Developing formative assessment using ICTs in education
| Leader(s): | Steve Higgins (Project Director), Chris Falzon (Project Manager) |
|---|---|
| Organisation: | Newcastle University |
| Contact Email: | chris.falzon@newcastle.ac.uk |
| Contact phone: | 0191 222 6943 |
| Address: | Centre for Learning and Teaching, School of Education. Communication and Language Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne |
| URL: | http://www.ncl.ac.uk/cflat/projects/LT021.htm |
The Project
The aim of this project is to develop practical formative assessment strategies using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on undergraduate and higher degree Education courses, in order to improve students’ learning. The project is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as part of Phase 5 of Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning programme (FDTL5).
The main outcome of the project will be an effective practice Guide, which will include case studies of good practice. The Guide will be developed iteratively, over three years, using practitioner investigations in three universities and one college of further education. The initial draft will be based on evidence from a range of research and development projects involving formative assessment and involving the use of ICT to support effective teaching and learning.
The methodology is centred on exemplification and dissemination of effective practice from a core group of staff at Newcastle University to a development group and finally a wider extension group in neighbouring Higher and Further education institutions. This intention of this is to enable the project to achieve a measure of success in the uptake of the ideas and more effectively embed changes in pedagogical practice.
Objectives
The key goal of this project is to develop practical strategies for formative assessment using ICTs such as e-mail, web pages or virtual learning environments (VLEs) such as Blackboard, during Education courses to improve students’ learning. The specific objectives are to:
- enhance existing formative assessment techniques by using appropriate ICTs;
- develop new techniques for formative assessment using ICTs;
- develop an effective practice Guide for staff and students to develop and disseminate these;
- extend understanding of formative assessment and how this relates to wider curriculum design across different groups of students.
Download the project outline document for more detail.