How Assessment for Learning Can Improve Students’ Content Mastery
Assessment for Learning (AfL), or “formative assessment,” is a common theme in the U.S. educational landscape but it’s often overlooked in higher education. In a recent Faculty Focus article, Dr. Cathy Box, director for Teaching and Learning at Lubbock Christian University, explains AfL and how it can be used in the classroom to improve student learning and outcomes. Box provides two strategies in the article including using examples of strong and weak work to bolster students’ evaluative thinking and TSAR (Think, Share, Advise, Revise), a peer tutoring technique where students give each other feedback on their work. “These strategies take time, but the investment is justified by the return—learning is enhanced and achievement improves while students hone their metacognitive skills,” Box writes.
