Research on Optimizing Testing Feedback for Improved Student Learning

University Of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls WI

Investigators

Abstract

General chemistry is often taught in large lecture sections, which can influence an instructor's choice to utilize multiple-choice exams and limit the testing feedback students receive. This project will build on prior work (DUE Awards #1140351 and #1140914) to further understand the best ways provide feedback to students and to help instructors employ best practices that maximize student learning through testing. Based on existing research in cognitive science, this project will collect evidence on current practices of testing feedback in general chemistry and measure the impacts on student learning of various forms of feedback with a diverse set of student populations. Findings from this work will be applicable to general chemistry programs across the nation as well as other STEM disciplines that utilize complex content items in multiple-choice testing. Developing and using evidence-based strategies to enhance and support student learning is a critical step in producing a well-prepared and diverse STEM workforce. This project aims to generate evidence regarding the role of testing feedback to promote and support learning in general chemistry. It will pursue three related sets of studies. Laboratory and classroom testing feedback studies will examine the impact of different corrective feedback types and timings on future test performance and confidence-accuracy calibration. Qualitative testing feedback studies will employ semi-structured interviews to reveal how students use feedback in a testing environment and how this feedback may affect their learning, testing strategies, and confidence. Lastly, a national survey will be developed and administered to examine instructors' testing feedback practices and perceptions in first-term general chemistry to better connect theory developed through this project with current practices. The results of this work will generate evidence for selecting and using testing feedback with a goal of using multiple-choice testing as a learning tool as well as an evaluation tool.