Abstract
By planning and teaching a specific topic, in an Upper Secondary School biology course in a highly formative way the effect on student learning was studied. Within given frames, students planned working methods and examination form within the topic of Gene technology. For the examination students also phrased learning goals and assessment criteria. The design resulted in higher summative grades on the topic compared to traditionally taught topics within the same course. In this study, students were interviewed in focus groups, one year after graduation to investigate student view on the intervention. One important outcome is that students appreciate variation in teaching more than the content itself. There was also a positive reaction to students planning working methods, but students wanted the teacher to perform different kinds of controlling actions. Findings are discussed in the context of formative methods with intentions of improving practical teaching methods.
Highlights
Concepts of formative assessment or assessment for learning has been proposed to enhance student learning (Hattie, 2009; Wiliam, 2010)
To better understand why the formative design resulted in increased performance, this study aims to qualitatively outline students’ views of how different aspects of formative teaching methods can influence learning and result in higher grades
The students felt motivated by the considerable variation in teaching methods, mentioned explicitly in three categories: participation, working methods, and examination
Summary
Concepts of formative assessment or assessment for learning has been proposed to enhance student learning (Hattie, 2009; Wiliam, 2010). 1) An important part of enhancing student learning is understanding of goals and criteria (Jönsson, 2010; Rust, Price, & O’Donovan, 2003; Stiggins, 2005). As pointed out by Stiggins (2005) and Wiliam (2011), assessment for learning starts by providing students with a clear, student-friendly vision of the achievement target. The result showed that students were unable to recognize such a criterion, even when presented to it. This points out the need for finding ways to make students understand the assessment criteria and, achieve them before, or during the examination
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