Enhancing teaching and learning in higher education through formative assessment: Teachers’ Perceptions

A good assessment system is one of the preconditions for quality education. Formative assessment is comparatively an emerging idea to assess the students throughout the academic year with the intention to identify and overcome the weaknesses of the students and enhance their learning outcome. Taking these into account, this study attempted to explore the teachers’ perceptions of the use of formative assessment in enhancing teaching and learning in Bangladesh higher education. A mixed-method study was employed with survey and semi-structured interview as the data collection methods. 100 participants were randomly (simple random) selected for the survey, and 6 participants were purposively selected for the interviews. For analysing the data, descriptive analysis and content analysis were used. The findings of the study revealed majority of the participants agreed that formative assessment is crucial to enhance teaching and learning in Bangladeshi colleges. Nonetheless, there are some challenges like - teachers’ biasness, shortage of teachers, large class, poor infrastructure, insufficient power supply, and heavy workload of the teachers. As a whole, this study will provide a fundamental ground for future research in formative assessment in Bangladeshi colleges specifically and for comparative study with other higher education institutions globally.

Enhancing teaching and learning in higher education through formative assessment: Teachers’ Perceptions

A good assessment system is one of the preconditions for quality education. Formative assessment is comparatively an emerging idea to assess the students throughout the academic year with the intention to identify and overcome the weaknesses of the students and enhance their learning outcome. Taking these into account, this study attempted to explore the teachers’ perceptions of the use of formative assessment in enhancing teaching and learning in Bangladesh higher education. A mixed-method study was employed with survey and semi-structured interview as the data collection methods. 100 participants were randomly (simple random) selected for the survey, and 6 participants were purposively selected for the interviews. For analysing the data, descriptive analysis and content analysis were used. The findings of the study revealed majority of the participants agreed that formative assessment is crucial to enhance teaching and learning in Bangladeshi colleges. Nonetheless, there are some challenges like - teachers’ biasness, shortage of teachers, large class, poor infrastructure, insufficient power supply, and heavy workload of the teachers. As a whole, this study will provide a fundamental ground for future research in formative assessment in Bangladeshi colleges specifically and for comparative study with other higher education institutions globally.

___

  • Alam, G. M., Mishra, P. K., & Shahjamal, M. M. (2014). Quality assurance strategies for affiliated institutions of HE : A case study of the affiliates under National University of Bangladesh. Higher Education, (68), 285–301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9712-y
  • Antoniou, P., & James, M. (2013). Exploring formative assessment in primary school classrooms: Developing a framework of actions and strategies. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 25(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-013-918
  • Azim, F. (2014). Learning promoted by classroom assessment in higher education of Bangladesh: A case study. The International Journal of Social Sciences, 26(1), 165–171. https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=6361051100970950650100221121170671080050450060580360031001150270701270660240960960890610300400440081091180261090081070290750790200590350130801250761250300660020910960390500080251161190741230771030730980160061141
  • Begum, M., & Farooqui, S. (2008). School-based assessment: Will it really change the education scenario in Bangladesh? International Education Studies, 1(2), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v1n2p45
  • Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, 8-14. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352900816000029
  • Bennett, R. E. (2011). Formative assessment: A critical review. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy, and Practice, 18(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2010.513678
  • Bhuiyan, A. K. M. Z. H., & Hossain, D. M. L. (2017). Quality education at college level institutions: Bangladesh perspective. NAEM Journal, 12(24), 103–112.
  • Bjornsrud, H., & Engh, R. (2012). Teamwork to enhance adapted teaching and formative assessment. Policy Futures in Education, 10(4), 402–410. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2012.10.4.402
  • Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
  • Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2003). In praise of educational research: Formative assessment. British Educational Research Journal, 29(5), 623–637. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192032000133721
  • Boston, C. (2002). The Concept of Formative Assessment. ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation College Park MD., 1(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/ED47026, 2002-10-100
  • Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press.
  • Cagasan, L., Care, E., Robertson, P., & Luo, R. (2020). Developing a formative assessment protocol to examine formative assessment practices in the Philippines. Educational Assessment, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2020.1766960
  • Clark, I. (2012). Formative assessment: A systematic and artistic process of instruction for supporting school and lifelong learning. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(2), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9191-6
  • Clarke, M. (2012). What matters most for student assessment systems : A framework paper. Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) student assessment working paper, no. 1, World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/216631468149691772/What-matters-most-for studentassessment-systems-a-framework-paper
  • Crooks, T. J. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation practices on students. Review of Educational Research, 58 (4), 438-481. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F00346543058004438
  • Dijksterhuis, M. G. K., Schuwirth, L. W. T., Braat, D. D. M., Teunissen, P. W., & Scheele, F. (2013). A qualitative study on trainees’ and supervisors’ perceptions of assessment for learning in postgraduate medical education. Medical Teacher, 35(8). https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2012.756576
  • Dochy, F., Segers, M., & Sluijsmans, D. (1999). The use of self-, peer and co-assessment in higher education: A review. Studies in Higher Education, 24(3), 331–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079912331379935
  • Figa, J. G., Tarekegne, W. M., & Kebede, M. A. (2020). The practice of formative assessment in Ethiopian secondary school curriculum implementation: The case of West Arsi Zone Secondary Schools. Educational Assessment, 00(00), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2020.1766958
  • Gikandi, J. W., Morrow, D., & Davis, N. E. (2011). Online formative assessment in higher education: A review of the literature. Computers and Education, 57(4), 2333–2351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.06.004
  • Haque, M., Yousuf, R., Abu Bakar, S. M., & Salam, A. (2013). Assessment in undergraduate medical education: Bangladesh perspectives. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 12(4), 357–363. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v12i4.16658
  • Harlen, W. & James, M. (1997). Assessment and learning: Differences and relationships between formative and summative assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 4(3), 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594970040304
  • Jeffrey A. Barney & Robert McCowens. (2009). Review of transformative assessment by W. James Popham. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 6(12), 137–138. https://doi.org/ISBN-978-1-4166-0667-3
  • Klenowski, V. (2009). Assessment for learning revisited : An Asia- Pacific perspective. Assessment in Education : Principles, Policy and Practice, 16(3), 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940903319646
  • López-Pastor, V., & Sicilia-Camacho, A. (2017). Formative and shared assessment in higher education. Lessons learned and challenges for the future. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(1), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1083535
  • Mahmud, M. (2019). Quality and Relevance of Higher Education in Bangladesh. BIDS Critical Conversations 2019. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
  • Monem, M., & Baniamin, H. M. (2010). Higher education in Bangladesh : Status, issues, and prospects. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS), 30(2), 293–305. https://www.bzu.edu.pk/PJSS/Vol30No22010/Final_PJSS-30-2-09.pdf
  • Muhammad, Faruki, A., Haque, M. A., & Islam, M. M. (2019). Student-centered learning and current practice in Bangladeshi college education. Journal of Education and Practice, 10(13), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.7176/JEP
  • Ngendahayo, E. (2014). Rethinking Rwandan higher education assessment system and approaches. Rwandan Journal of Education, 2(2), 31–47.
  • Nicol, D., & MacFarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572090
  • Paul, B. K., Sarkar, S., Nandi, S., Alim, M. A., Biswas, S. K., & Rahman, M. A. (2016). Changing teaching through formative assessment: A review. Bangladesh Medical Journal, 45(1), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.3329/bmj.v45i1.28968
  • Pintrich, P. R., & Zusho, A. (2002). Student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 17.
  • Rabiul, I. (2014). Higher education in Bangladesh : Diversity, quality, and accessibility. First National Education Conference on Whither Policy Reform in Education: Lessons and Challenges, (November), 1–16.
  • Rahman, T., Nakata, S., Yoko, N., Mokhlesur, R. M., Uttam, S., & Rahman Asahabur, M. (2019). Bangladesh Tertiary Education Sector Review.
  • Riaz, F., Yasmin, S., & Yasmin, R. (2015). Introducing regular formative assessment to enhance learning among dental students at Islamic International Dental College. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 65(12), 1277–1282.
  • Roos, B., & Hamilton, D. (2005). Formative assessment: A cybernetic viewpoint. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 12(1), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594042000333887
  • Ruiz-Primo, M. A. (2011). Informal formative assessment: The role of instructional dialogues in assessing students’ learning. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.04.003
  • Sach, E. (2012). Teachers and testing: An investigation into teachers’ perceptions of formative assessment. Educational Studies, 38(3), 261–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2011.598684
  • Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18(2), 119–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117714
  • Sadler, D. R. (1998). Formative Assessment: revisiting the territory. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050104
  • Shahidul, H. M. M. (2016). Rethinking higher education. The Daily Star.
  • Sharma, S., Sharma, V., Sharma, M., Awasthi, B., & Chaudhary, S. (2015). Formative assessment in postgraduate medical education - Perceptions of students and teachers. International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research, 5. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-516x.162282
  • Umer, M., & Attayib Omer, A. M. (2015). An investigation of Saudi English: Major learners’ perceptions of formative assessment tasks and their learning. English Language Teaching, 8(2), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n2p109
  • Wang, K. H., Wang, T. H., Wang, W. L., & Huang, S. C. (2006). Learning styles and formative assessment strategy: Enhancing student achievement in Web-based learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 22(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2006.00166.x
  • Wiliam, D. (2011). What is assessment for learning?. Studies in Educational Evaluation. Volume 37, Issue 1, pp. 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.001.
  • William, D. (2014). Formative assessment and contingency in the regulation of learning processes. Toward a Theory of Classroom Assessment as the Regulation of Learning, (April). Philadelphia, USA.
  • Winstone, N., & Millward, L. (2012). Reframing Perceptions of the Lecture from Challenges to Opportunities: Embedding Active Learning and Formative Assessment into the Teaching of Large Classes. Psychology Teaching Review, 18(2), 31–41. Retrieved from http://proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ991406&site=eds-live%5Cnhttp://www.bpsshop.org.uk/Psychology-Teaching-Review-Vol-18-No-2-Autumn-2012-P2376.aspx
  • World Bank. (2013). Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) reports.
  • Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education : Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice. Higher Education, 45, 477–501.
  • Young, J. E. J., & Jackman, M. G. A. (2014). Formative assessment in the Grenadian lower secondary school: teachers’ perceptions, attitudes, and practices. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 21(4), 398–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2014.919248