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

Francois J. Cilliers; Lambert W. T. Schuwirth; Hanelie J. Adendorff; Nicoline Herman; Cees P. van der Vleuten

doi:10.1007/s10459-010-9232-9

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

Francois J. Cilliers^*, Lambert W. T. Schuwirth, Hanelie J. Adendorff, Nicoline Herman, Cees P. van der Vleuten

^*Corresponding author for this work

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

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
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
Learning
Mechanism of impact
Determinants of action

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10.1007/s10459-010-9232-9Licence: CC BY-NC

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title = "The mechanism of impact of summative assessment on medical students' learning",

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.",

keywords = "Assessment, Learning, Mechanism of impact, Determinants of action",

author = "Cilliers, {Francois J.} and Schuwirth, {Lambert W. T.} and Adendorff, {Hanelie J.} and Nicoline Herman and {van der Vleuten}, {Cees P.}",

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AU - Schuwirth, Lambert W. T.

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AU - Herman, Nicoline

AU - van der Vleuten, Cees P.

PY - 2010/12

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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.

KW - Assessment

KW - Learning

KW - Mechanism of impact

KW - Determinants of action

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DO - 10.1007/s10459-010-9232-9

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JO - Advances in Health Sciences Education

JF - Advances in Health Sciences Education

IS - 5

ER -

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

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Keywords

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