Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique Promotes Learning and Corrects Inaccurate first Responses

Abstract

Multiple-choice testing procedures that do not provide corrective feedback facilitate neither learning nor retention. In Studies 1 and 2, the performance of participants evaluated with the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF AT) , a testing method providing immediate feedback and enabling participants to answer until correct, was compared to that of participants responding to identical tests with Scantron answer sheets. Performance on initial tests did not differ, but when retested after delays of 1 day or 1 week, participants evaluated with the IF AT demonstrated higher scores and correctly answered more questions that had been initially answered incorrectly than did participants evaluated with Scantron forms. In Study 3, immediate feedback and answering until correct was available to all participants using either the IF AT or a computerized testing system on initial tests, with the final test completed by all participants using Scantron forms. Participants initially evaluated with the IF AT demonstrated increased retention and correctly responded to more items that had initially been answered incorrectly. Active involvement in the assessment process plays a crucial role in the acquisition of information, the incorporation of accurate information into cognitive processing mechanisms, and the retrieval of correct answers during retention tests. Results of Studies 1-3 converge to indicate that the IF AT method actively engages learners in the discovery process and that this engagement promotes retention and the correction of initially inaccurate response strategies.Testing and assessment are integral to the educational process. When university or college education takes place as tutorials or in classrooms with a small number of participants, essay examinations are preferred, as they are relatively easy to construct, they allow the instructor to assess the depth and breadth of participant understanding, and they

Cultivating ICT students’ interpersonal soft skills in online learning environments using traditional active learning techniques.

“…Feedback on student performance is important to student learning (BangertDrowns, Kulik, Kulik, & Morgan, 1991;M. Epstein et al, 2002;Higgins, Hartley, & Skelton, 2002).…”

Feedback as Real-Time Constructions

“…The premise that underlies most of the research on feedback is that, if delivered correctly, feedback can significantly improve learning processes and outcomes (Ilgen et al, 1979;Bandura & Cervone, 1983;Corbett & Anderson, 1989;Bandura, 1991;Bangert-Drowns et al, 1991;Fedor, 1991;Azevedo & Bernard, 1995;Race, 2001;Epstein et al, 2002; Moreno, 2004;Hattie, 2009). The phrase 'delivered correctly' might suggest that, in order for feedback to play an effective role in the student's learning process, one need simply locate or select the right feedback method.…”

“…A general assumption is that feedback 'empowers active learners with strategically useful information, thus supporting selfregulation' (Bangert-Drowns et al, 1991, p. 214). The effect that feedback has on learning appears to fall into two main categories: one that focuses on changing or correcting learning outcomes, and another that focuses on changing some aspect of the learning process as a means for shaping knowledge and beliefs meta-cognition (Butler & Winne, 1995).The premise that underlies most of the research on feedback is that, if delivered correctly, feedback can significantly improve learning processes and outcomes (Ilgen et al, 1979;Bandura & Cervone, 1983;Corbett & Anderson, 1989;Bandura, 1991;Bangert-Drowns et al, 1991;Fedor, 1991;Azevedo & Bernard, 1995;Race, 2001;Epstein et al, 2002; Moreno, 2004;Hattie, 2009). The phrase 'delivered correctly' might suggest that, in order for feedback to play an effective role in the student's learning process, one need simply locate or select the right feedback method.…”

Enhancing Learning in the Introductory Course

“…During the past 10 years, a series of programmatic studies on the relative benefits of delayed and immediate feedback, under classroom and laboratory conditions, for student learning have been undertaken (see Brosvic, Epstein, Dihoff, & Cook, 2006c;Dihoff, Brosvic, & Epstein, 2004;Epstein et al, 2002;Epstein et al, 2003). Proponents of immediate feedback recommend the correction of an incorrect response and the acquisition of the correct response before exiting a test problem or test session (Brosvic, Epstein, Dihoff, & Cook, 2006a, 2006b).…”