IMPLEMENTING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES INTO A LECTURE-BASED COLLEGE GEOSCIENCE CLASSROOM

According to the Assessment Reform Group, Assessment for Learning (AfL) is “the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.” (Assessment Reform Group, 2002). In other words, Assessment for Learning is a powerful instructional strategy that uses feedback and scaffolding to carefully target the teacher’s efforts and strengthen students’ learning.

We recently completed an intervention designed to introduce AfL principles into a lecture-format geoscience classroom at a Midwestern university over three consecutive semesters (n=767). Our intent was to study the effect Assessment for Learning strategies had on student engagement and achievement. Here we share the results of our intervention using data from student interviews and pre/post test scores. While student performance did not show statistically significant improvement, students reported an increase in engagement with course materials and responded favorably toward the use of formative assessment as a means of providing feedback on their progress toward meeting learning objectives.

We also describe various obstacles to implementing formative assessment strategies in high-enrollment courses, and how the course instructor responded to the difficulties of implementing formative assessment elements into a pre-existing syllabus. Furthermore, we document the course instructor’s perspective on assessment reform with regard to formative assessment at the classroom level and formal program assessment at the departmental and university level.