Authentic Assessment & Feed Forward

Authentic Assessment and a Feed Forward approach work, individually and collaboratively, to advance active student learning. The 21^st century educator recognizes the need to assess for learning as opposed to performing assessments of learning (Ferrell, & Gray, n.d.). The use of technology can help support authentic assessment and a feed forward approach. High-fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) debriefings, and virtual world testing represent just two technologies representing authentic assessment. Recorded audio feedback technology provides an excellent medium for the educator to employ a feed forward approach.

Authentic assessments allow for a student to demonstrate what they know, while using real-world skills and tasks. Traditional assessments, such as multiple-choice tests, if well-designed, can test a student’s body of knowledge; however, an authentic assessment tests for the student’s ability to implement, synthesize, and evaluate their knowledge-demonstrating a higher level of learning (Mueller, 2014).Authentic assessments in nursing education frequently require the student to perform a task using appropriate critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills, that is then measured against a grading rubric.

Feed forward represents a formative dialogue that promotes the student’s future learning. Feedback as imperative as it is, recognizes and comments on the successes and mistakes of the past. Feedback is frequently a recognition of past needed improvements; whereas, feed forward provides suggestions for the student to make improvements moving into the future. A feed forward approach is very advantageous to the student. The student easily recognizes that feedback is a rear-view mirror approach, and they cannot remedy the past. Most students are negatively affected when receiving feedback as they may feel defeated. When educators use a feed forward approach, as opposed to feeling defeated, the students are allowed to feel challenged, and then accomplished.

I feel that authentic assessments are sometimes best performed using learning technologies such as blogs, journals, and e-portfolios; thereby, allowing me, as an educator to assess the self-evaluation, and self-reflections of the student. As an educator, the development of an appropriate rubric to best assess for student learning, and the translation of assessment expectations is key to the successful completion of the course learning objectives. Having only recently been introduced to the feed forward concept, I look forward to integrating this approach into my teaching, as I feel the scaffolding activity of this approach not only improves student learning, but also improves the student-educator relationship. I also feel that modelling a feed forward approach for our nursing students may be very helpful as these students become patient educators. 

References

Ferrell, G., & Gray, L. (n.d.). Feedback and feed forward. Accessed from:  http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/feedback-and-feed-forward

Mueller, J. (2014). What is authentic assessment? Authentic Assessment Toolbox. Accessed from:  http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm