D. (2020). Supporting teachers to use formative assessment for adaptive decision making. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 8(2), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.5951/MTE-2019-0005
Lamberg, T., Gillette-Koyen, L., & Moss, D. (2020). Supporting teachers to use formative assessment for adaptive decision making. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 8(2), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.5951/MTE-2019-0005
Lyon, C. J., Olah, L. N., & Wylie, E. C. (2019). Working toward integrated practice: Understanding the interaction among formative assessment strategies. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(3), 301–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2018.1514359
Maier, U. (2021). Self-referenced vs. reward-based feedback messages in online courses with formative mastery assessments: A randomized controlled trial in secondary classrooms. Computers & Education, 173, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104306
Merriam, S. A, & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Basic qualitative research. In Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed, pp. 23-25). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Nicol, D. (2020). The power of internal feedback: Exploiting natural comparison processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(5), 756–778. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1823314
Percy, W. H., Kostere, K., & Kostere, S. (2015). Generic qualitative research in psychology. The Qualitative Report, 20(2), 76-85. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2097&context=tqr
Raes, A., Vanneste, P., Pieters, M., Windey, I., Van Den Noortgate, W., & Depaepe, F. (2020). Learning and instruction in the hybrid virtual classroom: An investigation of students’ engagement and the effect of quizzes. Computers & Education, 143, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103682
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2015). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Sage.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. Sage.
Sanders, K., & Lokey-Vega, A. (2020). K-12 community of inquiry: A case study of the applicability of the community of inquiry framework in the K-12 online learning environment. Journal of Online Learning Research, 6(1), 35–56. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1254070.pdf
Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237–246.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005283748
Thorne, S. (2016). Interpretive Description: Qualitative Research for Applied Practice (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315545196
Van der Kleij, F. (2019). Comparison of teacher and student perceptions of formative assessment feedback practices and association with individual student characteristics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 85, 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.010
Williams, K. M., & Corwith, A. (2021). Beyond bricks and mortar: The efficacy of online learning and community-building at College Park Academy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education & Information Technologies, 26(5), 5055–5076. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10516-0
Wylie, E. C., & Lyon, C. J. (2020). Developing a formative assessment protocol to support professional growth. Educational Assessment, 25(4), 314–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2020.1766956
Yan, Z., King, R. B., & Haw, J. Y. (2021). Formative assessment, growth mindset, and achievement: examining their relations in the East and the West. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 28(5–6), 676–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2021.1988510
Zlabkova, I., Petr, J., Stuchlikova, I., Rokos, L., & Hospesova, A. (2021). Development of teachers’ perspective on formative peer assessment. International Journal of Science Education, 43(3), 428–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1713418
Alt, D. (2018). Teachers’ practices in science learning environments and their use of formative and summative assessment tasks. Learning Environments Research, 21(3), 387-406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-018-9259-z
Alt, D. (2018). Teachers’ practices in science learning environments and their use of formative and summative assessment tasks. Learning Environments Research, 21(3), 387-406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-018-9259-z
Amasha, M. A., Abougalala, R. A., Reeves, A. J., & Alkhalaf, S. (2018). Combining online learning & assessment in synchronization form. Education and Information Technologies, 23(6), 2517-2529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-018-9728-0
An, Y., & Mindrila, D. (2020). Strategies and tools used for learner-centered instruction. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 4(20), 133–143. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijtes.v4i2.74
Andersson, C., & Palm, T. (2017). Characteristics of improved formative assessment practice. Education Inquiry, 8(2), 104–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2016.1275185
Archibald, M. M., Ambagtsheer, R. C., Casey, M. G., & Lawless, M. (2019). Using Zoom videoconferencing for qualitative data collection: perceptions and experiences of researchers and participants. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919874596
Barana, A., Conte, A., Fissore, C., Marchisio, M., & Rabellino, S. (2019). Learning analytics to improve formative assessment strategies. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 15(3), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1135057
Beard, L. H. (2017). ‘Incentivized reading:’ Using an online VLE to measure engagement and attainment in student learning. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 5(11), 74–86. https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol5.iss11.854
Bibbens, T. (2018). Learning-driven data: Tracking improvement within a formative assessment cycle in English (EJ1183095). English in Australia, 53(1), 33–41. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1183095
Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campell, C., & Walter, F. (2016). Member Checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a not to validation? Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1802-1811).
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2009). Developing a theory of formative assessment. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 1(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-008-9068-5
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2018). Classroom assessment and pedagogy. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(6), 551–575.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappa, 86(1), 8–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170408600105
Blaine, A. M. (2019). Interaction and presence in the virtual classroom: An analysis of the perceptions of students and teachers in online and blended Advanced Placement courses. Computers & Education, 132, 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.01.004
Bonner, S. M., Chen, P. P., & Torres Rivera, C. (2018). Standards and assessment: coherence from the teacher’s perspective. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 30(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-017-9272-2
Caelli, K., Ray, L., & Mill, J. (2003). ‘Clear as mud’: Toward greater clarity in generic qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690300200201
Carless, D., & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
Chen, C. M., Chen, L. C., & Horng, W. J. (2019). A collaborative reading annotation system with formative assessment and feedback mechanisms to promote digital reading performance. Interactive Learning Environments, 29(5), 848–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1636091
Cisterna, D., & Gotwals, A. W. (2018). Enactment of ongoing formative assessment: challenges and opportunities for professional development and practice. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(3), 200–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2018.1432227
Correia, C. F., & Harrison, C. (2020). Teachers’ beliefs about inquiry-based learning and its impact on formative assessment practice. Research in Science & Technological Education, 38(3), 355–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2019.1634040
Cotton, D. (2017). Teachers’ use of formative assessment. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 83(3), 39–51.
Darling-Aduana, J. (2021). Authenticity, engagement, and performance in online high school courses: Insights from micro-interactional data. Computers & Education, 167, 1–https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104175
DeLuca, C., Valiquette, A., Coombs, A., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2018). Teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment: a large-scale survey. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(4), 355–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2016.1244514
Émon, A., Greene, J., & Timonen, V. (2021). Generation COVID: Experiences of the coronavirus pandemic among secondary school graduates of 2020 in Ireland. Cogent Education, 8(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1947014
Enders, N., Gaschler, R., & Kubik, V. (2021). Online quizzes with closed questions in formal assessment: How elaborate feedback can promote learning. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 20(1), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725720971205
Gray, L. M., Wong-Wylie, G., Rempel, G. R., & Cook, K. (2020). Expanding qualitative research interviewing strategies: Zoom video communications. The Qualitative Report, 25(5), 1292-1301. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol25/iss5/9
Holmes, N. (2018). Engaging with assessment: Increasing student engagement through continuous assessment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 19(1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417723230
Houston, D., & Thompson, J. N. (2017). Blending formative and summative assessment in a capstone subject: It’s not your tools, it’s how you use them. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 14(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.14.3.2
Jensen, L. X., Bearman, M., & Boud, D. (2021). Understanding feedback in online learning: A critical review and metaphor analysis. Computers & Education, 173, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104271
Kahlke, R. M. (2014). Generic qualitative approaches: Pitfalls and benefits of methodological mixology. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 37–52.
https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691401300119
Kostere, S., & Kostere, K. (2021). The generic qualitative approach to a dissertation in the Social Sciences: A step by step guide. Routledge.
Krishnan, J., Black, R. W., & Olson, C. B. (2021). The power of context: Exploring teachers’ formative assessment for online collaborative writing. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 37(3), 201–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2020.1764888
Lamberg, T., Gillette-Koyen, L., & Moss, D. (2020). Supporting teachers to use formative assessment for adaptive decision making. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 8(2), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.5951/MTE-2019-0005
Lamberg, T., Gillette-Koyen, L., & Moss, D. (2020). Supporting teachers to use formative assessment for adaptive decision making. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 8(2), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.5951/MTE-2019-0005
Lyon, C. J., Olah, L. N., & Wylie, E. C. (2019). Working toward integrated practice: Understanding the interaction among formative assessment strategies. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(3), 301–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2018.1514359
Maier, U. (2021). Self-referenced vs. reward-based feedback messages in online courses with formative mastery assessments: A randomized controlled trial in secondary classrooms. Computers & Education, 173, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104306
Merriam, S. A, & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Basic qualitative research. In Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed, pp. 23-25). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Nicol, D. (2020). The power of internal feedback: Exploiting natural comparison processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(5), 756–778. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1823314
Percy, W. H., Kostere, K., & Kostere, S. (2015). Generic qualitative research in psychology. The Qualitative Report, 20(2), 76-85. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2097&context=tqr
Raes, A., Vanneste, P., Pieters, M., Windey, I., Van Den Noortgate, W., & Depaepe, F. (2020). Learning and instruction in the hybrid virtual classroom: An investigation of students’ engagement and the effect of quizzes. Computers & Education, 143, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103682
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2015). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Sage.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. Sage.
Sanders, K., & Lokey-Vega, A. (2020). K-12 community of inquiry: A case study of the applicability of the community of inquiry framework in the K-12 online learning environment. Journal of Online Learning Research, 6(1), 35–56. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1254070.pdf
Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237–246.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005283748
Thorne, S. (2016). Interpretive Description: Qualitative Research for Applied Practice (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315545196
Van der Kleij, F. (2019). Comparison of teacher and student perceptions of formative assessment feedback practices and association with individual student characteristics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 85, 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.010
Williams, K. M., & Corwith, A. (2021). Beyond bricks and mortar: The efficacy of online learning and community-building at College Park Academy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education & Information Technologies, 26(5), 5055–5076. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10516-0
Wylie, E. C., & Lyon, C. J. (2020). Developing a formative assessment protocol to support professional growth. Educational Assessment, 25(4), 314–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2020.1766956
Yan, Z., King, R. B., & Haw, J. Y. (2021). Formative assessment, growth mindset, and achievement: examining their relations in the East and the West. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 28(5–6), 676–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2021.1988510
Zlabkova, I., Petr, J., Stuchlikova, I., Rokos, L., & Hospesova, A. (2021). Development of teachers’ perspective on formative peer assessment. International Journal of Science Education, 43(3), 428–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1713418
Published
2023-06-09
How to Cite
McBean, T., Penny, G. R., & McCraney, M. (2023). High School Teachers’ Views on Formative Assessment in the Online Learning Environment. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 6(6), 589-603. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v6i6.1434
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