Online Quizzes with Closed Questions in Formal Assessment: How Elaborate Feedback can Promote Learning

Abstract

Online-quizzes are an economic and objective method for formative assessment in universities. However, closed questions have been criticized for promoting shallow learning and resulting often in poor learning outcomes. These disadvantages can be overcome by embedding closed questions in effective instructional designs involving feedback. In the present field study, a final sample of N = 496 students completed the same online quiz, consisting of 60 true–false statements on the biological bases of psychology in two sessions. In order to enhance the benefit of formative testing on students’ test achievement in Session 2, students received elaborate feedback (i.e., by providing explanations for the in-/correctness) for half of their answers in Session 1, and corrective feedback (i.e., just indicating the in-/correctness) for the other half. The results showed that students scored higher in Session 2 if elaborate feedback had been provided in Session 1, compared with when corrective feedback was provided. More specifically, students profited more from elaborate feedback on incorrect answers in Session 1 than from feedback on correct answers. As a practical recommendation, self-administered formative tests with closed-question format should at least provide explanations why students’ answers are incorrect.

PLAT 20(1) 2021: Enhancing Student Learning in Research and Educational Practice: The Power of Retrieval Practice and Feedback

“…The studies reported in this Special Issue investigated all four types of potential moderators (indicated by an * in Figure 1). In terms of features of the retrieval task, multiple articles compared different types of feedback, including feedback versus no feedback (Pieper et al., 2021), correct-answer feedback with explanations versus correct-answer only feedback (Enders et al., 2021), and positive versus negative feedback (Jones et al., 2021). Furthermore, three studies in the current Special Issue examined characteristics of the learning context.…”

“…Feedback typically contains information about one’s current task performance or level of understanding and can in turn enhance learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Wisniewski et al., 2020). Many of the articles in this Special Issue examined the benefits of feedback in combination with retrieval practice (den Boer et al., 2021; Enders et al., 2021; Jones et al., 2021; Pieper et al., 2021) or included feedback to enhance learning, even when it was not the main objective of the study (den Boer et al., 2021; Endres et al., 2021).…”

“…On the one hand, access to the internet enables students to bypass retrieval practice and immediately search the internet for answers, perhaps impairing learning (Giebl et al., 2021). On the other hand, web technology creates new opportunities to improve educational contexts by seamlessly incorporating frequent test-based learning opportunities into courses (Enders et al., 2021; cf. Howe et al., 2018; Nevid et al., 2020).…”

“…The first set of articles examined the benefits of retrieval practice compared to restudy (i.e., the testing effect) and various moderators of the testing effect, including participants’ cognitive and personality characteristics (Bertilsson et al., 2021) as well as the timing of the practice test and sleep (Kroneisen & Kuepper-Tetzel, 2021). The second set of articles examined the efficacy of different types of feedback, including complex versus simple feedback (Enders et al., 2021; Pieper et al., 2021) and positively or negatively valenced feedback (Jones et al., 2021). Finally, the third set of articles to this Special Issue examined practical considerations of implementing both retrieval practice and feedback with educationally relevant materials and contexts.…”

Kommentare zum Positionspapier zu Lindner, M. A. et al (2021). Ein Plädoyer zur Qualitätssicherung schriftlicher Prüfungen im Psychologiestudium

“…Um lernförderliche Effekte zu erzielen, müssen Aufgaben beispielsweise den aktiven Abruf aus dem Langzeitgedächtnis fördern, zugleich aber so einfach sein, dass in den meisten Fällen auch die richtige Antwort abgerufen werden kann (Greving & Richter, 2018). Auch die Gewährung von Feedback im Zusammenhang mit formativen Tests spielt eine entscheidende Rolle (Kubik, Gaschler & Hausman, 2021), insbesondere wenn die Abrufbarkeit nicht gewährleistet ist und das Feedback mit zusätzlichen Erklärungen angereichert werden kann (Enders, Gaschler & Kubik, 2020). In diesenund anderen -Hinsichten unterscheiden sich formative Tests von schriftlichen Prüfungen, sodass beide Themen in der Diskussion klar voneinander getrennt werden sollten.…”