Assessment Issues and Practices

This chapter outlines the formative and summative uses of online discussion, with examples of each. Assessment is often a contentious issue, not least because summative assessment can constrain students’ participation and their enjoyment of discussion, inhibiting their expression of genuine views. Tensions between formative and summative assessment are explored, with a view to promoting deep learning. The practice of grading participation is critiqued, balanced with the need to motivate students. Formatively, discussion can function as interactive formative assessment, where students and teachers give and receive feedback and feedforward, in a timely fashion. Importantly, teachers are not the only source of such feedback, and peer and self-assessment can happen alongside teachers’ monitoring discussions to identify and address misconceptions and to extend ideas.