Assessment as a Learning Tool in a Flipped English Language Classroom in Higher Education

Abstract

Flipped teaching is a pedagogical model in which the roles of the instructor and the students in a flipped context are redefined. Within this unique pedagogical context, researchers suggest that, in order to maximize the learning process for students, assessment should follow a student-centered approach (Talbert, 2015; Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014). Utilising assessment as a learning tool through layering and scaffolding in the flipped context engages students in the learning process, encourages continuous assessment of student learning, creates opportunities for implementing critical thinking, helps students gain a deeper understanding of concepts, allows formative feedback and eventually yields improved outcomes. This formative assessment approach of layering and scaffolding has been considered to “motivate students” (Spangler, 2015). Layered assessment in the flipped context also becomes a student-centered learning strategy, a means to informally gather feedback about students’ learning and a tool to help instructors refine their teaching. This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature with regards to utilizing assessment for learning and evaluative purposes. It aims to share formative assessment strategies for flipped English language learning, share assessment types which worked in a flipped English language learning classroom, classroom assessment techniques to refine teaching, assessment tools, resources, share recommendations to challenges and propose solutions for effective assessment in a flipped English language learning setting.