Objectives and Formative and Summative Evaluation
Alexandra Kaduc RN, BSN, CCRN
Jennifer Austin RN, BSN
TinaMarie Cieri, RN, BSN
Norvella Hill RN, BSN
Kelly McCabe RN, BSN
Jennifer Austin RN, BSN
TinaMarie Cieri, RN, BSN
Norvella Hill RN, BSN
Kelly McCabe RN, BSN
A little video to demonstrate examples of the meanings of the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy according to Andy Griffith:
Formative Evaluation- This type of evaluation is used to determine student progress throughout the course and is often used during a class session (Billings & Halstead, 2012). It is helpful to teachers in assessing what students understand and in providing feedback to them that can be used for improvement (Nichols, 2009). When evaluating student’s progress, faculty can use this type of approach to help students who are having difficulty while it is occurring. Thus, faculty can readily apply corrective action to their students.
Summative Evaluation- This type of evaluation is conducted at the end of the course and is used to determine the extent to which students have achieved the desired learning outcomes (Billings & Halstead, 2012). There are many different types of strategies an educator can use with this type of evaluation. Some include, standardized tests which may include multiple answers, simulations, and case studies. The benefits to performing this type of assessment is that it gives faculty a detailed history of a students completed work. However, faculty cannot make any corrections during their learning process and can only evaluate whether or not it was met with satisfactory or unsatisfactory results.
Formative assessment and feedback allows the student to formulate understanding of specified learning objectives while receiving feedback on their progress to assist in their improvement at a targeted subject; with the application of formative strategies including: inquiry (the student asking questions), immediate feedback (provided by the instructor to the student), self-reflection, and adjustments to the instructional process based on the students response and understanding of the current method (NCTM, 2015). As the students receive feedback from the instructors, they self-reflect and assess their progress while determining how they may improve; students must actively be engaged in their learning to achieve positive outcomes (NCTM, 2015). Research that was conducted by Havnes et al, reported that the practice of giving students feedback was more dependent on the subject being taught verses the student’s reception or the school in which the subject is being taught (Havnes et al, 2012). The students involved in the research further gave the following feedback as it relates to feedback during instruction in the classroom: feedback practice relates to the educational attitude and beliefs of the individual teacher, immediate review of subjects related to corrections after a test, and the perception of the feedback by the student (Havnes et al, 2012). Formative assessment and feedback can be very useful in the classroom as we develop our perspective courses and analyze as we teach the course determining how well the class is learning the material presented and the need for change in the way we are teaching the course or the material being taught, or both.
Summative assessment is a tool that is used to evaluate what a student has learned, the skill that the student has developed and achieved at the end of the course, and academic achievement at the end of the course (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2014). There are three major criteria that defines summative assessment: test, assignments, or projects that are used to evaluate what the student has learned, summative assessments are given at the completion of a course and are evaluative in the determination of the learning progress of the students, summative assessment results are recorded as scores or grades factored into a student’s permanent record – is usually a letter grade or test scores (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2014). Assessment is of critical importance in the education process as it supports learning and provides a means of accreditation; the study reported by Taras related to summative assessment stated that there is a need for instructors to actively evaluate the assessment process to ensure that it remains clear and concise to what it is that we are attempting to teach, completely understand the assessment process and how it relates to each other, and evaluate how it impacts our practice and affects our students (Taras, 2008). Summative assessment is a tool we will readily use in our instruction, whether it is a test, quiz, and case study assignment, basically any tool we use to assess what the student has learned and retained from what has been taught. It is our responsibility as educators to ensure not only that the students are understanding what is being taught but that the assessment tool being used is appropriate and fair.
Formative Evaluation Example-
An example of formative assessment involves using structured-debriefing; this can be performed at the end of a learning activity, class, or clinical session (Cant & Cooper, 2011). Educators can use debriefing to engage students in summarizing key points at the end of a class (Billings & Halstead, 2012). This strategy provides educators with an opportunity to assess students’ understanding of classroom content and learning activities.
Summative Evaluation Example-
An example of summative assessment involves using an Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) to evaluate students’ application of course content, utilization of the nursing process and clinical judgment/decision-making skills (Rentschler et al., 2007). This strategy provides educators with an opportunity to give students constructive feedback in a personalized face-to-face meeting.
Article on summative assessment-
Simulation has been used in several professions as a training and evaluation tool. Health care uses simulation as a way to evaluate a students clinical skills. This article mentions use of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as a summative evaluation of first year student registered nurse anesthetists’ (SRNAs) clinical skills. Wunder et al., (2014) state formative assessment by itself is not enough to determine education outcomes; OSCE can assesses student’s clinical knowledge in a real-life simulated clinical environment. OSCE measures a student’s competencies in the clinical environment by allowing the student to take classroom knowledge and apply it to a clinical setting. The article gives several examples of medical and nursing programs that use OSCE with their first and second year nursing or medical students. The article continues to further explain the methods used to run an OSCE in an SRNA program, such as a development of objectives, rubrics, and various stations to evaluate the student’s skills.
For further information of formative and summative assessment click here
An Article Summary on Formative Assessment:
This article is on the concept of the assessment for learning (AFL) and outlines why it is a useful strategy in getting students to take an active role in their learning and describes four aspects of this concept that can be used to facilitate formative assessment conversations. Assessment for learning is a term used to describe the ongoing, two-way dialogue taking place between teacher and learner to determine progress of learning and therefore is also known as formative assessment. When this type of interaction is implemented effectively, AFL leads to equal and productive conversations between the teacher and the learner that allow for the opportunity to clarify goals, identify barriers to achieving the goals, and discuss plans to overcome such barriers. The article further clarifies the difference between formative and summative (the assessment of learning) assessment by describing how the concept of providing feedback should be associated with summative assessment and a concept of feed-forward should become associated with formative assessment. By utilizing this concept, teachers can focus their conversations with students on future improvements that could better engage the student in their future learning (Gavriel, 2013). The key point that is highlighted with this concept is that the interactions and dialogue between the teacher and the student must be two-way conversations in order for the interaction to truly be considered formative (Gavriel, 2013).
The article then goes on to describe four aspects of the teacher-student interactions that if practiced, will yield two-way conversations and be considered as aspects of AFL, or formative assessment techniques. The four aspects include feedback or feed-forward, learning objectives and outcomes, peer and self-assessment, and questioning. Feed-forward opportunities are always present, can be part of informal debriefing sessions, or be more formal in discussing outcomes from clinical observation tools (COTs) and case based discussions (CBDs). The goal is for the learner to become more informed about the status of his or her learning. Learning objectives and outcomes provide information to the learner about his or her learning because they provide the information about the learning that should be taking place as they are statements about what should be learned (Gavriel, 2013). By having effective AFL conversations with teachers, students will then be able to learn how to apply those same concepts with peers when providing peer assessments and performing reflective assessments of learners’ own progress. While it is known that questioning allows teachers to understand a student’s level of knowledge, this technique must be used carefully in formative assessment conversations in order to maintain balance in the conversation between the teacher and the student. To do this, teachers must carefully phrase their questions, ensure they are open-ended, and as a result, students will have a better idea of what is expected of them and also help to develop their critical thinking skills (Gavriel, 2013).
Not only are teachers responsible for facilitating the delivery of the course’s knowledge and required skills, but they must also fulfill other responsibilities such as seeking out opportunities for wider learning experiences, teaching the concepts of professionalism, and encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning which are aspects that can be improved if learners are provided the tools they need to monitor their own learning (Gavriel, 2013). By utilizing these methods and understanding the true purpose of formative assessments, teachers can be better prepared to assist the student in being aware of his or her progress and ultimately be in a better position to be successful in the course.
References
Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2012). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Cant, R. P., & Cooper, S. J. (2011). The benefits of debriefing as formative feedback in nurse education. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(1), 37-47.
Gavriel, J. (2013). Assessment for learning: A wider (classroom-researched) perspective is important for formative assessment and self-directed learning in general practice. Education for Primary Care, 24(2), 93-96.
Havnes, A., Smith, K., Dysthe, O., Ludvigsen, K. (2012). Formative assessment and feedback: Making learning visible. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 38, 21-27.
NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). (2015). Formative Assessment. Retrieved from: http:// href="http://www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Position-Statements/Formative-Assessment/">www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Position-Statements/Formative-Assessment/
Rentschler, D., Eaton, J., Cappiello, J., McNally, S., & McWilliam, P. (2007). Evaluation of undergraduate students using objective structured clinical evaluation. Journal Of Nursing Education, 46(3), 135-139.
Taras, M. (2008). Summative and formative assessment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 9, 172-182.
The Glossary of Education Reform. (2014). Summative assessment.
Wunder, L. L., Glymph, D. C., Newman, J., Gonzalez, V., Gonzalez, J. E., & Groom, J. A. (2014). Objective structured clinical examination as an educational initiative for summative simulation competency evaluation of first-year student registered nurse anesthetists’ clinical skills. AANA Journal, 82(6), 419-425.