Background to the study
المؤلف:
Rosario Hernández
المصدر:
Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Assessment
الجزء والصفحة:
P267-C23
2025-07-17
468
Background to the study
"Assessment is at the heart of the student experience" (Brown & Knight, 1994, p.12). Thus, it should be regarded as an integral part of the teaching and learning process (Brown, et al., 1997; Heywood, 2000). However, assessment is too often disconnected from the learning process (Shepard, 2000), and it is considered as an addition to teaching (Ramsden, 2003). In trying to integrate assessment into the learning process, Biggs (2003) argues for an alignment between teaching, learning and assessment. This means that the teaching methods and assessment practices become aligned to the learning activities stated in the objectives. It is argued that a formative assessment approach is needed to facilitate that alignment.
Constructivist theories of learning emphasized that learners are actively involved in making sense of the experiences around them (Williams & Burden, 1997). Consequently, it can be inferred that learners should play an active role in the process of learning and assessment. Birenbaum (1996) makes more explicit the role of learners in the assessment process when she describes the new assessment culture that is conducive to a constructivist conception of teaching. She attributes the following characteristics to such culture:
• It emphasizes the integration of assessment and teaching;
• The student is an active participant in the process of assessment;
• The assessment takes many forms;
• The assessment tasks are meaningful and authentic;
• Students participate in the development of assessment criteria;
• Students document their learning through reflections. (Birenbaum, 1996, p.7)
The theoretical underpinnings for this study were two-fold. First, it was informed by a constructivist perspective of learning, together with the attributes of that assessment culture as described by Birenbaum (1996). Second, it was influenced by a review of research on formative assessment conducted by Black and William (1998), which ascertained that formative assessment can enhance learning when students are provided with quality feedback and guidance on what they can do to improve their learning.
The university course that became the object of this research is a final-year level 3 undergraduate module, taken as an option by students of Hispanic Studies at University College Dublin. Spanish is the prescribed language of instruction and assessment in this module, and the target language is used by the learners and by the teacher at all times. A proposed translation into English of the title of the course might be 'Becoming a Writer in a Foreign Language'.
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