Defining Formative Electronic Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics: A Reflective Approach

• Published in: International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 21; no. 7; pp. 24 - 39
• Main Authors: Tatira, Benjamin, Kariyana, Israel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 30.07.2022
• ISSN: 1694-2493; 1694-2116
• DOI: 10.26803/ijlter.21.7.2

Formative electronic assessment of mathematics on the Learning Management System is unique. The purpose of this study was to delineate the process of formative assessment in mathematics through the students’ experiences during remote online learning. Formative assessment is part of learning and helps students to monitor their progress. Data were analysed by identifying themes from the narratives. It emerged that the e-assessments that are manually written and graded by the instructor were the best mode of assessment for undergraduate mathematics. With timely feedback, formative electronic assessment placed students in a position whereby they took more responsibility for their learning. As such, students had positive perceptions towards formative electronic assessment during remote e-learning and were prepared to proceed with it in future. The study concluded that while some students proclaimed to have the expertise in the use of e-assessments, most students did not have the expertise in using e-assessment tools, as formative e-assessments were not generally offered in other modules. Participants echoed the sentiments that instructor expertise in formative electronic assessment design should be unquestionable to promote enhanced mathematics assessments that should enable presenting the steps taken to arrive at the answers.