Literature+Review

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It is widely accepted that high-quality formative assessment can improve student learning outcomes when specific descriptive feedback from multiple sources is used to determine the next teaching and learning steps. Black and Wiliam (1998a, cited in Davies & Hill, 2009) conducted a research study into the effects of formative assessment and found that some assessment methods improved learning outcomes significantly, and they recommended involving students in their own assessment to promote self-directed learning. Transforming the research findings into effective teaching pedagogy is an important step if students are to benefit in terms of improved learning outcomes. ======

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It is generally agreed that being self-directed means the degree to which a student is metacognitively, motivationally and behaviourally active in their learning (Birenbaum, 2002). Given the exponential growth and transfer of information in the ‘knowledge age’, developing the key dispositions that help students to assimilate new knowledge and apply it to solve problems, think critically and reflectively as well as communicate and collaborate with others is essential to function well in the 21st Century (Cornish, 1986; Resnick, 1987; cited in Birenbaum, 2002). Identifying which teaching tools and pedagogies effectively promote self-directed learning is an important outcome for both teachers and students because just presenting work to students and having them complete it does not guarantee that they will learn (Aitken & Sinnema, 2008). Therefore, using evidence-based tools and pedagogies that have been shown to improve the ability of students to be self-directed learners increases the likelihood of increased teaching and learning outcomes. ======

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According to Timperley (2009), there are several factors which impact on a teacher’s ability to become more responsive to student’s learning through formative assessment, with some factors highlighting the individual teacher’s role in formative assessment (pedagogical content, curriculum, and theory knowledge) while others highlight the influence of school-wide organisational structures (professional development opportunities, assessment tools and resources). Further, while an analysis of research into raising student achievement outcomes has found teachers contribute approximately 30% to student achievement (Hattie, 2002), more recent research indicates that other factors such as peer interactions and social relationships within the classroom significantly impact student achievement as well (Nuthall, 2007). Therefore, it is important that students are able to effectively assess their own learning and constructively act on the information. ====== __ Which assessment tools are useful? __ There is a range of formative assessment strategies currently used in schools. These include pre-tests, surveys, open-ended questioning, exemplars, checklists, journals, rubrics, T-charts and conferencing (Chapman & King, 2005; Davies & Hill, 2009). Each tool had strengths and times at which it would effectively gather valid information. However, evaluating these in regard to my criteria for a tool that can be used independently to provide the information and guidance to complete the activity, as well as qualitative feedback for a diverse range of abilities, I narrowed the list of assessment tools to focus on to rubrics. A study conducted by Birenbaum (2002) measured the validity and reliability of assessing inquiry-based learning using a rubric and a questionnaire on primary aged students. They concluded that experts and teachers had good inter-rater reliability when trained to use the rubric, and that the two dimensions of questioning and self-assessment were strong indicators of a student’s overall ability as a self-directed learner.

Therefore, synthesising the evidence indicated that rubrics are a valid, reliable formative assessment tool to use during inquiry-based learning as long as the criteria are clear (preferably co-constructed) from the outset, students have been taught how to use the rubric to guide their progress, the language and basic practices of assessment are known (turn-taking, listening etc), and there is a supportive classroom culture in place.