The mechanism of impact of summative assessment on medical students' learning

Francois Cilliers; Lambertus Schuwirth; H.J. Adendorff; N Herman; Cees Van der Vleuten

doi:10.1007/s10459-010-9232-9

The mechanism of impact of summative assessment on medical students' learning

Francois Cilliers, Lambertus Schuwirth, H.J. Adendorff, N Herman, Cees Van der Vleuten

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

107 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It has become axiomatic that assessment impacts powerfully on student learning, but there is a surprising dearth of research on how. This study explored the mechanism of impact of summative assessment on the process of learning of theory in higher education. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with medical students and analyzed qualitatively. The impact of assessment on learning was mediated through various determinants of action. Respondents' learning behaviour was influenced by: appraising the impact of assessment; appraising their learning response; their perceptions of agency; and contextual factors. This study adds to scant extant evidence and proposes a mechanism to explain this impact. It should help enhance the use of assessment as a tool to augment learning.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	695-715
Number of pages	21
Journal	Advances in Health Sciences Education
Volume	15
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-010-9232-9
Publication status	Published - Dec 2010

Keywords

Assessment
Determinants of action
Learning
Mechanism of impact

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s10459-010-9232-9

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AU - Van der Vleuten, Cees

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AB - It has become axiomatic that assessment impacts powerfully on student learning, but there is a surprising dearth of research on how. This study explored the mechanism of impact of summative assessment on the process of learning of theory in higher education. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with medical students and analyzed qualitatively. The impact of assessment on learning was mediated through various determinants of action. Respondents' learning behaviour was influenced by: appraising the impact of assessment; appraising their learning response; their perceptions of agency; and contextual factors. This study adds to scant extant evidence and proposes a mechanism to explain this impact. It should help enhance the use of assessment as a tool to augment learning.

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The mechanism of impact of summative assessment on medical students' learning

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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