Formative assessment supported by the “Digilib” digital library

Abstract

Within the VEGA No. 1/0265/17 and KEGA No. 004UPJŠ-4/2020 research projects, databases of formative assessment (FA) tools addressing the selected topics taught in the 2nd stage primary school science, mathematics, and informatics have been created. The FA tools that we have developed are available in the “Digilib” digital library hosted on the server https://digilib.fri.uniza.sk/ equipped with an SSL certificate. Digilib allows for the creation and storing of FA tools (forms) such as the self-assessment card, prediction card, or Frayer model, which can be assigned to students thus providing both them and teachers with real-time feedback. Currently, 8 primary schools, 16 teachers, and 46 classes (grades 5 to 9) with a total of 846 students are registered in the digital library. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect teachers’ and students’ opinions on the digital library. The analysis of their answers showed numerous advantages for both teachers and students, e.g., easy and simple interface, quick feedback about students’ current state of knowledge, automated creation of complex overviews of students’ answers and their archiving. The feedback supplied helps students develop objective self-assessment, fill in the gaps, and modify their misconceptions in learning