Effects of Formative Assessment on the Learning-to-learn Skills of Teacher Training Students

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents some of the results of a broader research project on how formative assessment affects the development of specific and generic competences in teacher training subjects at higher education level. The aim of the paper is to describe the impact of formative assessment on the development of learning-to-learn skills, in a sample of 143 students on teacher training bachelor's degrees at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia. The results are from a quasi-experimental pre-post study, without a control group and follow-up, that used a quantitative method. Formative assessment was implemented in four subjects of the bachelor's degrees in Teacher in Primary Education (MEP) and Teacher in Early Childhood Education (MEI), in the second semester. At the start and end of each subject, students were asked to complete an ad hoc questionnaire to assess the effect of formative assessment on various competences, including learning-to-learn. The degree of independence and awareness that students perceived about what they had to learn increased significantly, but there were no significant differences in the level of demands on themselves. Therefore, the results suggest that formative assessment could increase students’ independence and awareness about learning.